Rahul Kumar of Kelsterbach has become the first Indian to serve as a State Councillor in Germany. A politician with the Free Democratic Party (FDP), he took the post in 2016 and now represents Frankfurt Kelsterbach. He is also the youngest German citizen with Indian roots ever to hold the position. The news was released in Raunheim on December 4, 2017.
Indians have been a respected community in Germany since the last quarter of the 20th century. Over the decades, many have made their mark in culture, academics and sports, and Kumar now adds politics to that list.
Kumar was born in India and moved with his family to Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen as a small child. His father, Raj Kumar, worked in a retail and wholesale business. After finishing Otto Hahn School, Kumar went on to Technical University Darmstadt. He trained as a computer scientist and runs his own IT company.
His career has crossed several industries, including banking, automotive and medicine. For six years he led member administration at the German Association of Internal Medicine. Because he has cared about medicine since childhood, he also wrote regularly for the medical journal Der Internist. For the past three years he has taught seminars for the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) Wiesbaden.
Kumar is a partner in several health care businesses as well. These include a nursing care chain in Frankfurt and a day-care center for seniors.
In the party, he sits on the district executive committee of the FDP Gross-Gerau. He is also the founder and managing director of the children’s aid group KfK. Since 2010 he has organized cultural events across the Rhine-Main region. His charity work includes a blood donation drive with the German Red Cross, a music school and tree planting. In 2016 he staged Sounds of Rainbow, a music and dance event that drew a record 700 guests.
Kumar is known as a popular activist and speaker with a large following across Germany. He serves as honorary chairman of several social organizations, and he has received honors from leading figures in both German and Indian politics.
