Dominik Krause is to become the new second mayor of Munich. At a special meeting on Thursday afternoon, the Greens and Pink List parliamentary group agreed to propose their previous parliamentary group leader to the city council as the successor to Katrin Haben Schaden. The Green mayor surprisingly announced her resignation on Wednesday afternoon and is moving to Deutsche Bahn.
Krause, 33, was elected with one opposing vote, the 24-member faction, the largest in the city council, announced in a press release. The coalition partners, Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) and the SPD/Volt parliamentary group executive committee, were then informed. At its head is Christian Müller. He declared: “We will support the election of Dominik Krause.” Krause is “a colleague with whom I work well, as a person and in the coalition,” said Müller. There have also been conflicts, but that is in the nature of things. Krause is “determined,” says Müller, “and he knows his business.”
Müller’s kind words are important because the relationship between Krause, who has been a city councilor since 2014 and is considered a consistent advocate of green positions, and Reiter is not considered easy. The mayor announced through a spokeswoman on Thursday morning – before Krause’s election – that he would only comment on this after a new second mayor has been elected.
Together with Mona Fuchs, Krause has been parliamentary group leader since 2022
Dominik Krause was born in Munich and grew up in Moosach/Untermenzing. He now lives in Giesing. He completed a physics degree at the Technical University of Munich. His political career began with the Green Youth, where he was spokesman until he came to the city council. There he became deputy on the parliamentary group board in 2016 and moved to the top in 2022, together with Mona Fuchs. According to his parliamentary group, if elected, Krause would be “Munich’s first openly gay mayor.”
“I am pleased about the great support that my group gave me for my application for the office of second mayor,” said Krause after his nomination. “With this strong support, I have the confidence to succeed Katrin Haben Schaden, who has filled this position in an exemplary manner.” He wants to continue the work on the social-ecological project together with his parliamentary group and “our alliance partner SPD/Volt and strengthen Munich’s reputation as a cosmopolitan and tolerant metropolis.”
His co-parliamentary group leader Fuchs praised Krause’s “ten years of experience in local politics.” His “almost unanimous nomination” was “a signal of unity despite all the personnel changes.” The Greens want to clarify in the coming week who will succeed Krause at the head of the city council group.