International perspective
Ashok Sridharan, who is of Indian descent, is the new mayor of the Federal City of Bonn.
“I’m a local boy from Bonn.” This is the light-hearted introduction given on the website of Ashok Sridharan, who won Bonn’s mayoral election in September 2015. Almost all of the important events of his life did in fact happen in this city: this is where he was born, completed his schooling and studied law, and now he holds the city’s highest office. But Ashok Sridharan also has Indian roots and he is now the first mayor of a major German city with a migrant background – something which the lawyer handles confidently. He says that, in the German city of the United Nations with many international organisations and globally active companies, the mayor needs an international perspective.
