Honorary citizenship awarded to Dr Peter Seifert
The former Lord Mayor of Chemnitz, Dr Peter Seifert, was awarded honorary citizenship of the City of Chemnitz at a ceremony held today in the City Council Chamber. Over 130 guests attended the ceremony, including family members and friends, companions, representatives from politics, business and culture as well as administrative staff.
At Seifert's personal request, Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig gave the laudatory speech. The personal words of three companions were surprising for the new honorary citizen: Ralf-Joachim Fischer as former mayor for urban development and building regulations, Thomas Schönlebe as a well-known athlete and close companion of Seifert in his commitment to Chemnitz sport and Roland Haas as a representative of Chemnitz business.
Dr Peter Seifert is thus the 23rd honorary citizen of the City of Chemnitz since 1945 and only the second former Lord Mayor to be awarded this honour. The last time an honorary citizenship was awarded was in 2008 to the former figure skating coach Jutta Müller.
Seifert receives the highest honour to be awarded by the city in recognition of his work and services for the benefit of the city of Chemnitz. The decision was made by the city council on 31 August 2016, following a proposal by Mayor Barbara Ludwig and the city council's parliamentary group chairmen Tino Fritzsche (CDU/FDP), Susanne Schaper (Linke), Detlef Müller (SPD) and Thomas Lehmann (Bündnis 90/Grüne) to honour Dr Peter Seifert on the occasion of his 75th birthday.
The joint statement by the proposers said at the time:
"As Lord Mayor after reunification, Dr Peter Seifert, together with the City Council, set the right course in a decisive phase for our city. With wisdom, foresight and his proverbial tenacity, he moved the city forward and drove its development. In doing so, he has won over the citizens and earned their trust. Thanks to his clarity and persuasiveness, Dr Seifert has also earned the respect of the city council across party lines. Dr Peter Seifert has shown courage, decisiveness and passion for his city. Nevertheless, he is always pragmatic in the best sense of the word, a fighter for the cause who can be convinced by the best idea and the best arguments. The fact that Chemnitz is once again a modern industrial city today is just as much to his credit as the fact that Chemnitz once again has a city centre. Dr Peter Seifert has left his mark on the city. Dr Seifert used his office to shape the city. He successfully managed the transformation process after reunification and the upheavals that were associated with it for Chemnitz."
Vita:
Dr Peter Seifert was born on 27 July 1941 in Zwickau. He studied and completed his doctorate at the Technical University of Karl-Marx-Stadt. His professional stations included the Robotron combine and the Zwönitz measuring instrument factory.
Dr Peter Seifert joined the SPD at the time of reunification in December 1989.
In 1990, he was elected to the town council as chairman of the SPD parliamentary group and first mayor. Prior to this, he had already briefly been a member of the city council as a representative of the opposition movements and parties during the reunification period. In 1993, Dr Peter Seifert was elected Lord Mayor of Chemnitz by the Chemnitz City Council in accordance with the still valid GDR municipal constitution and was confirmed in office for the first time by the citizens with over 73 per cent of the vote in spring 1994 in accordance with the new Saxon municipal code.
In 2001, he was re-elected as Lord Mayor of the city with almost 70 per cent of the vote. After
13 years in office, Dr Peter Seifert left office on 31 July 2006 for health reasons. Even in retirement, Dr Peter Seifert is still active in various offices and functions for his city. He is President of the LAC Chemnitz and Chairman of the University Council and the Society of Friends of Chemnitz University of Technology.
In May 2011, Dr Peter Seifert was awarded the Saxon Constitutional Medal for his services to the city of Chemnitz, and in October 2012 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit
1st class.