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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Berlin's embattled mayor Klaus Wowereit to quit | Berlin's embattled mayor Klaus Wowereit to quit |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit has said he will step down on 11 December amid an ongoing row over the city's new airport. | Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit has said he will step down on 11 December amid an ongoing row over the city's new airport. |
| As mayor of the German capital since 2001, he was credited with giving it a "poor, but sexy" brand internationally. | |
| Mr Wowereit, a Social Democrat, was widely popular but his reputation was tarnished by the debacle over the opening of Berlin-Brandenburg airport. | Mr Wowereit, a Social Democrat, was widely popular but his reputation was tarnished by the debacle over the opening of Berlin-Brandenburg airport. |
| The airport was due to be inaugurated in late 2011 but it is still not open. | The airport was due to be inaugurated in late 2011 but it is still not open. |
| Mr Wowereit, 60, still had two years of his term to serve and it is not yet clear who will replace him. | |
| He told a news conference in Berlin that he was leaving the post of his own "free will". | |
| "I'm proud that I have made a contribution to the city's positive development," he said. | |
| 'Biggest failure' | |
| The new airport is due to replace Tegel and Schoenefeld airports and handle some 27 million passengers a year. | |
| As head of the airport's supervisory council, he was widely criticised for repeated delays, but survived a confidence vote in the Berlin senate in January 2013. | |
| He admitted on Tuesday that the fact the airport was not yet open was the "biggest failure" of his 13-year term in office, but it was not the only factor in his decision to step down. | |
| "Some still think it was only a question of [the airport]. But no, we've had to get through several difficult times here." | |
| Originally a lawyer, Klaus Wowereit became Germany's first prominent openly gay politician, achieving renown for his phrase: "Ich bin schwul und das ist gut so" (I'm gay and that's okay). | |
| He was once pictured drinking champagne out of the shoe of an ambassador's wife and was once seen as a potential challenger to Christian Democrat Chancellor Angela Merkel. | |
| He had initially hoped to announce his departure last month, he said, but had delayed his statement because of Germany's victory in the World Cup. |