Thomas Westphal

Thomas Westphal (born 22 February 1967, Lübeck, Germany) ist an economist, politician (Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD) and managing director of Dortmund|City of Dortmund Economic Development Agency. Previously, he was managing director of business development metropoleruhr (Wirtschaftsförderung metropoleruhr, wmr), whose advisory board he still belongs to today. From 1993 to 1995 he was Federal Chairman of the Jusos. From 1 Nov 2020, Westphal will be the lord mayor of Dortmund.
== Professional career ==
Westphal grew up in Lübeck and studied economics at the Hamburger Universität für Wirtschaft und Politik|Hochschule für Politik und Wirtschaft in Hamburg. He is a long-standing co-editor of Spw – Zeitschrift für sozialistische Politik und Wirtschaft (Journal for Socialist Politics and Economy). 
After Westphal was managing director of managing director of business development metropoleruhr (wmr) from 2010,, he took over the post of managing director of the Economic Development Agency of the City of Dortmund in 2013. He previously worked for Rhenus AG, SCI Verkehr GmbH, ISA Consult and most recently for Wincanton GmbH in Weinheim.
During his work as managing director of the Economic Development Agency, Westphal initiated a new economic policy orientation for the City of Dortmund from the end of 2014.
Westphal describes start-ups of new companies as a “crucial driving force” for structural change in Dortmund. By attracting new, knowledge-intensive start-ups and increasing the number of branches of local companies, Dortmund should become an important location for innovation. In concrete terms, this means the establishment of new research institutes and universities and the long-term commitment of founders to Dortmund. In this way, the entire city’s demand for services such as gastronomy, hotels and retail is to be increased by tying skilled workers and trade tax revenues to Dortmund as a location.
== Politics ==
=== Early years and federal chairman of the Jusos ===
Initially, Thomas Westphal was active in Lübeck and Schleswig-Holstein for the Jusos and in the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands|SPD. He was part of a political movement who called themselfes „Juso-Linke“ (Juso-left) and were also known as “Stamokaps” (Staatsmonopolistischer Kapitalismus, state monopolistic capitalism).
Westphal was elected as the federal chairman of the Jusos at the Juso federal congress in 1993. At the Juso federal congress in Gera in May, 1995 he was re-elected a one vote majority over his opponent Stephan Grüger of the so-called Reformsozialisten (reform socialists). Because invalid votes for Westphal had been counted and delegates who had not been correctly elected had been reported from different regional associations (Landesverbände), the federal arbitration commission (Bundesschiedskommission) of the SPD declared the election of the chairperson invalid a few weeks later. At the following extraordinary federal congress of the Jusos with repeat elections in Bonn-Bad Godesberg, he renounced a new candidacy there and proposed Andrea Nahles as his successor.
=== SPD vice chairman and Lord Mayor of Dortmund ===
Since April, 2018, Westphal is vice chairman of the SPD sub-district of Dortmund. He ran as the SPD’s candidate at the local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2020 for the position of the Lord Mayor of Dortmund. In the first ballot on September 13, he received 35.87% of the vote entered the runoff on September 27, where he won over the CDU candidate Andreas Hollstein with 52.06%. He will take office on November 1, 2020. He succeeds Ullrich Sierau (SPD), who was no longer a candidate.
== Personal life ==
Thomas Westphal lives in Dortmund since 1996. He is married and has two children.
==In the media==
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==External links ==
* Personal Twitter account
== References ==
Category:German economists
Category:German politicians
Category:German people