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Dr. Maximilian Bieri (SPD) is Hanau's designated mayor. The political rise of the 35-year-old mathematician with a doctorate has been steep.
Hanau – Maximilian Bieri belongs to a new generation in Hanau's town hall – and is now taking over the city's leadership. For the 35-year-old Social Democrat, this is more than just a political career step. “Hanau is my home. Here I want to create, listen and connect,” he says.
Bieri was born on September 18, 1990 in Frankfurt. He has German and Swiss citizenship – his father comes from the Alpine country. He grew up in the Steinheim district of Hanau. There he experienced early on how important cohesion is in everyday life, he reports. Whether playing volleyball or table tennis in the club, at a district festival or in conversation on the street: “Togetherness counts here.”
Hanau mayor becomes math doctor: This is Maximilian Bieri
This image of community also shapes his political self-image. Bieri likes to describe himself as a bridge builder – between generations, topics and people. “The mayor is not a little king, but a great servant,” he said on Sunday evening after his election victory. “And I will be that great servant starting this fall. That is my promise to you, to all of you.”
His path into politics led through science. After graduating from high school, he studied mathematics at the Goethe University in Frankfurt and received his doctorate there. The ability to analyze complex relationships and explain them in an understandable way also helps him in local politics, he emphasizes: “Clearly identify problems, find solutions, improve structures.”
He became politically active in the SPD early on. In 2019, Bieri was elected to the Hanau city council for the first time, and a year later he took over the chairmanship of the SPD parliamentary group. He has been a member of the magistrate as mayor since 2023. In this role, he is responsible, among other things, for the areas of education, social affairs, democracy and diversity as well as the city's real estate management.
During this time, Bieri made a name for himself nationally several times. As a proven numbers person, he led his city's political fight against the results of the 2022 census and thus against the Hessian State Statistical Office in the dispute over the actual number of residents.
The authorities had determined that Hanau's population was significantly lower than that shown in the city's population register. This primarily has financial implications for the municipality, as the state's financial allocations depend in part on the officially determined number of residents.
An initiative from his department also attracted attention: in 2024, Hanau introduced a ban on cell phones in city daycare centers – a step that was discussed nationwide.
Support from incumbent Mayor Claus Kaminsky
Bieri received support during the election campaign from a political heavyweight in the city. The long-time one Mayor Claus Kaminsky (SPD), who is leaving office prematurely after more than two decades at the helm of the town hallcampaigned for his party colleague as his successor, but also emphasized that he is “not against Isabelle Hemsley”. The CDU politician and city councilor was Bieri's biggest competitor in the race for the executive chair in the town hall.
In terms of content, Bieri focuses primarily on classic social-political issues in local politics. He advocates for more affordable housing, equal educational opportunities and sound budget policy. Hanau should remain a city in which “everyone finds their place,” he says – “a city in which children grow up well, older people live safely and diversity is a given.”
A more modern administration is also one of his goals. It should work more digitally, react more quickly and respond more closely to citizens' concerns. Away from politics, Bieri says he enjoys being out and about in the city – doing sports, going for a walk or having a coffee in the city center. For him, the conversations with citizens are not a mandatory event, he says, but rather the core of his work.
After the strenuous election campaign, Bieri and Hemsley will now go on vacation. Mayor Kaminsky has announced that he will “take over the stable guard” during this time.
In the election for the new city council, the SPD won around 31.3 percent of the votes and the CDU 29.0 percent. This would allow both parties to comfortably continue their current town hall coalition. So far, the FDP has also been involved in the alliance. She received 3.8 percent of the vote in the local elections on March 15th. (dpa)
