{{Short description|German politician of the SPD}} {{About|the Mayor of Frankfurt|other uses| Peter Feldman (disambiguation)}} {{expand German|topic=bio|date=October 2022|Peter Feldmann}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Peter Feldmann | image = Peter Feldmann 02 (fcm).jpg | caption = Feldmann in 2017 | alt = Peter Feldmann (2017) | office = Lord Mayor of<br />Frankfurt am Main | deputy = Olaf Cunitz<br />Uwe Becker<br />Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg | term_start = 1 July 2012 | term_end = 11 November 2022 | predecessor = Petra Roth | successor = Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg (''acting'') | office1 = Member of the<br />Frankfurt am Main City Council | term_start1 = 8 May 1988 | term_end1 = 1 July 2012 | predecessor1 = ''multi-member district'' | successor1 = ''multi-member district'' | birth_name = Peter Manuel Feldmann | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1958|10|07}} | birth_place = Helmstedt, Lower Saxony, West Germany (now Germany) | death_date = | death_place = | party = Social Democratic Party (1974–2023) | spouse = | children = Hannah (b. 2009) | alma_mater = University of Marburg | profession = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = [http://www.feldmann-frankfurt.de/html/-1/welcome/index.html feldmann-frankfurt.de] | footnotes = }} '''Peter Manuel Feldmann''' (born 7 October 1958) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). On 25 March 2012, he was elected Mayor of Frankfurt as successor of Petra Roth (CDU). On 6 November 2022, he was recalled, with 95% of the vote against him, and he left office on 11 November 2022.
== Early life and education == Peter Feldmann was born into a Jewish family<ref>''[http://heebmagazine.com/jew-elected-mayor-of-frankfurt-germany-why-this-isnt-news/35059 Jew Elected Mayor of Frankfurt, Germany—Why This Isn’t News]''. From: Heeb. 5 April 2012. Accessed on 12 April 2012.</ref> in Helmstedt. After passing the Abitur at Frankfurt Ernst-Reuter-Schule in 1979, he spent a year in an Israeli Kibbutz where he became a gardener.<ref>If not noted otherwise, see [http://www.spd-frankfurt.de/personen/21577/432725/index.html Peter Feldmann's biography] on the website of SPD Frankfurt am Main for details. Accessed on 25 March 2012.</ref><ref name=jpost>Benjamin Weinthal: ''[https://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=263878 Frankfurt elects 1st Jewish mayor since Holocaust]''. From: The Jerusalem Post. 29 March 2012. Accessed 23 April 2012.</ref> He then studied political science at the University of Marburg until 1986, before he took on an academic career as a lecturer there. Later he specialised in economics for the social sector, becoming a ''Sozialbetriebswirt'' in 2009. Feldmann has worked for several German non-profit organizations, both for hire, and as a volunteer.
== Political career == === Early beginnings === Feldmann joined the SPD in 1974. From 1981, he took an active part in university politics as chair of the General Students' Committee, or AStA, at Marburg university. In the same year he was also elected vice president of the SPD youth organization Young Socialists in the SPD, or Jusos, in the German State of Hesse. He joined the Frankfurt city council in 1988 and was elected vice president of his party's parliamentary group in 2004.
In 2007, Feldmann – together with Sergey Lagodinsky and Ilia Choukhlov – was a co-founder of the ''Arbeitskreis jüdischer Sozialdemokratinnen und Sozialdemokraten'', or AJS, a committee of Jewish members within the SPD.<ref>dpa: ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20131230235226/http://www.haaretz.com/news/report-german-party-forms-first-jewish-caucus-since-nazi-era-1.219067 Report: German party forms first Jewish caucus since Nazi era]''. From: Haaretz. 26 April 2007. Accessed on 26 March 2012.</ref><ref>Canan Topçu: ''[http://www.zeit.de/2007/21/Peter_Feldmann Peter Feldmann]''. In: Die Zeit. No.21. 16 May 2007, p.13. Accessed 25 March 2012.</ref><ref>''[http://www.spd.de/spd_organisationen/j-sozis/ Arbeitskreis jüdischer Sozialdemokratinnen und Sozialdemokraten]''. Website. Accessed 25 March 2012.</ref> Feldmann has described himself as a "liberal Jew", but says his beliefs are a private matter.<ref name=juedischeallgemeine>Canan Topçu: ''[http://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/article/view/id/12505 Herr Feldmann von der SPD]''. Wie ein jüdischer Sozialdemokrat darum kämpft, am Sonntag Oberbürgermeister zu werden. In: Jüdische Allgemeine. 8 March 2012. Accessed on 25 March 2012.</ref><ref name=timesofisrael />
=== Mayor of Frankfurt, 2012–2022 === In a ballot on 25 March 2012, Feldmann was elected mayor of Frankfurt, gaining 57.4 percent of the votes cast against his competitor Boris Rhein (CDU) who came out second with 42.6 percent.<ref>''[https://www.faz.net/aktuell/waehler-klar-in-minderheit-ebling-siegt-in-mainz-feldmann-fuehrt-in-frankfurt-klar-11696923.html Feldmann neuer Rathauschef von Frankfurt]''. In: faz.net. 25 March 2012. Accessed on 25 March 2012.</ref> Feldmann was successful with an election programme putting social aspects such as affordable housing on top of the agenda. Mr Feldmann "is also a strong advocate of Israel’s security", the Jerusalem Post noted.<ref name=jpost /> He is the first German-Jewish politician to be elected mayor of Frankfurt since Ludwig Landmann who was expelled from his office in 1933.<ref name=jpost /><ref>''[http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/11534/jewish_politician_elected_as_new_mayor_of_german_city_of_frankfurt Jewish politician elected as new mayor of German city of Frankfurt]''. World Jewish Congress. 26 March 2012. Accessed on 26 March 2012.</ref> He was the first Jewish politician to be directly elected mayor of any major city in Germany since World War II,<ref name=timesofisrael>Raphael Ahren: ''[http://www.timesofisrael.com/for-the-first-time-since-wwii-a-jew-to-reign-over-a-german-city/ For first time since WWII, a Jew to reign over major German city]''. Peter Feldmann, mayor-elect of Frankfurt am Main, calls himself a liberal Jew, but says his religious beliefs are a private matter. From: The Times of Israel. 26 March 2012. Accessed on 26 March 2012.</ref><ref>''[http://www.mako.co.il/news-world/international/Article-a56bc9b56ee4631018.htm&sCh=3d385dd2dd5d4110&pId=565984153 לראשונה מאז מלחמת העולם השנייה: ראש עיר יהודי בגרמניה]''. From: mako.co.il. 26 March 2012. Accessed on 26 March 2012 (Hebrew: "For the first time since World War II: German-Jewish mayor. A historic day in Germany").</ref> and second overall to Herbert Weichmann (SPD) who was indirectly elected mayor of Hamburg in 1965.
In 2019, Feldmann's wife Zübeyde was found to be being paid above her pay grade by her employer, the Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) welfare organization, and to have been given use of a company car. The city prosecutor opened an investigation into whether Peter Feldmann, also formerly an employee of AWO, had influenced his wife's compensation.<ref name="Divorce">{{cite news|url=https://www.fnp.de/frankfurt/frankfurt-peter-feldmann-spd-ob-zuebeyde-buergermeister-ehe-aus-zr-90915011.html|title=Ehe-Aus nach über fünf Jahren: Frankfurts OB Peter Feldmann und seine Frau trennen sich |first=Yannick|last=Wenig|date=13 August 2021|accessdate=27 September 2021|newspaper=Frankfurter Neue Presse}}</ref>
After the football club Eintracht Frankfurt won the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League on 18 May 2022, Feldmann was severely criticized for several acts at the celebration, including making a sexist statement about air stewardesses, barring club board members from the Römer city hall, and snatching the UEFA Cup trophy from the team captain and coach. The Frankfurt SPD withdrew their support of Feldmann and urged him to resign. On 25 May 2022, Feldmann announced that he would not resign, but would withdraw from duties until the summer break.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hessenschau.de/politik/peter-feldmann-will-frankfurter-ob-bleiben-entschuldigung-statt-ruecktritt,feldmann-statement-100.html|title=Kein Rücktritt - Feldmann will Frankfurter OB bleiben|language=German|date=25 May 2022|accessdate=25 May 2022|publisher=Hessenschau|archive-date=25 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525094814/https://www.hessenschau.de/politik/peter-feldmann-will-frankfurter-ob-bleiben-entschuldigung-statt-ruecktritt,feldmann-statement-100.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Feldmann faced a recall election on 6 November 2022, after announcing and subsequently withdrawing his resignation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hessenschau.de/politik/frankfurter-oberbuergermeister-feldmann-laesst-letzte-frist-verstreichen---buerger-entscheiden-ueber-abwahl,feldmann-abwahl-102.html|title=Feldmann lässt letzte Frist verstreichen - Bürger entscheiden über Abwahl|date=22 July 2022|accessdate=25 July 2022|publisher=Hessenschau}}</ref>
Feldmann lost the recall election, with 95% of votes against him and the turnout threshold of 30% reached. He left office on 11 November 2022.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hessenschau.de/politik/ergebnis-des-buergerentscheids-frankfurter-waehlen-oberbuergermeister-feldmann-ab-v3,frankfurt-feldmann-buergerentscheid-ergebnis-100.html|title=Peter Feldmann als Oberbürgermeister in Frankfurt abgewählt|publisher=Hessenschau|date=6 November 2022|accessdate=6 November 2022}}</ref>
===Post-mayoral career=== On 23 December 2022, Feldmann was found guilty of two counts of accepting a benefit and fined €21,000. Feldmann announced he would appeal the verdict.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hessenschau.de/panorama/awo-korruptionsprozess-peter-feldmann-in-frankfurt-zu-geldstrafe-verurteilt-v9,feldmann-awo-urteil-100.html|title=Peter Feldmann im AWO-Korruptionsprozess zu Geldstrafe verurteilt|date=23 December 2022|accessdate=26 January 2023|publisher=Hessenschau}}</ref>
Feldmann left the SPD in February 2023. In October 2023, Feldmann announced that he had joined The Left and would work with the party on projects in Wetteraukreis. The national leadership of The Left denied that he was a member, noting that there were reservations within the party about accepting him. Feldmann later agreed not to pursue his application to join.<ref name="Linke">{{cite news|url=https://www.hessenschau.de/politik/nach-eintritts-hickhack-frankfurter-ex-ob-feldmann-will-mitgliedsantrag-zur-linkspartei-ruhen-lassen-v6,feldmann-linke-100.html|title=Frankfurter Ex-OB Feldmann will Mitgliedsantrag zur Linkspartei ruhen lassen|date=2023-10-14|accessdate=2023-10-17|newspaper=Hessenschau}}</ref>
==Other activities== ===Corporate boards=== * Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund, Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory Board (since 2013)<ref>Hans Riebsamen (25 February 2013), [https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/vorsitz-im-aufsichtsrat-feldmann-will-rmv-kontrollieren-12094585.html Vorsitz im Aufsichtsrat: Feldmann will RMV kontrollieren] ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung''.</ref> * Fraport, Ex-Officio Member of the Supervisory Board (since 2012)<ref>[http://www.fraport.de/content/fraport/de/presse/newsroom/archiv/2012/oberbuergermeister-peter-feldmann-in-den--fraport-aufsichtsrat-b.html Oberbürgermeister Peter Feldmann in den Fraport-Aufsichtsrat bestellt] Fraport, press release of 3 September 2012.</ref> * ABG Frankfurt Holding, Ex-Officio Member of the Supervisory Board (since 2012)<ref name="Feldmann geht in ABG-Aufsichtsrat">[http://www.fr.de/frankfurt/ob-frankfurt-aufsichtsrat-feldmann-geht-in-abg-aufsichtsrat-a-828686 Feldmann geht in ABG-Aufsichtsrat] ''Frankfurter Rundschau'', 25 July 2012.</ref> * Nassauische Heimstätte, Ex-Officio Member of the Supervisory Board (since 2012)<ref name="Feldmann geht in ABG-Aufsichtsrat"/> * Dom-Römer Project, Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory Board<ref>[http://www.domroemer.de/aufsichtsrat Supervisory Board] Dom-Römer Project.</ref> * Messe Frankfurt, Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory Board<ref>[http://www.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/en/messe/unternehmensprofil/aufsichtsrat.html Members of the Supervisory Board] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425110317/http://www.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/en/messe/unternehmensprofil/aufsichtsrat.html |date=25 April 2017 }} Messe Frankfurt.</ref> * Helaba, Member of the Supervisory Board (-2015)<ref>[https://www.helaba.de/blob/helaba/die-helaba/investor-relations/geschaeftsberichte/383938/821681e284dc70c332afe225146d049f/dl-geschaeftsbericht-2015-nach-ifrs-data.pdf 2015 Annual Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160607001016/https://www.helaba.de/blob/helaba/die-helaba/investor-relations/geschaeftsberichte/383938/821681e284dc70c332afe225146d049f/dl-geschaeftsbericht-2015-nach-ifrs-data.pdf |date=7 June 2016 }} Helaba.</ref>
===Non-profits=== * Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2016)<ref>[https://www.mpimp-golm.mpg.de/5682/Board_of_Trustees Board of Trustees] Max Planck Institute for Brain Research.</ref> * Goethe University Frankfurt, Ex-Officio Chairman of the Board of Trustees<ref>[https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/51849455/2015 Board of Trustees] Goethe University Frankfurt.</ref> * Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (HSFK), Member of the Board of Trustees<ref>[https://www.hsfk.de/en/about-us/organizational-structure/board-of-trustees Board of Trustees] Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (HSFK).</ref> * Fritz Bauer Institute, Member of the Board of Trustees<ref>[https://www.fritz-bauer-institut.de/stiftungsrat Board of Trustees] Fritz Bauer Institute, Frankfurt.</ref> * Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Member of the Supervisory Board<ref>[https://www.schirn.de/en/m/schirn/#boards Board of Trustees] Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt.</ref> * Senckenberg Nature Research Society, Member of the Board of Trustees<ref>[http://www.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?page_id=17049 Board of Trustees] Senckenberg Nature Research Society.</ref> * BHF Bank Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees<ref>[http://www.bhf-bank-stiftung.de/die-stiftung/gremien.html Board of Trustees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831133336/http://www.bhf-bank-stiftung.de/die-stiftung/gremien.html |date=31 August 2017 }} BHF Bank Foundation.</ref>
==Personal life== In 2016, Peter Feldmann married Zübeyde in Frankfurt am Main.<ref name="wedding">{{cite news|url=http://www.fr-online.de/frankfurt/hochzeit--ob-feldmann-heiratet,1472798,34095592.html|title=OB Feldmann heiratet|first=Johannes|last=Vetter|newspaper=Frankfurter Rundschau|language=German|date=16 April 2016|accessdate=18 April 2016}}</ref> He has a daughter from his previous marriage, who was born in 2009.<ref name=juedischeallgemeine /><ref name="wedding"/> In 2021, the couple announced that they had separated and were divorcing.<ref name="Divorce"/>
== References == {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
== External links == {{Commons category|Peter Feldmann}} * [http://www.feldmann-frankfurt.de/html/-1/welcome/index.html Peter Feldmann's website] for the elections for mayor of Frankfurt am Main in 2012
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Feldmann, Peter}} Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century German Jews Category:Jewish German politicians Category:Mayors of Frankfurt Category:People from Helmstedt Category:Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Category:Marburg University alumni