Indian-origin Ashok-Alexander Sridharan on 21 October 2015 sworn in as the mayor of Bonn in Germany. Bonn is the 18th most populated city in Germany and the provisional capital of erstwhile West Germany.
Sridharan was elected to the office as a candidate of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel-led Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) party in an election held in September 2015.
With this win, Sridharan became the first Person of Indian Origin (PIO) to be elected as the mayor of a major city in the country.
Further, he also became the city’s first mayor from an immigrant background.
It was for the first time in 21 years that a candidate from the CDU won the Bonn mayoral election leaving the Social Democratic Party (SPD) out in the cold.
About Ashok-Alexander Sridharan
• He was born in Bonn in 1965 to an Indian Diplomat and German mother.
• He studied law at the prestigious Bonn University after completing high school education and in 1996 he joined the municipal administration in the nearby town of Koenigswinter.
• He gained more than 21 years of experience in municipal administration by working in various departments.
• He was promoted as an assistant to the town’s mayor in 2002 which he held till his present elevation.
