Martin Kilian

Martin Kilian (21 May 1928–2 July 2014) was an East German bobsledder and politician of the Socialist Unity Party. He served as president of both the Deutscher Turn- und Sportbund and the Deutscher Schlitten- und Bobsportverband in the final decade of the GDR and served as mayor of Wernigerode for almost thirty years.

Martin Kilian
President of the German Gymnastics and Sports Federation
In office 1990
Preceded by	Klaus Eichler
Succeeded by	Office abolished
President of the German Sled and Bobsleigh Association
In office 1982–1990
Preceded by	Hans Friedrich
Succeeded by	Karl-Heinz Anschütz
Mayor of Wernigerode
In office 24 October 1962 – 1990
Preceded by	Gustav Strahl
Succeeded by	Herbert Teubner
Personal details
Born	(1928-05-21)May 21, 1928 Namslau, German Reich
Died	July 2, 2014(2014-07-02) (aged 86) Wernigerode, Germany
Political party	SED
Occupation	Sportsman, teacher, politician
Awards	Patriotic Order of Merit Honored Master of Sports

Biography

Martin Kilian was born in 1928 in Lower Silesia, then still a part of Germany. After the expulsion of Germans from Silesia during and after World War II, Kilian settled in Nachterstedt and was employed as a miner before moving to Wernigerode. He joined the newly-formed SED in 1948. In 1950, Kilian became active in bobsledding and began working as a schoolteacher the following year. By the end of the decade he was made principal of the Wilhelm Rabbe High School. Upon the death of mayor Gustav Strahl, he became mayor of Wernigerode in 1962.

The Martin Kilian Bridge in Wernigerode

In 1982 he became the president of the German Sled and Bobsleigh Association (DSBV), in which capacity he served until shortly before the dissolution of the GDR. In 1990, shortly before German reunification, he served as the final president of the German Gymnastics and Sports Federation. He was also the Vice-President of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation.

Kilian passed away on 2 July 2014 at the age of 86. In 2016, a large pedestrian bridge he helped create in Wernigerode was renamed in his honor.

References

• "Former FIBT vice president Martin Kilian dies". IBSF.org. International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
• "Erinnerung an Martin Kilian: Brücke erhält offiziellen Namen" [Remembering Martin Kilian: Bridge is given an official name] (PDF) (in German). 21 November 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2020.