Manfred Rommel

Manfred Rommel
Manfred Rommel
Manfred Rommel in 2004
Lord Mayor of Stuttgart
In office
1974–1996
Personal details
Born December 24, 1928 (1928-12-24) (age 82)
Stuttgart, Weimar Germany
Political party CDU
Spouse(s) Liselotte (since 1954)
Children daughter Cathrine
Occupation Lawyer

Manfred Rommel, Hon. CBE (born December 24, 1928) is a German politician (CDU), who served as Lord Mayor of Stuttgart from 1974 until 1996. He is one of the most popular local politicians of the CDU.

Rommel was born in Stuttgart, the only son of WWII Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and Lucia Maria Mollin. At the age of 14, he entered service in the Luftwaffe, serving at an anti-aircraft battery. Later, Manfred considered joining the Waffen SS, but his father opposed it. After his father was forced to commit suicide for his alleged complicity in the July 20 Plot, he deserted from the Wehrmacht and surrendered to General de Lattre de Tassigny's French First Army.

Rommel collaborated with Basil Liddell-Hart in the publication of The Rommel Papers, a collection of diaries, letters and notes that his father wrote during and after his military campaigns. In 1947, he took his Abitur in Biberach an der Riß and went on to study law at the University of Tübingen. In 1956, he started his career by becoming a high-ranking civil servant and later state secretary in the state government of Baden-Württemberg.

In 1974, Rommel succeeded Arnulf Klett as Oberbürgermeister of Stuttgart by winning 58.5% of the votes in the second round of elections, defeating Peter Conradi of the SPD. He was re-elected after the first round of elections in 1982 with 69.8% and in 1990 with 71.7% of the votes. As the mayor of Stuttgart, he was also known for his effort to give the Red Army Faction terrorists who had committed suicide at the Stuttgart-Stammheim prison a proper burial, despite the concern that the graves would become a pilgrimage point for radical leftists.[1]

While Oberbürgermeister, he entered a much publicised friendship with U.S. Army Major General George S. Patton IV, the son of his father's World War II adversary, George S. Patton, who was assigned to the nearby U.S. military headquarters. In addition to the relationship between their fathers, Rommel and Patton had a common birthday of December 24. He was also friends for nearly 30 years with David Montgomery, 2nd Viscount Montgomery of Alamein [2] the son of his father's other great adversary Field Marshal Montgomery.

In a 1996 celebration at the Württemberg State Theatre, Manfred Rommel received the highest German civil distinction, the Bundesverdienstkreuz. In his speech, Helmut Kohl put particular emphasis on the good relations that were kept and built upon between France and Germany during Rommel's tenure as Oberbürgermeister of Stuttgart. A few days after this distinction was given to Rommel, the city of Stuttgart offered him the Honorary Citizen Award.[3]

Having retired from politics in 1996, Rommel is still in demand as an author and stirring speaker, despite suffering from Parkinson's disease. He has written various political and humorous books. He is known for his down-to-earth and often funny sayings and quotations. Occasionally, he writes articles for the Stuttgarter Zeitung. He has a daughter named Catherine.[4]

Honours

Manfred Rommel has written about his many honours: "Die Zahl der Titel will nicht enden. Am Grabstein stehet: bitte wenden!" which translates as: "The number of honours seems to be endless. The inscription on my gravestone will read: Please turn over!"[5]

  • Theodor-Heuss-Medaille (1978)
  • Orden des Großoffiziers im Orden von Oranien-Nassau (1982)
  • Ehrensenator der Fachhochschule für Technik Stuttgart (1982)
  • Honorary doctorate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis (1983)
  • General Lucius D. Clay-Medaille (1984)
  • President of the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gesellschaft (1984–1990)
  • Chevalier of the Legion of Honour of the French Republic (1985)
  • Guardian of Jerusalem (1987)
  • Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1990)
  • Honorary doctorate of the University of Maryland (1992)
  • Honorary citizen of Stuttgart (1996)
  • Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern und Schulterband des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (1996)
  • Honorary doctorate of the University of Wales (1996)
  • Dolf Sternberger-Preis (1998)
  • Honorary citizen of the University of Stuttgart (2005)[6]
  • Verdienstmedaille des Landes Baden-Württemberg
  • Heinz Herbert Karry-Preis
  • Honorary citizen of Cairo[7]

References


This article incorporates information from the revision as of January 20, 2007 of the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Manfred Rommel — (2004) Manfred Rommel CBE (* 24. Dezember 1928 in Stuttgart) war von 1974 bis 1996 Oberbürgermeister von Stuttgart (CDU). Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Manfred Rommel — Manfred Rommel. Manfred Rommel (n. 24 de diciembre de 1928) es un político alemán, que fue Oberbürgermeister (Alcalde) de Stuttgart desde 1974 hasta 1996. Es uno de los más populares políticos locales de la Unión Demócrata Cristiana de Alemania.… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Manfred Rommel — en 2004 Mandats Maire de Stuttgart …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Manfred-Rommel-Preis — Der Manfred Rommel Preis des Deutsch Türkischen Forums Stuttgart wird seit 2009 vom Kuratorium des Deutsch Türkischen Forums Stuttgart (DTF) gestiftet. Mit der Namensgebung würdigt das Deutsch Türkische Forum die politische Lebensleistung und das …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rommel — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Christoph Rommel (1781–1859), deutscher Historiker und Philologe Christina Rommel (* 1981), deutsche Sängerin Erwin Eugen Rommel (1891–1944), deutscher Generalfeldmarschall im Zweiten Weltkrieg, Spitzname… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rommel (Begriffsklärung) — Rommel ist der Name folgender Personen: Christoph Rommel (1781–1859), deutscher Historiker und Philologe Christina Rommel (* 1981), deutsche Sängerin Egon Rommel (* 1930), deutscher Diplomat Erwin Rommel (1891–1944), deutscher… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rommel — is the family name of *Erwin Rommel, German Field Marshal *Eddie Rommel, American baseball pitcher and umpire *Juliusz Rómmel, Polish general *Karol Rómmel, his brother *Manfred Rommel, former Mayor of Stuttgart and son of Erwin Rommel Other *… …   Wikipedia

  • Manfred — ist ein männlicher Vorname. Der Name ist alemannisch und leitet sich ab aus man (Mann) und fridu (Friede, Sicherheit), bedeutet also „Mann des Friedens“. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Varianten 2 Namenstag 3 Bekannte Namensträger …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rommel — Erwin Rommel Pour les articles homonymes, voir Rommel (homonymie). Erwin Rommel Surnom …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Rommel (homonymie) —  Cette page d’homonymie répertorie des personnes (réelles ou fictives) partageant un même patronyme. Rommel et Rómmel sont des patronymes. Nom de famille Adrien Rommel, escrimeur français ; Eddie Rommel, joueur de baseball… …   Wikipédia en Français

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