Municipal honours
Performance specification
Personalities who have rendered outstanding services to a municipality can be honoured with this award.The achievements to be recognised can be very different; for example, it can be economic, communal political or artistic merits.
The awarding of honorary citizens hip is a way of honouring a person by the municipality within the framework of the Hessian Municipal Code (HGO) (§ 28 para. 1 HGO). Since honorary citizenship is a personal right, it can only be conferred on natural persons. It is not possible to confer honorary citizenship on someone who has already died.
The award of an honorary title to municipal representatives, honorary civil servants, full-time elected officials, members of a local advisory council or foreigners' advisory council is another example of an award at municipal level (section 28 (2) HGO). The mandate or office must have been exercised for a total of at least 20 years. The law does not specify what is meant by honorary designations. Examples of such titles are "honorary mayor" or "municipal elder".
The award of honorary citizenship or an honorary title has no close legal significance; special rights and duties or even privileges are not associated with it.The conferment of honorary citizenship or an honorary title shall be decided exclusively by the municipal council by simple majority (§ 51 No. 3 HGO).
The municipality can determine further possibilities for occasion-related honours in a statute and, for example, award specially made medals, lapel pins, coat of arms plates or rings of honour. The by-laws may also regulate the procedure for awarding honours (e.g. proposals on persons to be honoured must be submitted in writing to the municipal council / city council).In addition, procedures for the conferral of state honours and decorations can be initiated by the municipality. These include: Letter of Honour of the State of Hesse, Hessian Order of Merit, Freiherr-vom-Stein-Plakette of the State of Hesse, Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Applications / Forms