- Henning Scherf
Henning Scherf (born
31 October ,1938 in Bremen) is a Germanlawyer andpolitician . He was theMayor of Bremen from4 July 1995 to8 November 2005 .After studying law and social sciences from
1958 -1962 inBerlin ,Hamburg andFreiburg he worked for a Protestant students association (Evangelisches Studentenwerk) until1964 . He has been a member of theSocial Democratic Party of Germany since1963 . In1968 Scherf received his law doctorate fromUniversity of Hamburg .Scherf went into politics after practicing as a
lawyer in Bremen, and was elected to the Bremer Bürgerschaft (parliament ) in1971 . From1978 on he has been a member of Bremen Senate (government) in various functions some of which were: Senator for Finances, Senator for Youth and Social Issues, Senator for Health and Sport, Second Mayor, Senator for Education and Sciences and Senator of Law and Constitution. In1995 Scherf was elected "Head of Senate" which automatically made him "First Mayor of Bremen."He was also the head of the "Vermittlungsausschuss" (negotiations-committee) which resolves conflicts concerning legislation between "Bundesrat" and "
Bundestag ", the two houses of theGerman parliament at the federal level.Scherf has been re-elected twice due to his popularity in Bremen. He is well known for his warm and friendly character despite his looks (he is 2 m tall). His diplomatic skills, especially in forging compromises and running negotiations, are considered legendary, not only by members of his own party.
For some time he was urged by the people to run for the German Presidency (
Bundespräsident ) which he declined because of family reasons. Scherf married in1960 to Luise and has three children and six grandchildren.He is well known for going to work by bicycle and refusing to accept a car and a driver provided by the Senate. He also has the habit of only drinking warm water with his meals.
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