Richard Arnold

Richard Josef Arnold (born 11 January 1959) is a German politician. A member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, he has served as the Lord Mayor (Oberbürgermeister) of Schwäbisch Gmünd since 2009 and is the city's first openly gay mayor. As mayor, he has pushed for opening up the city to refugees. Previously, Arnold was the head of the State Agency of Baden-Württemberg to the European Union. Early life and education Arnold was born on 11 January 1959 in Herdtlinsweiler, a suburb of Schwäbisch Gmünd in Weiler in den Bergen. He was the eldest of three children and the son of a farmer. After graduating from Scheffold Gymnasium in Schwäbisch Gmünd, he studied administrative sciences at the University of Konstanz and Goethe University Frankfurt until 1986. He was awarded a scholarship to study abroad at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1988. Arnold was awarded a postgraduate scholarship from the German Council of the European Movement to study abroad at the College of Europe in Bruges. Career From 1988 to 1990 Arnold was a project manager at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, focusing on environmental and agricultural policies. In 1990 he served as the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Agriculture for the Federation for the Environment and Conservation in Stuttgart. He was later appointed as head of the Ministry of Food and Rural Areas in Baden-Württemberg, serving in this capacity until 1993. Later that year he served as the Deputy Head of the European Department in the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg. From 1996 to 2000 he worked as the head of the Department of Inter-regional Cooperation. From 2000 to 2009 he was the Head of the State Agency of Baden-Württemberg to the European Union in Brussels. He was named as one of the ten most influential Germans living in Brussels by Manager Magazin. In 2009 Arnold ran in the mayoral election in Schwäbisch Gmünd. He defeated the incumbent Social Democrat mayor, Wolfgang Leidig, in the first ballot on May 10, 2009 with 55.4% of the vote. Arnold took office as Lord Mayor on 30 July 2009. He is the first openly gay mayor in the predominantly Catholic city. As mayor, Arnold helped lead voluntary commitments to the city, including its 850th anniversary celebration in 2012. He was awarded the Mérite Européen Medal in 2012.