From April 7th, Buchheit will be responsible for the environment with forest and waste management, youth, school and education in Freiburg. She says “I know I am following in big footsteps”.
Since Tuesday it has been clear who will be the successor to Freiburg’s environmental mayor Gerda Stuchlik. The local council voted for Christine Buchheit from Berlin with a large majority.
The 53-year-old was a candidate for the Greens, who as the largest parliamentary group in the local council (13 of 48 votes) had the right to propose the post – so the election was predictable. Of the original four competitors, two had withdrawn in advance, and two others were unable to secure any or insufficient support. In the end, Christine Buchheit prevailed with 32 yes-votes.
Buchheit studied German, history and ethnology in Freiburg. After positions in press and public relations work in Africa for the German school in Nairobi and the Federal Agency for Civic Education, she joined the Federal Foreign Office in 2013. Among other things, she worked there as an attaché in the office of the Federal Foreign Minister and for the office of the Minister of State for Europe. Most recently, she was responsible for refugee and migration issues in the Maghreb. In October 2019, Buchheit applied to be mayor in Lahr, but was not elected with 45 percent of the votes.
From April 7th, she will be responsible for the environment with forest and waste management, youth, school and education in Freiburg. “I know I am following in big footsteps,” she said on Tuesday with a small bow to Gerda Stuchlik. The incumbent environmental mayor is retiring after three terms and 24 years with the city of Freiburg.
Christine Buchheit will take over their green agenda: She wants to campaign “energetically and without delay” for climate protection measures and the traffic turnaround, promote the renovation of schools and digitization, and increasingly take care of vocational schools.
Communication with all Freiburg residents is also important to her: “In Freiburg you can rely on a committed citizenry, that is what defines this city. But we should go one step further and talk more to people who are not in these milieus are anchored. ”
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