Klaus Wowereit

Klaus Wowereit was Governing Mayor of Berlin from 2001 to 2014, shaping the image of the capital for over 13 years.

During his time in office, he made a significant contribution to the perception of the city – particularly with his famous phrase ‘Berlin is poor, but sexy’. Wowereit is one of the most charismatic personalities in German politics and can look back on a remarkable career within the party and in the political arena. With his open and winning manner, he has helped to further consolidate Berlin’s image as a dynamic and cosmopolitan metropolis.

Klaus Wowereit Lecture topics

• The Future of Cities: Opportunities and Challenges in Urban Development
• Metropolises in Transition: Environmental Problems and Sustainable Solutions for Water, Wastewater, and Waste Management
• Boom or Overload? How Major Cities Can Manage Growth
• Berlin – A City in Transition: From the Fall of the Wall to a Modern Global Metropolis
• Work and Economy: New Perspectives for a Dynamic Urban Society
• Education as the Key to the Future: Challenges and Opportunities in the Education System

During his tenure as Governing Mayor, Klaus Wowereit succeeded in strengthening Berlin’s economic power and social cohesion, significantly advancing the city. The motto of his first policy statement, “With Courage for Berlin,” was the guiding principle of his political work.

Born in the Tempelhof district, Klaus Wowereit (born in 1953) grew up without a father alongside four siblings. After graduating from high school, he began studying law at the Free University of Berlin in 1973, completing his first state examination in 1979. He then worked as a legal trainee, passing his second state examination in 1981, and later worked as a government councilor at the Berlin Senator for the Interior.

Klaus Wowereit has been a member of the SPD since 1972 and was actively involved in the Berlin Juso (Young Socialists) regional association during his studies. In 1979, he became a member of the district council in Berlin-Tempelhof, a position he held until 1984 when he was elected district councilor for education and culture in Tempelhof. As the youngest district councilor in Berlin at the time, he later resigned to take up a seat in the Berlin House of Representatives. There, he initially served as deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group before becoming its leader in 1999. In 2001, he was elected Governing Mayor of Berlin with the votes of the SPD, PDS, and the Greens, and was re-elected in both the 2006 and 2011 elections.

From 2003, Wowereit was one of four representatives of the state of Berlin on the supervisory board of the BER airport company, serving as its chairman from 2008 to 2013. On August 26, 2014, he announced that he would step down as Governing Mayor on December 11, 2014. Since January 2015, he has been an honorary presidium member of the Berlin Association of Merchants and Industrialists.

Since 2024, he has been talking to Kim Fisher on the ‘Kim & Klaus’ podcast about relevant topics that affect us all: social trends, political developments, culture, gossip and much more.

Klaus Wowereit is available as a speaker, dialogue partner for moderated talks and panel discussions.

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