John Ehret (born in 1971 in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
) is the mayor of
Mauer
Mauer is the German word for ''wall''. It may also refer to:
Places
*Mauer, Vienna, a former village of Lower Austria that has been part of Vienna since 1938
* Mauer bei Amstetten, a village in the municipality of Amstetten, in Lower Austria
* M ...
, elected in 2012. He is the "first 'black' elected mayor in Germany in modern times",
and "Baden-Württembergs erster schwarzer Bürgermeister" ("Baden-Württemberg's first
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
mayor").
Prior to his position as mayor, Ehret was working at the
Bundeskriminalamt as law enforcement official.
Early life
Ehret's father is an
Afro-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...
soldier who was stationed in Germany, and his birth mother was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
. Ehret has little knowledge of his biological father.
His mother gave him up for adoption when he was two years old, after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
In 1977, aged six, he was adopted by Gertrud and Helmut Ehret who moved to Mauer.
After graduating from high school in 1992, he obtained a diploma to be a police officer at the
Bundeskriminalamt, and subsequently worked in Wiesbaden, Berlin and Meckenheim. He has helped developing countries with the construction of police departments, and in 2012, received an award for his role in helping develop the Afghan police.
See also
*
Afro-Germans
Afro-Germans (german: Afrodeutsche) or Black Germans (german: schwarze Deutsche) are people of Sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or residents of Germany.
Cities such as Hamburg and Frankfurt, which were formerly centres of occupation ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehret, John
Living people
1971 births
German politicians
German people of American descent
German people of African-American descent