Frank John has now succeeded Dr Theophil Gallo not only as District Administrator of the Saarpfalz district, but also as Chairman of the Siebenpfeiffer Foundation.
At its meeting, the foundation's board, which according to its statutes must appoint the leadership from its own ranks, unanimously elected District Administrator Frank John as the successor to former District Administrator Dr Theophil Gallo at the head of the organisation, which was established at the end of 1988. The former district administrator was also officially bid farewell at the meeting. He had been at the helm of the Siebenpfeiffer Foundation for exactly ten years - the same length of time as his term of office as District Administrator. As the Chairman of the Foundation only serves for five years, a new decision will be required in 2030, with re-election possible. The book "Herz aus Stacheldraht" by Siebenpfeiffer prizewinner Sophia Maier, regional products from the Bliesgau biosphere - such as a bottle of wine grown in Reinheim - and Polish chocolates were among the gifts presented to him during the meeting. Gallo also received "his" portrait, painted by artist Volker Schmidt-Gliaugir: it can be found in miniature in the new Siebenpfeiffer book "Demokratisch bis zum Anschlag" (Democratic to the limit) next to his greeting, and Gallo was now presented with an enlarged version on DINA3.
In addition to the Saarpfalz district and the towns of Homburg and Zweibrücken, the four journalists' associations Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg and Thuringia are also sponsors of the foundation. They also include Siebenpfeiffer's birthplace Lahr in the Black Forest, Rastatt in Baden as the location of the memorial site for the history of the freedom movements in Germany, as well as the district of Bad Dürkheim and the town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße as the locations of the Hambach Festival. The districts of Kusel and Kaiserslautern are also members: Philipp Jakob Siebenpfeiffer was responsible for a number of municipalities located in both districts as Homburg "Landcommissär" from 1818 until his dismissal in 1830.
The representatives of these organisations and associations had come together not only to reorganise the chairmanship. As in the "general assembly" of an association, formalities such as the cash report or the cash audit also had to be dealt with. The budget for the current year was also approved. Finally, "manoeuvre criticism" was also on the agenda for the activity report. For example, the 17th Siebenpfeiffer Award ceremony in mid-March was discussed. In the packed parliamentary wing of the Homburg Forum, journalists Sophie Maier and Jan N. Lorenzen were honoured for their courageous reporting in connection with the AfD. Simone Wagenhaus received a special prize. The festive banquet at the beginning of the year, at which Martin Grasmück, the director of Saarländischer Rundfunk Martin Grasmück, addressed the question of the importance of public broadcasting for democracy, was also a topic of discussion at the board meeting.
In his speech, the previous chairman Dr Theophil Gallo emphasised the importance of tireless efforts to preserve democracy. He recalled the attempts by right-wing circles to usurp the objectives and traditions of the Hambach Festival. It had been possible to fend off all attacks by legal means. But it was an arduous path that required constant vigilance and ongoing commitment. Gallo emphasised that the Hambach Society for Historical Research and Political Education and its chairman Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Kreutz deserved the highest recognition for their perseverance.