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

1. ^ Usselmann, Rainer. "18. Oktober 1977: Gerhard Richter's work of mourning and its new audience". http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0425/is_1_61/ai_84848867/pg_4. Retrieved 2008-10-11. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ http://www.badische-zeitung.de/suedwest-1/die-vaeter-feinde-die-soehne-freunde
3. ^ "Festive retirement party for Stuttgart Mayor Manfred Rommel". GERMAN NEWS. http://www.germnews.de/archive/dn/1996/12/17.html. Retrieved 2006-10-05. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ WAS MACHT EIGENTLICH...: Manfred Rommel stern.de
5. ^ WAS MACHT EIGENTLICH...: Manfred Rommel stern.de
6. ^ "Ehrenbürgerwürde der Universität Stuttgart für Suzanne Mubarak und Manfred Rommel". Informationsdienst Wissenschaft. http://idw-online.de:8008/pages/en/news?id=84581. Retrieved 2007-06-30. 
7. ^ ibid.

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

Persondata
Name	Rommel, Manfred
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 24, 1928
Place of birth	Stuttgart, Weimar Germany
Date of death
Place of death