Peter Krämer, President of the Hamburg Society for Promotion of Democracy and International Law

Reeder, Marine Service Gruppe (* 2 December 1950 in Salzburg, Austria) has lived in Hamburg since 1953 After leaving school, Peter Krämer began by studying Sociology and Pedagogy in Hamburg, before changing to Law at Cologne University, passing with distinction in 1981 after a trainee period at Düsseldorf’s Higher Regional Court.

In 1982 Peter became manager of his family’s Hamburg shipping company Marine Service GmbH (MS) and Chemikalien Seetransport GmbH (CST). Since 1997 he has been the sole managing partner of this Marine Service Group, developing it into a leading and internationally known tankship company. Peter Krämer’s public opposition to the Iraq war in February 2003 represented a revival of the political work in which he was involved during school and university. In January 2003, together with the journalist Dr. Luc Jochimsen, Krämer had the idea of publicly urging churches, employees and unions to give their political backing to the major anti-war demonstration in Berlin. An open letter, signed by 26 names from politics, the media and commerce, was published on 3 February 2003 as a whole-page announcement in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Frankfurter Rundschau and Hamburger Abendblatt, and met with a powerful public response. Encouraged by this, Peter Krämer and six prominent opponents of the war founded the Hamburg Society for Promoting Democracy and International Law. Deeply committed to strengthening the concept of international peace, Peter has personally paid all the costs of the charitable association he founded, to further its continuing goals and campaigns.