Prof. Günter Girnau turns 75

“Dynamic”, “young”, “full of ideas” and “systematic thinker” are some of the attributes that mark Professor Günter Girnau, the long-standing chairman and now an honorary member of the STUVA board, following his 75th birthday in August 2009. These are only some of the spontaneous responses to emerge from STUVA circles.
In actual fact everything could have turned out so differently on July 31st, 1998, when Prof. Girnau ended his career as the CEO of the VDV after being awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in recognition of numerous honorary activities on behalf of traffic science and transport economics.
Certainly being “in retirement” is open to interpretation but basically it usually is associated with “taking it easy”. To envisage that Prof. Girnau is in the interim taking it easier almost gives us cause to sympathise with those, who found themselves virtually “swamped” by him when he was really active. After all, he still possesses the capacity to practice “management by walking”, something he successfully introduced then (which comprised walking through the various offices on a daily basis to spread new ideas, which he had come up with and which were very much appreciated). Prof. Girnau believes his most important function is to pass on knowledge to the next generation. “You know”, he once said prior to stepping down from his STUVA activities, “once the young ‘uns are up to scratch, we old guys can go”. At the same it’s quite evident to all those who are associated with this endearing “old fogy” that he’s anything but old. Although he was determined not to accept any new posts after he went into official retirement, he frequently finds it hard to say no and is thankful to take on the one or other tricky assignment, which he of course masters with the sovereignty that we are accustomed to.
When such a birthday rolls around it is customary to list all the distinctions and awards that have been presented to the person in question. As this has already happened in the past (e.g. in tunnel 5/2004 on the occasion of his 70th birthday or in tunnel 8/1999 when he was appointed to be an honorary member of the STUVA board), we decided to leave this well alone. Instead the STUVA team is taking the opportunity to thank this wonderful and clever person: for the support, the good advice – sometimes also of a private nature –, the basics in strategic action and the many stimulating and highly interesting conversations. Best wishes to mark your birthday, dear Professor Girnau! We wish you all the best, health and creativeness for the future!