Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BERLIN (AP) — A Danish businessman has been elected mayor of Rostock, becoming the first non-German citizen to head a large city in Germany.
Officials announced late Sunday that 46-year-old Claus Ruhe Madsen received 57.1% in a runoff vote against Left party candidate Steffen Bockhahn.
Ruhe Madsen isn't affiliated with a political party but had the support of the center-right Christian Democrats and pro-business Free Democrats.
The northeastern port city has a population of about 210,000 and lies across the Baltic Sea from Denmark.
Until his election, the big-bearded Ruhe Madsen ran a chain of furniture stores around Rostock.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
