The Frank Stein era as mayor of Bergisch Gladbach ended on 31 October 2025 - and he already has a new task! The Board of Trustees of the One World Foundation Rhein-Berg unanimously elected him as a new member of the foundation's supervisory body. Stein (born in 1963) grew up in Engelskirchen-Loope in the Upper Berg region in a working-class Catholic household, studied law in Cologne and joined the SPD early on, which he represented from 1992 to 2000 as a member of the council of the municipality of Engelskirchen. Frank Stein married in 1994 and went on to have two children. The enthusiastic marathon runner (he successfully took part in the Berlin Marathon again just a few weeks ago) worked for TÜV Rheinland and the German and North Rhine-Westphalian Association of Towns and Municipalities. In 2000, he switched from honorary to full-time local politics and became an alderman for citizens, environment and social affairs for the city of Leverkusen. After being unanimously re-elected to this position in 2008, the Leverkusen Council elected him Treasurer and Councillor for Legal Affairs and Security in 2013. In 2017, Stein moved to Bergisch Gladbach, where he initially held the office of Treasurer and Councillor for Law, Security and Order as well as for Youth and Social Affairs before finally being elected Mayor on 1 November 2020.
Markus Bollen is another unanimously elected member of the Board of Trustees of the One World Foundation Rhein-Berg. Bollen was born in Hamburg in 1960, but spent his childhood in the Bergisches Land region. He began training as a photographer in Berlin in 1981, followed by a period of study in China, before setting up his own photography business in Bergisch Gladbach in 1987. Markus Bollen is married and has four grown-up children. His second major theme in life is nature conservation. As a hobby beekeeper, he is committed to insect conservation and biodiversity; as the founder of the „Blühendes-GL“ initiative, he has been promoting the planting of native flowering plants that provide food for insects wherever possible since 2017. Bollen is an enthusiastic cyclist and campaigns for more tolerance and consideration among road users. Markus Bollen is also politically committed to this. As an expert citizen, he is involved in the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group in Bergisch Gladbach.
Both trustees have accepted the election and are looking forward to their new tasks.
The One World Foundation Rhein-Berg aims to support people in economically weak countries. Among other things, it supports educational institutions, health centres and training workshops, guided by the principle of „helping people to help themselves“.
Donation account
Volksbank Berg eG
IBAN: DE40 3706 9125 0203 9800 19
BIC: GENODED