His predecessor Meyer-Heder resigned at the end of September because of comments about collaboration with the AfD. In an interview, Meyer-Heder said, among other things, with regard to the AfD that it was “about the content and nothing else.” He continued: “If we want to get things moving and we agree with the AfD, why not?” After criticism, Meyer-Heder resigned.
The Rostock-born straw man trained as a ship fitter with a high school diploma in the GDR, but was banned from studying. After his expatriation, he has lived in Bremen since 1989. The now 55-year-old founded an association of pretzel bakeries.
Strohmann already held important political positions in the Bremen CDU. From 2002 to 2007 he was the party’s state manager. From July 2021 to June 2023, he was also chairman of the CDU parliamentary group, of which he has been a member since 1999.
A red-green-red alliance under Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD) has continued to govern in Bremen since the general election in May.
