Tino Schwierzina
Tino Schwierzina | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Lord Mayor of East Berlin | |
In office 30 May 1990 – 11 January 1991 | |
Preceded by | Christian Hartenhauer |
Succeeded by | Thomas Krüger (acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | Tino Antoni Schwierzina 30 May 1927 Chorzów, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland |
Died | 29 December 2003 Berlin, Germany | (aged 76)
Political party | SDP, SPD |
Spouse | Brigitte |
Children | 1 |
Occupation | Lawyer, politician |
Tino Antoni Schwierzina (30 May 1927 – 29 December 2003) was a German lawyer and politician. Between May 1990 and January 1991 he served as the first and last freely elected mayor[1] of East Berlin.[2] His term of office was dominated by the fusion of the two halves of Berlin[1] which had been politically (and increasingly also, until 1989, physically) divided since before 1949.[3] By some criteria Tino Schwierzina was also the last mayor of East Berlin ahead of reunification.
Life
Early years
Schwierzina was born in Chorzów in Upper Silesia.[3] His father was a doctor.[3] His grandmother had come from Italy which explained his unusual (in Germany) name.[4] From 1933 he attended a school in Magdeburg. In 1944 he was conscripted into the Wehrmacht, and detained by US army as a prisoner of war from 1945 till 1948.[2]
Schwierzina passed his final school exams in 1948 and went on to study
(In)famous friends
In 1950/51 he worked for the "German Committee for Peace Activists" ("Deutsche Komitee der Kämpfer für den Frieden")
The lawyer
From 1952 Schwierzina was employed as a commercial lawyer, working for various East German enterprises on matters involving foreign trade, notably for the food and drinks sector, and including the
Politics
Although the
City mayor
The breach by protesters of the
Between January 1991 and October 1995 Schwierzina sat as a member of the Berlin regional legislature where he was elected an assembly vice-president and also as Chairman of the Petitions Committee.[1]
Schwierzina went into retirement in 1996. By that time he had already suffered, in 1994, a serious heart-attack. Brigitte Schwierzina, his wife, is a doctor who reportedly instructed him, if reading the morning papers, to remain calm now that he was no longer required to feel responsible for matters reported.[11] After he died, at the end of 2003, several of the more heartfelt tributes paid tribute also to Brigitte Schwierzina's skill and care in looking after him during his final years.[1]
Awards and honours
In 1996 he was given by the Berlin Senate the annually awarded "Stadtältester von Berlin" title, an honour celebrating his contribution to the city.
Since 2 June 2014, a street in Berlin-Heinersdorf has been named after Schwierzina.[12]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Klaus Wowereit (funeral speech quoted on SPD-Berlin biographical webpage on T-A S) (12 January 2004). "Gedenkrede des Regierenden Bürgermeisters Klaus Wowereit bei der Trauerfeier für Tino Schwierzina". Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD) – Landesverband Berlin , Berlin. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g Helmut Müller-Enbergs. "Schwierzina, Tino-Antoni *30.5.1927; † 29 December 2003 Oberbürgermeister von Berlin". Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur: Biographische Datenbanken. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f Sprecherin des Senats & Informationsamterin Daniela Augenstein (24 June 2014). "Tino Schwierzina: frei gewählter Oberbürgermeister Ost-Berlins vom 30 May 1990 bis 11.1.1991". Senatskanzlei Berlin. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ Kerstin Schneider (interviewer); Tino-Antoni Schwierzina (interviewee) (16 October 2001). "Tino Schwierzina: Der Wirtschaftsjurist war der letzte Oberbürgermeister von Ost-Berlin. Er überwachte den Abriss der Mauer in der Stadt und gehörte zu den Gründungsmitgliedern der SPD in der DDR". Meine Großmutter. Die war Italienerin. Und jetzt macht jeder aus diesem Namen, was er will. Einige nennen mich »Anton«, die Berliner rufen mich »Tino«, und der Bundespräsident sagt »Toni« zu mir. Stern.de, Hamburg. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
{{cite web}}
:|author1=
has generic name (help) - ^ a b c d "Tino-Antoni Schwierzina, 63". Der Spiegel (online). 4 June 1990. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ "[Sie waren .... "völlig aus den Augen verloren" (lost to sight)]"
- ^ "Damals war es nicht üblich, seinen Lebenslauf zu erzählen."
- ^ Zhong Zhong Chen (June 2014). "Defying Moscow, engaging Beijing: The German Democratic Republic's relations with the People's Republic of China, 1980–1989" (PDF). A thesis submitted to the Department of International History of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London. London School of Economics (LSE Theses Online). Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ Thomas Krüger (who served as deputy to Schwiezina during the latter's months as mayor) [in German] (31 December 2003). "Der Rosengärtner im Roten Rathaus: Tino Schwierzina, der erste frei gewählte Ost-Berliner Oberbürgermeister, ist am Montag gestorben. Sein ehemaliger Stellvertreter Thomas Krüger würdigt ihn". Der Tagesspiegel. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ a b Sprecherin des Senats & Informationsamterin Daniela Augenstein (9 October 2013). "Eberhard Diepgen Regierender Bürgermeister vom 9 February 1984 bis 16 March 1989 und vom 24 January 1991 bis 16 June 2001". Senatskanzlei Berlin. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ Kerstin Schneider (interviewer); Tino-Antoni Schwierzina (interviewee) (16 October 2001). "Tino Schwierzina: Der Wirtschaftsjurist war der letzte Oberbürgermeister von Ost-Berlin..." Meine Frau, die Ärztin ist,... wenn ich morgens Zeitung lese, sage ich mir immer: Bleib ruhig, das hast du nicht zu verantworten... Stern.de, Hamburg. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
{{cite web}}
:|author1=
has generic name (help) - ^ Sprecherin des Senats & Informationsamterin Daniela Augenstein (16 May 2014). "Berliner Straße in Heinersdorf wird in "Tino-Schwierzina-Straße" umbenannt16.05.2014". Pressemitteilung. Senatskanzlei Berlin. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)