Photo: Superbass / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Henriette Reker has a courage I deeply admire. A Cologne-born lawyer who stepped into city government, she held firmly to a pro-immigration stance, and was stabbed during the campaign precisely because of that conviction. The day after the attack, voters chose her anyway, making her the first woman to lead Cologne, and she went on to win re-election and finish her term. Refusing to bend your beliefs after an attempt on your life is far harder than it sounds, and she proved her spine in the worst possible circumstances. I find myself genuinely rooting for politicians who stand on principle like this.
Overview
Henriette Reker (born 9 December 1956) is a German lawyer and independent politician. She is known for her pro-immigration stance and for being the victim of an assassination attempt in 2015. A day after the attack, Reker was elected mayor of Cologne after gaining 52.66% of the votes, becoming the first woman to hold the office. Reker was re-elected in 2020. Her term as mayor ended on 31 October 2025.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Henriette Reker
- Name (Japanese)
- ヘンリエッテ・レーカー
- Reading
- へんりえって・れーかー
- Born
- December 9, 1956 (age 69)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Monkey
- Origin
- Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- jurist / lawyer / local politician
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- University of Cologne
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Jurist — see all → · Lawyer — see all → · More people from Germany →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.