Dear Ms. Bolm, dear Mr. Schneider, dear Mr. Jäschke, dear Council Chairman, dear Council members, dear representatives from administration and politics, dear representatives of the press, dear guests and guests of honour, ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to extend a warm welcome to you all and hope that we have a wonderful time together today at this Council meeting. In keeping with the Christmas season, which reminds us with the birth of Christ that we can give confidence and hope, but also that we can receive, we would like to thank deserving people at this time of year. To say thank you for their outstanding commitment to the community and the people of this city.

Today's meeting will therefore begin with the appointment of the honorary councillors, as well as the honoring of 20 and 25 years of local political activity on the council and/or local council and, thirdly, the farewell to deserving council members. In short: there is reason to celebrate!

I have the honorable task of appointing 3 people, namely you, dear Mrs. Bolm, as honorary councillor and you, dear Mr. Schneider and Mr. Jäschke, as honorary councillors. You are exceptional personalities with decades of experience in local politics. As councillors and local councillors, you 3 did not have high-paying jobs, you did not receive any perks. Instead, in addition to your jobs and family commitments, you have devoted a great deal of time, strength and energy to carrying out your council and local council work responsibly.

You have "fought" for your convictions with fervor and passion and stood up for the common good. You were always close to the people of this city. You listened to them and stood up for their interests. You wanted to make this city fit for the future and give people a home. Ladies and gentlemen, you can only do that if you are convinced of what you are doing, if you want to make a political difference and help shape your place of birth or residence. And the people of Salzgitter have rewarded you for this commitment with multiple re-elections.

We would like to pay tribute to your fantastic commitment today by appointing you as honorary council members. I will come to this at the end of my speech!

After often many years of service, 18 councillors are ending their work on the Salzgitter City Council with this electoral term. You are leaving us today - but only in your function as elected representatives - and we would all like to publicly thank you for your work in our Salzgitter! You have always worked for the good of our city and supported many important decisions in recent years - sometimes after controversial discussions. You have championed groundbreaking projects and helped to shape countless proposals.

It would go too far to list the achievements of all of you in detail. I will simply summarize them: You have contributed to everything that our city can boast today. Let's remember what Salzgitter looked like 25 years ago when the longest-serving of you took up your positions on the council. Then it quickly becomes clear how much has changed since then. Salzgitter has undergone decisive developments, the city has strengthened its location, even expanded in the concert of major cities and gained in quality of life - and you have all played and continue to play a key role in this.

And in a voluntary capacity. I would like to emphasize this once again! Many of you are being honored today for 20 or 25 years of local political activity on the local council or council. You all know what it means to spend your free time on political committees. Sometimes the public seems to forget that taking on political responsibility in a municipality is done on a voluntary basis.

And you all saw how difficult it is to get people excited about political activities when it came to drawing up the lists for the Kommunalwahl. Political parties - regardless of their persuasion - must open themselves up to people and give them space to develop. There must be no party political doctrine.

Dear Council members, I would like to thank you today not only for the work you have done, but also for the good cooperation. You have contributed a great deal to a pleasant working atmosphere. Of course, we did not always see eye to eye! But that is normal, just like with good friends and family! But we have always carried out these discussions above the belt - with an open mind! What's more, substantive disputes are part of democracy and often promote the decision-making process.

You have always fought fairly for your goals and defended your positions vigorously, while also respecting other opinions. And if you didn't get your ideas across straight away, you simply made a second or third attempt. But the focus was always on solving a specific problem, for which you were also prepared to find compromises. That's how it should be, that's how it should stay!

What, dear Council members, is the appeal of our work, the appeal of local politics? It is a rather small-scale activity. Our scope for action is limited by decisions made by the state, the federal government or the EU, as well as by mostly modest budgetary resources. However - and this is what counts - it is also important that politics takes place much more directly in the municipality. We are at grassroots level, we are members of many of the city's associations ourselves, we are on the ground to listen to the needs and concerns of the population. We get to the root of things and are in direct contact with citizens. What we do becomes visible and tangible much more quickly than state and federal politics.

This enthusiasm for making a difference and bringing about change has always been evident in you, dear members of the council. That is why you will probably experience today with a mixture of melancholy and anticipation. It is never easy to give up an activity that has meant a lot to you. But there is also a lot to be said for taking on a new challenge in a new honorary position or finally having more time for hobbies and family. Your family in particular has supported your commitment over the years - and that is why I would like to thank your family members today.

Politics doesn't just need programs, it also needs faces. You have embodied your parties for many years, you have been an example of politicians who care about the common good. On behalf of all those present, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you good luck and success for the rest of your life, a wonderful Advent season with your loved ones and, as the saying goes, you always meet twice in life! I would be delighted to see you again soon!

Appointment of the Honorary Councilwoman and Honorary Councilmen

I now have the honorable task of appointing you, dear Mrs. Bolm, as Honorary Councilwoman and you, dear Mr. Schneider and Mr. Jäschke, as Honorary Councilmen.

Dear Mrs. Erika Bolm,
This year you were awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany at the suggestion of the German Social Association.

I would like to quote from the award at the time: "Mrs. Bolm can probably be seen as a role model for how great voluntary commitment can be successfully lived even in old age. She has always combined her professional and voluntary activities, as she has been employed by the Reichsbund der kreis- und Zivilbeschädigten, Sozialrentner und Hinterbliebenen in Salzgitter and Braunschweig since 1952. She was active in the trade union sector for 9 years and since 24.07.1998 until today Mrs. Bolm was and is 2nd district chairwoman in the Salzgitter district association, in the local association Salzgitter-Lebenstedt since 1994 even 1st chairwoman."

From 1972 to 1996, you were a member of the North Council of the City of Salzgitter. You have been a member of Salzgitter City Council without interruption since 1981 and were Chair of the Social and Integration Committee for several legislative periods. You enriched Salzgitter for 5 years as honorary mayor. You also worked as an honorary judge at the BS Social Court, the BS Administrative Court and the Celle State Social Court and are now the oldest honorary judge at the Administrative Court. Today, dear Ms. Bolm, you will retire from the Council in honor after four terms of office. I am delighted to be able to appoint you as an honorary councillor today! Congratulations.

Dear Wolfgang Schneider,

In 2008, you were awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany at the suggestion of the SPD sub-district of Salzgitter. I can still remember your award very well. At the time, I was sitting opposite a man whom I now not only know well personally, but also hold in high esteem. When I started working at the town hall two years earlier, we had never consciously met, so we initially eyed each other critically. After many working contacts, I realized that a lot would depend on my relationship with the long-standing majority leader on the council, not only for me, but also for our city of Salzgitter.

From the very first day, the manner in which we dealt with our conflicts over what initially appeared to be irreconcilable positions was civil. You, dear Mr. Schneider, have shown how to fight hard for what you believe to be right, but always in a fair manner. You are of a special caliber in local politics.

Wolfgang Schneider has been a member of the SPD since 1974 and was initially a member of the South Board of Appeal from 1976 to 1993. Three years later, you took over the chairmanship of the SPD parliamentary group in the South Council and in 1981 you were elected to the Salzgitter City Council for the first time. From 1996 onwards, you took over the baton as Chairman of the SPD parliamentary group for many years. In addition to your work as an alderman and member of the Finance Committee and the Council of Elders, you have also chaired the Economic and Steering Committee since 1996. During your many years on the Council, you were also a member of the Building and Planning Committee and the Social Affairs Committee.

In addition, Mr. Schneider has been a member of the KVG Supervisory Board since 1993 and has also played a responsible role as a member of the supervisory boards of municipal companies. As early as 1991, he was one of the people who had a lasting influence on the founding of the Greater BS special-purpose association as a regional institution. Good: This was a field in which we still held different views. Let me just say: regional debate! In addition to countless social commitments, involvement in the Salzgitter-Bad citizens' association and the hospice initiative, you also spent five years as a synod member of the regional synod of the Evangelical Church of BS.

Dear Mr. Schneider,
As a veteran of local politics and a true city father, you are leaving the Salzgitter City Council in honor today. I am delighted to be able to make you an honorary councillor today!

Dear Mr. Wolf-Dieter Jäschke,
After many years of service in local politics, you too are leaving this council in honor. You once said: "Once I've finished, I've finished. I don't miss it." I am sure you will prove yourself wrong when it comes to "council work". Because this council was very close to your heart and what gives you so much pleasure and joy is deeply rooted in your heart. And matters of the heart will be missed.

Mr. Jäschke's extraordinary commitment to society, but also to individual groups of people, his work for the help and integration of foreign fellow citizens or needy people abroad can be described as unique. Mr. Jäschke was chairman of the Förderkreis Schloss Salder and served for 11 years as head master of the guild for plumbing and heating technology. Mr. Jäschke was Deputy State Guild Master of Lower Saxony for three years and worked on the board of the Salzgitter District Craftsmen's Association for four years.

His work is particularly exemplary for people from Eastern Europe. He has been a member of the board of the German-Russian Society since 1992 and was on the board of the German-Croatian Society in Braunschweig for two years. But here, too, Mr. Jäschke was not content with just being a member, he was active. He has initiated numerous humanitarian aid projects, including "Medicines for the children's hospital in Wroclaw" and "Citizens helping citizens". Mr. Jäschke holds the certificate of honour for 10 years as a master craftsman of the Braunschweig Chamber of Crafts and is honorary chairman of the Blau-Gold Peine tennis club.

Mr. Jäschke has been a member of Salzgitter City Council since 1981. As Chairman of the Environment, Urban Planning and Building Committee and Deputy Chairman of the Culture Committee, he has championed the interests of citizens. Among other things, he was a member of the Administrative Committee and the Economic Committee and was also a member of the WEVG Supervisory Board. You were a member of the OR Nord for 15 years.

Dear Mr. Jäschke,
I am delighted to be able to award you the title of "Honorary Councillor of the City of Salzgitter" today!

I now come to the presentation of the honorary certificates!

Honoring the NST for 25 years of comm.pol. Activity by Mr. Geiger

• Mr. Wolfgang Bauer
• Mr. Manfred Bürgel
• Mr. Uwe Cyron
• Mr. Bernd Grabb
• Mr. Matthias Hackbarth
• Mr. Hermann Keune
• Mr. Peter Ramacher
• Mr. Holger Stormowski
• Mr. Ulrich Wenzel

Honor for 20 years of comm.pol. activity in the council and/or local council

• Ms. Anita Kunz - OR
• Ms. Monika Petryschyn - OR
• Ms. Renate Poetsch - OR
• Mr. Jan Boll - OR
• Mr. Karl-Heinz Bremer - OR
• Mr. Uwe Cyron - Council
• Mr. Wolfgang Fisch - Board of Governors and Council
• Mr. Axel Henning - Board of Governors
• Mr. Wolf-Dieter Jäschke - Board of Governors
• Mr. Clemens Löcke - Council
• Mr. Klaus Poetsch - Board of Governors
• Mr. Norbert Puth - Board of Governors
• Mr. Bernd Scherer - Council
• Mr. Hans Spaltenberger - Board of Governors

Farewell to retiring members of the Council

• Mrs. Erika Bolm
• Ms. Angelika Stramiello
• Dr. Hans-Heddies Andresen
• Mr. Hans-Joachim Heidrich
• Mr. Dirk Heselschwerdt
• Mr. Wolf-Dieter Jäschke
• Mr. Friedrich Kommander
• Mr. Alfred Malzahn
• Mr. Helmut Milek
• Mr. Norbert Puth
• Mr. Berndt Roick
• Mr. Wolfgang Schneider
• Mr. Karl-Heinz Schünemann
• Mr. Reinhard Steinhoff
• Mr. Andreas Triebe