Hesselmann, Dr. Hans

Hans Hesselmann was born in Kempten, Germany in 1943. After graduating from secondary school, he studied English, history and legal sciences at Munich University. He then worked as secondary school teacher, teaching English and history in various schools in Bavaria. He earned a PhD in history in 1984. In 1995, he joined the project team in the mayor's office preparing events for Nuremberg's memorial year and the first presentation of the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award. From 1997 until his retirement on January 1, 2010, he was head of the city's Human Rights Office, responsible for planning, organizing and coordinating the city's human rights activities at a local, a national and an international level. He is co-founder of the European Coalition of Cities Against Racism (ECCAR) and has been president of this municipal network since 2007. On December 10, 2009, he was awarded with the Human Rights Prize of the City of Graz (Austria) for his contributions to the promotion of local human rights work in Europe.