Goßmann, Holger

Lawyer, politician, mayor

Born: 29.08.1944 in Wiesbaden

died: 26.07.2003 in Wiesbaden

The lawyer, who worked as a department head in the Ministry of Economics, joined the SPD in 1965. He was initially involved in the Kloppenheim local advisory council and held the office of local chairman in his home district from 1972-97. From 1985, he was a member of the Wiesbaden City Council, where he chaired the Committee for Building, Planning and Transport.

In 1997, he prevailed as a candidate for the office of mayor in his party against a candidate from out of town who had been urged by parts of the party leadership to stand for election. On November 1, 1997, Goßmann took office as head of the department for urban development, economy and real estate as well as building construction and building supervision. This made him "superdepartment head" for four years. After the local elections in 2001, however, his department was cut back considerably and urban development, including building construction and building supervision, was separated from it.

The most important tasks of his term of office included the development of the former Güterbahnhof West site, the creation of new jobs, particularly in the service sector, and the redesign of the Platz der Deutschen Einheit. As Head of Economic Affairs, Gossmann succeeded in providing new commercial space and attracting several IT companies to Wiesbaden.

However, due to mishaps in major projects such as the establishment of a large cinema on the Platz der Deutschen Einheit, he was regarded as a politician without fortune. In 2002, he faced sharp criticism from the CDU due to considerable additional costs in some of the construction projects for which he was responsible. After the SPD lost the mayoral election, Goßmann renounced a further six-year term of office in May 2003.

Having been in poor health for some time, the politician died just two months later.