Klaus Wowereit, the openly gay mayor of Berlin, will serve a third term following recent elections in the city.
The 57-year-old Wowereit is a member of the SPD (Social Democratic Party) and came out in a speech at a SPD convention before the 2001 elections that first resulted in him becoming mayor.
“I’m gay, and that is good the way it is,” he told delegates, who responded with loud applause and cheers of support.
Wowereit, who said he came out to avoid speculation by the tabloids, has been in a long-term relationship with neurosurgeon Jörn Kubicki since 1993.
He will be meeting the anti-gay Pope Benedict XVI during the Papal visit to Berlin this week but has insisted that his sexual-orientation is a personal matter that should not be an issue.
He has, however, supported the right of protestors to demonstrate against the Pope and commented: “I assume that the Pope will be informed, if it interests him, that I live with a boyfriend.”
Wowereit has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Chancellorship of Germany in future federal elections.
