Wowereit, Klaus

Born in the Tempelhof district of Berlin in a simple family of East Prussians , the youngest of five children grew up without a father. The surname Wowereit is of Baltic ( Lithuanian ) origin and means " little squirrel ". ^[2]

In 1973 he graduated from the Ulrich von Gutten School ( German: Ulrich-von-Hutten-Oberschule ), then studied law at the Free University of Berlin . At the same time he joined the ranks of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In 1979, he defended the state legal exam, after which he began work at the Senator of the Interior in Berlin . In 1981 he defended his second state exam.

From 1984 to 1994, he was the municipal adviser for education and culture of the Tempelhof district of Berlin . In 1995, he was elected to the city parliament of Berlin , becoming deputy chairman of the SPD faction. In 1999, he was re-elected and became chairman of the city parliamentary faction of the SPD .

On June 16, 2001, he was elected ruling burgomaster of Berlin . Re-elected to this post in 2006. In this position, Klaus Wowereit actively worked in the field of culture and tourism (in particular, on holding the World Cup in 2006 and the Berlin Film Festival ). As a result, Berlin became the third most visited European city for tourists after Paris and London . At the same time, during his reign, the economic performance of the city worsened.

From 2001 to 2002, he was chairman of the Bundesrat , a scandal on the adoption of the immigration law was associated with this period of activity. Actively supports initiatives for the rights of sexual minorities .

The German press is sometimes referred to as a future potential candidate from the SPD for the post of chancellor of Germany. ^[3]

Klaus Wowereit openly declared his homosexual orientation during the 2001 elections. His phrase “I am gay, and that's good!” ( German: Ich bin schwul und das ist auch gut so ) became a catchphrase in Germany . ^{[4] [5]} In the Russian-language press, there are also other versions of the translation of this phrase - “I am gay, and it’s good that this is so” and “I am gay, well, okay!”, Which significantly differ from each other in meaning. ^{[6] [7]}

Wowereit also owns the authorship of the winged characterization of Berlin as “poor but sexy” ( German Arm, aber sexy ). ^[eight]

Since 1993, lives with neurosurgeon Jorn Kubicki ( German: Jörn Kubicki ). ^[9]

Cavalier of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit for the Italian Republic (2006).

• Ole von Beust
• Guido Westerwelle

• Interview with Klaus Wowereit // Russian Germany, 09/02/2011
• Video clip with a speech by Klaus Wowereit (German)
• Interview with Klaus Wowereit (Russian)
• Club of Mayors: Klaus Wowereit, Berlin (Russian)