Walter Momper

Walter Momper (born 21 February 1945) is a German politician of the SPD (Social Democrats) and former Governing Mayor of Berlin (West Berlin 1989–1990, reunited Berlin 1990–1991). Whilst Governing Mayor, he served as President of the Bundesrat in 1989/90. He was at the opening of the Brandenburg Gate on 22 December 1989 and, on 3 October 1990, became the first mayor of a reunited Berlin. Momper was born in Sulingen (near Bremen), today Lower Saxony. He went to school in Bremen. After leaving school in 1964 he began studying political science, history and economics at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Munich and at the Freie Universität Berlin, which he left in 1969 as a graduate in political science. He became a research assistant at the Institute of Political Sciences at the FU Berlin. In 1970 he became a research fellow at the Secret Prussian State Archives of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. From 1972 to 1986 he was a research associate and director of the Historical Commission at Berlin. After a time during which Momper was exclusively concerned in politics, from 1992 to 1993 he was the director of the Dr. Elling GmbH. Since August 1993 he has been managing partner of Momper Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH in Berlin. Critics and politicians of other parties have repeatedly criticised him over the links between his political and business activities, for example when he advised the IKEA group about its plans to establish itself in the East of Berlin.