Otto Suhr was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 political figure as a member of the SPD

Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

. He served as the mayor of West Berlin between 1955 and 1957.

He was born 1894 in Oldenburg

Oldenburg

Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...

 and went with his family to Osnabrück

Osnabrück

Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...

 when he was nine years old, four years later the family went to Leipzig

Leipzig

Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

. From 1922 he worked as a secretary for the trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

s. From 1946 Suhr was member of the Berlin state parliament

Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin

The Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin is the state parliament for the German state of Berlin, according to the state's constitution. The parliament is based at the building on Niederkirchnerstraße in Mitte which until 1934 was the seat of the lower house of the Preußischer Landtag...

 and until 1954 was its president. 1948/49 he was member of the Parlamentarischer Rat

Parlamentarischer Rat

The Parlamentarischer Rat was the West German constitutional convention that created the current constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany...

 (parliamentary council). After ratification of the Grundgesetz

Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany

The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is the constitution of Germany. It was formally approved on 8 May 1949, and, with the signature of the Allies of World War II on 12 May, came into effect on 23 May, as the constitution of those states of West Germany that were initially included...

 in 1949 he was elected to the Federal Parliament (Bundestag)

Bundestag

The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...

 of West-Germany (until 1952). From 1955 to his death Suhr was Regierender Bürgermeister

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 (governing mayor) of West-Berlin.

He died in Berlin. In his honour, the biggest and one of the most important institutes for political science in Germany - the Otto-Suhr-Institut

Otto-Suhr-Institut

The Otto-Suhr-Institut für Politikwissenschaft is one of the most famous institutes of the Free University of Berlin and the biggest political-science institution in Germany....

 at the Free University of Berlin

Free University of Berlin

Freie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...

, a street in Oldenburg (in the district Eversten) as well as an avenue (Otto-Suhr-Allee) in Berlin (in the district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf) are named after him.