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Thomas Kufen

Mayor of the City of Essen

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© Picture: Ralf Schultheiß
  • Year of birth: 1973
  • Place of birth: Essen
  • Nationality: German
  • Member since: 18 October 2021
  • End of term: 2025

Education

  • Apprenticeship as office clerk

Professional career

1994 - 2000 Commercial employee of a medium-sized company in Essen
Since 1989 Member of the CDU Deutschlands
1994 - 1999 Member of the Essen-Borbeck District Council IV; deputy spokesman of the CDU parliamentary group
1996 - 2002 Chairman of the Junge Union Ruhr
1999 - 2015 Member of the Essen City Council
1999 - 2009 Chairman of the Youth Welfare Committee of the Essen City Council
2009 - 2015 Chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in the Essen City Council
2000 - 2005 Member of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament
2002 - 2005 Member of the executive committee of the CDU state parliamentary group and spokesperson on migration policy for the CDU state parliamentary group
2005 - 2010 Integration Commissioner of the Government of North Rhine-Westphalia
2006 - 2021 Deputy Chairman of the CDU Ruhr
Since 2021 Chairman of the CDU Ruhr
2010 - 2012 Project Officer of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung e.V. in Berlin
2012 - 2015 Member of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament;
member of the executive committee of the CDU state parliamentary group and energy policy spokesman of the CDU state parliamentary group 
Since 2015 Mayor of the City of Essen
Since 2015 Member of the Executive Committee of Deutscher Städtetag
Since 2015 Member of the Executive Committee of Städtetag NRW,
since 2021 Deputy Chairman
Since 2018 Member of the Federal Executive Committee of the CDU Deutschlands
Since 2022 Chairman of Städtetag NRW

Memberships in other mandatory supervisory boards

  • Stadtwerke Essen AG1 (Chairman)

Memberships in comparable domestic and foreign supervisory committees of commercial enterprises

  • Verwaltungsrat Sparkasse Essen (Chairman)
  • Member of the Board of Trustees of the RAG Stifung

Core competences

  • Comprehensive energy expertise (electricity generation from renewables, energy trading and conventional electricity generation)
  • Expertise in company strategy development and implementation 
  • Competence in the areas of new technologies and digitisation
  • Leadership experience
  • Profound knowledge of the public sector
  • International experience in the energy sector, knowledge of its international status and of domestic and international interests in relation to the sector
  • Knowledge of accounting and financial statement audits
  • Special knowledge and experience in applying accounting principles and internal monitoring methods
  • Appropriate expertise in co-determination matters

 

1 Group mandate of the City of Essen