Vice-President Schwierczinski retires – Friedsam successor
On Monday, THW-Vice-President, Mr Rainer Schwierczinski ceremoniously retired from his office. After almost 50 years on the job, including more than 46 years in the Federal sector and the last five years as THW’s Vice-President, Mr Schwierczinski was given an official farewell by Mr Klaus-Dieter Fritsche, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior. At the same time, the new Vice-President, Mr Gerd Friedsam, was introduced to his office.
The old and the new THW-Vice-President: Mr Rainer Schwierczinski (l.) and Mr Gerd Friedsam (r.)
Source: THW/Richard Klasen
After almost 50 years on the job, including more than 46 years in the Federal sector and the last five years as THW’s Vice-President, Mr Schwierczinski was given an official farewell by Mr Klaus-Dieter Fritsche, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior. At the same time, the new Vice-President, Mr Gerd Friedsam, was introduced to his office.
“It’s not that easy for me to go. However, I leave filled with many beautiful memories and the knowledge that my succession is well-ordered thanks to Mr Gerd Friedsam, who has put his heart and soul into THW”, said Mr Rainer Schwierczinski at the leave-taking ceremony. Mr Schwierczinski was Vice-President of THW since 2007. Before, he had been, among other things, National Chairman of the Association for Employees from the supreme and upper Federal Authorities (VBOB) and for many years been active in the Federal Office for Civil Protection. In the framework of a secondment, he also worked at the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
During the event, Mr Schwierczinski‘s successor, Mr Gerd Friedsam, was officially introduced to his new office: For 25 years, Mr Friedsam has been committed to THW, both as a full-time and voluntary member. Before his function as Vice-President, he worked in the regional offices of Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, was head of division and head of the control staff at THW’s management and furthermore stepped in for the Head of the Regional Office in North Rhine- Westphalia. “The new office means to me both an honour and a mandate. With his commitment, my predecessor, Mr Rainer Schwierczinski, has set the bar very high. I would like to remain true to his style of an “approachable Vice-President”, said Mr Friedsam.
About 200 guests from politics, society and civil protection took part in the event, including Mr Stephan Mayer (Member of the German Parliament and President of THW’s Federal Association), Mr Hans-Joachim Fuchtel (Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Honorary President of THW’s Federal Association), Mr Axel Voss (MEP), Mr Christoph Unger (President of the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance), THW-President, Mr Albrecht Broemme, national spokesman of THW, Mr Frank Schulze, Mr Hans-Peter Kröger (President of the German Fire Brigade Association), Dr. Klaus Wilkens (President of the German Life Saving Association) and Mr Edmund Bauer (Vice-President of the Maltese Emergency Service).
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