Manfred Rommel

Manfred Rommel, Hon. CBE (24 December 1928 – 7 November 2013) was a German politician belonging to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who served as Lord Mayor of Stuttgart from 1974 until 1996. He was the only son of Erwin Rommel and his wife Lucia Maria Mollin.

Background and Family

Born in Stuttgart, Rommel entered service in the Luftwaffe at age 14, serving in an anti-aircraft battery. Later, Manfred considered joining the Waffen SS, but his father opposed it. After his father was forced to commit suicide for his alleged complicity in the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, he deserted from the Wehrmacht and surrendered to General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny's French First Army.

He has a daughter named Catherine.

In 1947, he took his Abitur while studying in Biberach an der Riß and went on to study law at the University of Tübingen.

While Oberbürgermeister of Stuttgart, Rommel began a much publicised friendship with U.S. Army Major General George S. Patton IV, the son of his father's World War II adversary, George S. Patton, who was assigned to the VII Corpsheadquarters near the city. In addition to the relationship between their fathers, Rommel and Patton had a common birthday of 24 December. He was also friends with David Montgomery, 2nd Viscount Montgomery of Alamein the son of his father's other great adversary Field Marshal Montgomery, a friendship viewed by some as a symbol of British-German reconciliation following the War and West Germany's admission into NATO.

Career

After a stint working as a lawyer, in 1956, Rommel entered the civil service and later became state secretary in the state government of Baden-Württemberg.

In 1974, Rommel succeeded Arnulf Klett as Oberbürgermeister (equivalent to Mayor) of Stuttgart by winning 58.5% of the votes in the second round of elections, defeating Peter Conradi of the SPD. He was re-elected after the first round of elections in 1982 with 69.8% and in 1990 with 71.7% of the votes. As the mayor of Stuttgart, he was also known for his effort to give the Red Army Faction terrorists who had committed suicide at the Stuttgart-Stammheim prison a proper burial, despite the concern that the graves would become a pilgrimage point for radical leftists.

In a 1996 celebration at the Württemberg State Theatre, Manfred Rommel received the highest German civil distinction, the Bundesverdienstkreuz. In his speech, Helmut Kohl put particular emphasis on the good relations that were kept and built upon between France and Germany during Rommel's tenure as Oberbürgermeister of Stuttgart. A few days after this distinction was given to Rommel, the city of Stuttgart offered him the Honorary Citizen Award.

Outside politics

Having retired from politics in 1996, Rommel was still in demand as an author and stirring speaker, despite suffering from Parkinson's disease. He wrote various political and humorous books. He was known for his down-to-earth and often funny sayings and quotations. Occasionally, he wrote articles for the Stuttgarter Zeitung.

Rommel collaborated with Basil Liddell-Hart in the publication of The Rommel Papers, a collection of diaries, letters and notes that his father wrote during and after his military campaigns.

Honours

Manfred Rommel once wrote about his many honours: "Die Zahl der Titel will nicht enden. Am Grabstein stehet: bitte wenden!" which translates as: "The number of honours seems to be endless. The inscription on my gravestone will read: Please turn over!"

• Theodor-Heuss-Medaille (1978)
• Orden des Großoffiziers im Orden von Oranien-Nassau (1982)
• Ehrensenator der Fachhochschule für Technik Stuttgart (1982)
• Honorary doctorate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis (1983)
• General Lucius D. Clay-Medaille (1984)
• President of the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gesellschaft (1984–1990)
• Chevalier of the Legion of Honour of the French Republic (1985)
• Guardian of Jerusalem (1987)
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1990)
• Honorary doctorate of the University of Maryland (1992)
• Honorary citizen of Stuttgart (1996)
• Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern und Schulterband des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (1996)
• Honorary doctorate of the University of Wales (1996)
• Dolf Sternberger-Preis (1998)
• Honorary citizen of the University of Stuttgart (2005)
• Verdienstmedaille des Landes Baden-Württemberg
• Heinz Herbert Karry-Preis
• Honorary citizen of Cairo