Claus Wisser

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Claus Wisser
Bearded man with spectacles, bald with short white beard, and a half smile.
Wisser, c. 2012
Born(1942-06-30)30 June 1942
Wiesbaden, German Reich
Died4 October 2023(2023-10-04) (aged 81)
EducationGoethe University Frankfurt
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • philanthropist
Organizations
Awards

Claus Friedrich Wisser[1] (30 June 1942 – 4 October 2023) was a German businessman and philanthropist, a patron of music and the arts. He was head of the service company Wisag which he founded, and was chairman of its supervisory board since 2011, and honorary chairman of that board from 2022.

Wisser is also known as a founding member of the Rheingau Musik Festival, and chairman of its supporting association. He supported the Goethe University Frankfurt and museums, and founded a charity for children. He was twice a member of the Federal Convention to elect the German president.

Life and career[edit]

Claus Wisser was born on 30 June 1942[2] in Wiesbaden, the son of a shopkeeper. He attended the Friedrich List School [de],[3] and helped in the family shop from age 10. When he was age 14, his father had to close the shop, and young Claus took on several jobs during his time at the gymnasium.[4] While still at school, he joined the SPD.[5] He studied business administration at the University of Frankfurt, and took part in the first students' revolt, opposing the German Emergency Acts.[4] He heard Carlo Schmid in public lectures at the university.[6]

In 1965, Wisser founded a company for the cleaning of office buildings; he posted an advertisement seeking a used working typewriter as a gift.[4] He began the company as its only employee, equipped with a broom, bucket, and the typewriter,[7] dropping out of university soon after.[4] The company grew to become Wisag [de], a business focused on cleaning, maintenance of parks, security, and catering, among others,[4] with 50,000 employees.[7] A short-lived venture into textiles was a failure, which left Wisser with a large amount of debt.[8] He then focused again on providing services for industry, administration, airlines, and airports, especially the ground traffic for the latter.[6][8] He stepped away from the company's operations during the 1990s, passing them on to executives including his son Michael Wisser, who became chairman of the company in 2007.[7] Claus Wisser became chairman of the supervisory board, and became honorary chairman of the supervisory board from 2022.[7]

In 1987, Wisser was one of the founding members of the Rheingau Musik Festival,[4] together with Michael Herrmann, Tatiana von Metternich-Winneburg, Michael Bolenius, Hans-Clemens Lucht, and Ulrich Rosin, with Wisser serving as the treasurer.[9][10] He succeeded Walter Fink as chairman of the Rheingau Musik Festival Förderverein, an association supporting the festival.[9][11] In honor of his 60th birthday on 30 June 2002, the festival staged a performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana at Eberbach Abbey, with soloists Annette Dasch, Gert Henning-Jensen, and Željko Lučić, the choir Orfeón Donostiarra, and the hr-Sinfonieorchester conducted by Hugh Wolff, which was recorded.[12]

Neues Kloster Johannisberg, 2009

Wisser also sponsored the Städel museum and the Caricatura Museum Frankfurt,[13][14] his former school,[3] and the University of Frankfurt.[14][15] He began a project to transform the former Neues Kloster Johannisberg [de] into a hotel and event venue.[16][17][18] In 2015, celebrating 50 years of Wisag, he founded together with his son the KiWIS foundation, a charity for children.[7]

Wisser was a member of the Federal Convention for the election of the German Bundespräsident, in 1999 and in 2017.[19][20]

Wisser died of cancer on 4 October 2023, at the age of 81.[8][7]

Boris Rhein, Minister-President of Hesse, said: "In Claus Wisser verlieren wir eine Persönlichkeit, die sich vollends in den Dienst der Gesellschaft gestellt hat. Auf den Feldern Bildung, Kunst und Kultur hat er mit viel Herzblut gewirkt. Claus Wisser hatte immer ein offenes Ohr für Pläne und Projekte, die dem Wohl der Bürgerinnen und Bürger dienen. Er war stets bereit, nicht nur mit Rat und Tat zu helfen, sondern auch mit Ideen zur finanziellen Unterstützung." (In Claus Wisser, we are losing a personality who placed himself entirely at the service of society. He put his heart and soul into the fields of education, art and culture. Claus Wisser always had an open ear for plans and projects that served the welfare of the citizens. He was always ready to help not only with advice and action, but also with ideas for financial support).[1]

Awards[edit]

Wisser received awards for his exceptional social engagement and support of education, music, and the arts.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Rhein, Boris (5 October 2023). "Zum Tod von Claus Friedrich Wisser" (Press release) (in German). Minister-President of Hesse. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  2. ^ Giersberg, Georg (10 September 2007). "Claus Wisser: Die Krise als Aufputschmittel". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Der Weg zurück zur Gründung der Schule (Chronik von 2015 bis 1902)". Friedrich List School, Wiesbaden (in German). 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Göpfert, Klaus-Jürgen (30 June 2017). "Claus Wisser: Der rote Kapitalist". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  5. ^ "Die SPD trauert um Claus Wisser". SPD Hessen-Süd (in German). 5 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Im Gespräch: Wisag-Gründer Claus Wisser: "Ich musste arbeiten wie ein Tier"". FAZ (in German). 1 February 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Wisag-Gründer Claus Wisser ist gestorben". produktion.de (in German). 5 October 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Riebsamen, Hans (5 October 2023). "Vom Putzmann zum Millionär – und zwischendrin eine Pleite". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Platzvorteil seit 35 Jahren" (in German). Rheingau Musik Festival. 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Vor 20 Jahren wurde Rheingau-Musik-Festival gegründet" [Rheingau Music Festival was founded 20 years ago] (in German). Blasmusik. 4 December 2007. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  11. ^ "149 Konzerte an 40 Spielstätten / Rheingau Musik Festival vor dem 31. Sommer voller Musik". Rheingau-Echo (in German). 1 February 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  12. ^ Carmina Burana : Jubiläumskonzert: 15 Jahre Rheingau Musik Festival, 60 Jahre Claus Wisser ; Kloster Eberbach 2002 ; live recording. 2002. OCLC 174868584.
  13. ^ Göpfert, Claus-Jürgen (3 July 2019). "Caricatura Frankfurt: Claus Wisser und Achim Frenz im Interview". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  14. ^ a b c Göpfert, Klaus-Jürgen (7 March 2013). "Mäzen Frankfurt / Ehrenplakette für Claus Wisser". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  15. ^ "Claus Wisser" (in German). University of Frankfurt. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  16. ^ Riebsamen, Hans (30 June 2022). "Chronisch unternehmenslustig". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Unternehmer Claus Wisser kauft Hotel Kloster Johannisberg". Die Welt (in German). 4 May 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  18. ^ Bock, Oliver (13 September 2022). "Kloster Johannisberg: Die Sanierung geht voran". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Ein Tag der Freude, den wir gemeinsam feiern". Frankfurter Neue Presse (in German). 13 February 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  20. ^ Hanack, Peter (27 November 2016). "Diese Hessen wählen den Bundespräsidenten". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  21. ^ "Bisherige Preisträger der Georg August Zinn-Medaille" (PDF) (in German). State of Hesse. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  22. ^ "Liste der Preisträger des ULI Leadership Awards" (PDF). germany.uli.org (in German). 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  23. ^ "Stifter und Ehrenbürger verstorben: Goethe-Universität trauert um Claus Wisser". Aktuelles aus der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt (in German). 5 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  24. ^ "Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse für Claus Friedrich Wisser". staatskanzlei.hessen.de (in German). 24 March 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2023.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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