What was true then is still valid today: the cities of dreams are and will remain Los Angeles and Berlin.
Berlin lives and loves freedom. We Berliners will never forget that peace and freedom are not a matter of course. They must be demanded and defended again and again!
The Wall divided our city for decades. The loss of freedom is still a painful memory that spurs Berliners to be active in promoting openness and tolerance towards others. Our city is united by a shared longing to live and love as we wish. Everyone who comes to Berlin can sense this. Whether you’re a tourist, a startup founder, a creative professional or a research scientist – in Berlin, ideas become possibilities. Like Berlin, Los Angeles is a place of longing that is famous for its many possibilities.
In both cities, you can pursue your dreams and collaborate with others. Berlin emigrants from the film industry founded the Berlin – Los Angeles sister city relationship 50 years ago. What was true then is still valid today: the cities of dreams are and will remain Los Angeles and Berlin.
Michael Müller, the Governing Mayor of Berlin, was born in Berlin in 1964; he is married and has two children. He attended a specialized upper secondary school for business and administration and completed a business apprenticeship in 1986. From 1986 to 2011, he worked as a self-employed printer. Michael Müller joined the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 1981. He was elected a Member of the Berlin House of Representatives in 1996, a capacity in which he has been serving ever since. From 2001 to 2011, he chaired the SPD parliamentary group in the Berlin House of Representatives. In 2004, Michael Müller became chair of the SPD in the federal state of Berlin, a post that he held until 2012 and to which he was re-elected in 2016. In 2011, he was appointed Senator for Urban Development and the Environment. Michael Müller has been Governing Mayor of Berlin since 11 December 2014. In 2016, Mr. Müller also took on responsibility for the policy areas of higher education and research.
