ABOUT ERIK

A mayor who sets an example.

Principal Erik Sachse has expertise and experience!

Your canidate

The election for the office of Lord Mayor is a personal election. The candidate is elected directly by the population in a free and secret ballot. As with all democratic elections, the law does not stipulate any personal or professional qualifications for candidates. Anyone who is formally eligible may stand as a candidate. That is a good thing. Everyone should and can play a part in shaping our social coexistence.

At the same time, the office of Lord Mayor involves a high degree of responsibility and a variety of demanding tasks, especially in larger cities. In Elmshorn, over 50,000 residents rely on their city administration to function in the best possible way and create good conditions for their lives. For tens of thousands of other people from the surrounding area and around 700 administrative employees, a well-run city is also of great importance.

So that you can get a comprehensive picture of me as your candidate for Lord Mayor, I would like to give you an open insight into my personal and professional background below. Presented from various perspectives, you will hopefully gain a coherent overall picture of me and my suitability for this responsible office.

My vita

Personal

Born 1969

Born in Hamburg, grew up in Elmshorn

Married, 3 children

Professional experience

Since 2016

Principal

Elmshorn

Principal at the vocational school of the district of Pinneberg in Elmshorn, Europaschule

Member of the steering committee of the Pinneberg district youth employment agency

2012 - 2016

Deputy Headmaster Managing Director

Neumünster

Deputy Headmaster / Managing Director at the Walther-Lehmkuhl-Schule, Neumünster, Regionales Berufsbildungszentrum (RBZ), Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts (AöR)

2007 - 2012

Trainers for trainee teachers and teachers

Schleswig-Holstein

Training and further training of trainee teachers and teachers in the state of Schleswig-Holstein as part-time head of studies for the subjects of economics/politics and social studies as well as vocational education

Education

2002 - 2004

Legal clerkship

Elmshorn

Vocational school of the district of Pinneberg in Elmshorn (second state examination)

1996 - 2002

Study of the teaching profession for vocational schools

Hamburg

University of Hamburg and TU-Harburg, specialization: wood and plastics technology, teaching subject: social sciences with a focus on sociology (economics/politics, history) (first state examination)

1995 - 1996

Activity as a journeyman carpenter

Elmshorn

Joinery Dieter Mertens, Elmshorn

1992 - 1995

Training as a journeyman carpenter

Elmshorn

Apprenticeship as a journeyman carpenter, Dieter Mertens joinery, Elmshorn (journeyman's certificate)

1991 - 1992

Financial candidate

Elmshorn

Tax Candidate, Elmshorn Tax Office

1989 - 1991

Military service

Buxtehude and Hamburg

Medic in the Buxtehude III telecommunications battalion, training as a nurse at the Bundeswehr hospital in Hamburg Wandsbek (nurse)

1979 - 1989

General higher education entrance qualification

Elmshorn

Cooperative comprehensive school in Elmshorn with upper secondary school (general higher education entrance qualification)

1975 - 1979

Elementary school

Elmshorn

Kaltenweide elementary school, Elmshorn

Hobbies & Volunteering

Hobbies and interests

Family, active sports (jogging) and passive sports (handball), camping, nature, cooking, crafts, art and culture (drawing, photography, music, concerts, theater, literature), volunteering

Voluntary commitment

City Councillor 2020 - 2025, Chairman of the Committee for Children, Youth, Schools and Sport (AKJS), deputy on the main committee, member of the principal election committee, delegate to the general meeting and board member of the Fünf-Städte-Verein Pinneberg e. V.

Member of a service club in Elmshorn since 2017 (including activities on the board as secretary, captain and organizer of the dragon boat team at the harbour birthday, initiator and organizer of the Health Day in Elmshorn together with the city of Elmshorn, health insurance companies and doctors).

Member of the Smart Circle (including member of the founding board of the Smart Factory Heinrich-Hertz-Straße).

Convinced Elmshorner

When I think back, I have always been a convinced Elmshorner. I have experienced how this city has grown. It has always offered me, my parents and my current family everything we need for everyday life: Housing, jobs, transport connections, childcare and later a wide range of schools, shopping facilities, local recreation areas, play areas and culture. I have been a father myself since 2019 and enjoy the many opportunities for my family.

I grew up in the Köllner Chaussee area in a rented apartment and have gotten to know Elmshorn from many perspectives over the past decades: as a toddler and teenager in Beethovenstraße, as a primary school pupil in Kaltenweide and later as a high school graduate at KGSE.

I have always been able to earn my own money here in Elmshorn and have been able to get to know pretty much every part of Elmshorn. In my school and early student days as a newspaper boy, goods deliverer, letter carrier or apprentice carpenter. For a time, I also experienced Elmshorn as a commuter: during my military service, my studies and my work as a seminar leader and deputy principal in Neumünster.

Elmshorn always gave me stability and was the starting point for everything I did. I still feel very much at home here and wouldn't want to live in any other city. As my pupils say, this is my hood. I feel accepted by this city, whether as a school principal, citizen, family man, among friends and acquaintances, on the way to daycare or simply when shopping at Elmshorn's wonderful weekly market.

Versatile Elmshorner

I have now been working for over 19 years in management positions in the state, the district and the city. My broad-based "basic training" has given me many different perspectives, for which I am grateful: studies in social sciences, politics, sociology, civil engineering, economics and business administration at undergraduate level, 19 years of administrative experience, as well as being a trained carpenter and nurse. At the same time, I have also been involved in voluntary work for many years and am well networked in the urban community. I would like to put this versatility to good use for our beautiful home town.

Successful Elmshorn

Over the past nine years, I have been able to drive forward the development of Elmshorn Vocational School (European School) with great pleasure and commitment. Together with around 3,000 pupils, 200 employees, the school authority and district politicians, we have succeeded in further developing the school in numerous areas. Starting with the digitalization that was necessary at the time, where it is now considered a beacon in Schleswig-Holstein (according to a statement from the school authority in district politics) in terms of its use in lessons, in the office and in processes. Furthermore, in terms of the building fabric. Here, the school authority and the building management allowed me to contribute my construction skills. The school was completely renovated in terms of energy efficiency and the entire renovation backlog was cleared (sanitary facilities, building waterproofing, accessibility, stairwells, elevator, etc.).

The school's student body has not only survived the coronavirus period without serious cuts to educational qualifications thanks to an immediate switch to digital learning management. Our school has also survived the consolidation of training occupations in the state of Schleswig-Holstein and a general consolidation of the state's education budget very well, as all those involved (ministry, district politics, school authorities, working group representatives, parent representatives, school management) have negotiated the best possible solution for Elmshorn as an educational location in a close exchange throughout the state.

Overall, Elmshorn is an excellent educational location that is ideally suited for the networking and integration of various educational opportunities. I have been actively promoting cooperation and a so-called campus model here for years. School is a multi-layered living space that lays the foundations for our social future. I would like to contribute this holistic experience to the positive development of our city.

Lifelong learning and working

I earned my own money early on: at the age of 14 in an advertising agency, at 16 as a newspaper boy, at 18 as a Bona messenger (now Edeka). During my time in the army, I worked as a paramedic and nurse as well as an apprentice carpenter and journeyman. Later as a student, teacher, head of a seminary and head of studies, deputy principal and principal. I financed my studies as a letter carrier in Elmshorn and in human resources at a hotel in Hamburg. During my time at school, I was also able to take on cross-sectional tasks for the state (Year of Vocational Education for the State of Schleswig-Holstein, RBZ evaluation report for the State of Schleswig-Holstein, vocational training biographies for the State of Schleswig-Holstein and other regional and national projects). For me, lifelong learning and working are both the basis and the incentive for new tasks and always acting responsibly.

Family man

Family is at the center of my life - professionally, politically and privately. For me, family is not a side note in my application. According to the motto: married, x children. Period. As a father of three young children, I experience the challenges of daycare and school life at first hand. As a head teacher and long-standing chairman of the Committee for Children, Youth, Schools and Sport (AKJS), I have been professionally committed to holistic solutions in the education sector and beyond for many years.

Act regionally
- think nationally

I have already had the opportunity to work beyond the city limits throughout the state of Schleswig-Holstein: as head of studies, in the ministry for the then minister, as deputy managing director of a public law institution of a regional vocational training center in Neumünster. Through my work as a school principal, I am well connected from the city to the district to the state. I know our regional characteristics as well as the respective problems and characteristics of other municipalities and cities. Elmshorn, for example, has a state vocational school that is open to the whole country. As principal, this requires me to constantly shape negotiation processes with a wide range of interest groups. The city, district and state must always be considered as a whole - and to some extent Europe too. I think and act both regionally and nationally. My aim is to put Elmshorn on the political map through this networking and to strengthen its position in the district and state.

Socially committed

Social commitment is at the heart of our community - especially volunteering. I have been politically interested and active for over 20 years. As a teacher, it has always been particularly important to me to give young people an understanding of social coexistence in politics lessons. In the teacher training I supervised, I was also able to enable future teachers to convey the importance of political decision-making to pupils. I have been active in the field of political volunteering for 15 years. Initially at state level in the field of education, then for the past 10 years at municipal level - as a civic member or town councillor in the college, as committee chairman of the AKJS, as a delegate and as a board member of the Fünf-Städte-Verein Pinneberg e. V. At the same time, I have also been involved in fundraising for many years. I also volunteer in the cultural field. Friends and colleagues repeatedly confirm that I am a passionate campaigner for togetherness, education and participation in Elmshorn and beyond.

Non-party candidate

As a non-party candidate, I see myself as exclusively committed to the well-being of my home town of Elmshorn. I want to move our city forward and stand for objective and cross-party action. I have been actively committed to social cohesion for over 20 years. It is the foundation of our free and democratic basic order. I am a conservative person with clear values. Politically, I find myself somewhere between the CDU and the Greens. I left the Greens at the beginning of 2025 after many years and don't want to join any party in the future. Only a non-party mayor can comprehensively represent the interests of Elmshorn, for example in Kiel. He does not have to take any party interests or interests into consideration.