It is an elite circle, which has been able to include another 50 people since Monday. Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) awarded her the Bavarian Order of Merit in the antiquarium of the Munich Residenz – an honor that only 2,000 living people are allowed to wear at the same time, as stipulated in the 1957 law.
The order was created “as a sign of honoring and grateful recognition for outstanding services to the Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian people”. And so Söder described the honorees, 47 of whom were present, as “encouragers”. The award is also a signal in difficult times, when motivation and hope are needed. All those who received the medal stand for a modern, sustainable, charitable and highly scientific Bavaria.
Recently awarded, from left: cabaret artist Wolfgang Krebs, state parliament president Ilse Aigner, Green politician Margarete Bause, skier Christian Neureuther.
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Furthermore: national coach Hansi Flick.
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Olympic luge champion Natalie Geisenberger.
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And pop singer Nicki with Markus Söder.
Image: Getty Images
This year there were numerous athletes: the former ski racer Christian Neureuther as well as the dressage rider Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, the Olympic luge champion Natalie Geisenberger, the cyclist Lisa Brennauer, the canoeist Ricarda Funk and also the team manager of FC Bayern Munich, Kathleen Krueger.
She celebrated numerous successes with the Bundesliga record champions together with the former Bayern coach and current national coach Hansi Flick, who was also honored. The sports-related list was even longer: the former ski racer Maria Höfl-Riesch and the ZDF sports presenter Katrin Müller-Hohenstein also received the Maltese Cross from Söder with the medallion embedded in it, complete with the Bavarian diamond coat of arms on the front and the Bavarian lion on the back Back.
The pop singer Doris Hrda, better known by her stage name Nicki, Ilse Aigner, the President of the Bavarian State Parliament, and the sociologist Margarete Bause, who was the leader of the Greens in Bavaria for 14 years, were also honored. She was most recently a member of the Bundestag, but did not make it into parliament in the 2021 election.
Minister of Education Michael Piazolo from the Free Voters also received the order, as did cabaret artist Wolfgang Krebs. He has long been associated with the state government, after all he has been parodying all prime ministers since Edmund Stoiber – and since the coalition government has also had FW boss Hubert Aiwanger in his repertoire. “I think I got the medal because I entertain Bayern so well and at the same time for my commitment to the socially disadvantaged,” said Krebs. He doesn’t talk about it that much, he just does it.
The director of the Institute for Virology at the Technical University of Munich, Ulrike Protzer, was also honored. She is a member of the expert council that advises the state government on questions relating to the corona pandemic.
Proposals for future medal holders can be submitted to the authorities and the Bavarian State Chancellery. In addition, the Prime Minister and the Ministers of State can make recommendations.