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As it turns out, it is a wonderful thing for the city of Berlin. Certainly the LGBT population of any city that suddenly finds itself with a gay mayor would see cause for celebration. Wowereit is quick to point out that “my policies are intended to serve all of the people of Berlin. I am here for everyone. At the same time, of course, I do have opportunities to help minorities, including gays and lesbians. The fact that the head of the government of a metropolis like Berlin is gay is quite important to the LGBT community in Germany, and apparently internationally as well.” For a city like Berlin to have as its mayor an out gay man, it would seem that certain responsibilities to his community would logically be implied by that visibility. The Mayor states, “I wouldn’t necessarily refer to ‘responsibilities’ in this regard, since most of the LGBT community’s concerns are concerns I share on a personal level. That community, of course, expects me to be especially active in responding to homophobia. For instance, I have been very clear in my statements about the ban on pride parades in Eastern European cities like Moscow and Warsaw. Berlin is an open and tolerant city, and I’d like to see the same climate elsewhere, too.”

When Wowereit welcomed an international gay sadomasochist fetish party to his city in 2005, the distributed program for the event included a letter from the mayor stating, “Berlin is a tolerant and open metropolis. We are proud that people from different backgrounds and with different preferences feel comfortable here and party together.” Not surprisingly, conservatives did not embrace this warm mayoral reception and the Mayor’s judgment was called into question. Wowereit stood firm, stating, “There’s no question it is a flamboyant scene, but that is also Berlin…and as long as there is nothing forbidden happening, I expect tolerance.”

Wowereit effortlessly personifies the hip, sophisticated, and tolerant image that pervades the city of Berlin. He has been actively involved and instrumental in raising the international profile of Berlin, tirelessly promoting culture and tourism. Although the city still faces high unemployment figures and mountains of debt, residents praise Wowereit for creating and encouraging the welcoming atmosphere in the city. “Berlin is an open and tolerant place, and I cultivate this atmosphere, not only because I want Berlin to be this way, but because our city benefits enormously from it. We have economic problems, and we need more jobs. The fact that Berlin is a magnet, especially for young people from all over the world who end up making their visions a reality here, has given us new, creative economic sectors like music, design, fashion, architecture, and art.”

Berlin, which will celebrate 20 years of reunification in 2009, continues to develop and change. Housing is affordable, creativity is celebrated and encouraged, and it seems to be the ideal place to start a business. Wowereit says on his website (http://www.klaus-wowereit.de/international), “We are going to roll out the red carpet for those firms which move to Berlin. We have commercial properties at attractive prices to meet every need. For the smallest businesses and for the self-employed the local authorities will make subsidies available.” Tourism also continues to prosper. In fact, with the exceptions of London and Paris, Berlin currently draws more visitors annually than any other European city.

Wowereit was born and raised here, in an area on the southern outskirts of West Berlin. He states, “As you know, Berlin was a divided city back then. I studied law and had an early interest in politics. I was very impressed by Willy Brandt, the former Governing Mayor of Berlin, German Foreign Minister and Chancellor, and the head of my party, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), and I joined the SPD. Becoming a member of the borough council in the borough I lived in was the beginning of my political career. Later, I was elected to Berlin’s state parliament. When the coalition government made up of my party and the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) collapsed, I became the SPD candidate for the office of Governing Mayor of Berlin.”

Much of Wowereit’s success can be attributed to his obvious devotion to the people of Berlin. “I see myself as a politician from the left, but it has always been important to me to work for pragmatic goals aimed at really helping people, rather than building castles in the air.“

Now comfortably into his second term, Wowereit says, “I’m more experienced this time around, and I’m no longer surprised to hear myself being addressed as ‘Governing Mayor,’ the way I was at the very beginning,” he says with a smile. Although Paris also has a gay mayor, an out and vocal elected official would most likely be a larger issue in other countries—including the U.S. “My being gay is not especially emphasized in meetings with hosts, stakeholders, or ordinary citizens. However, there are still a few incorrigibles out there who express their homophobia in hate mail, for instance. I use legal means to respond wherever possible.”

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