Statements

Fletcher M. Burton

For personal and professional reasons, I am delighted that Nashville and Magdeburg have formed a sister-city relationship. Nashville is my hometown. I grew up there. My parents still live in Nashville, where I regularly visit them and my friends.

Further, I have followed Nashville’s progress over the last four decades. It has developed from a provincial Southern town to a booming city with manifold international connections. Its cosmopolitan character rests on many pillars: its music and publishing houses, institutions of higher learning, growing industries, and governmental functions.

Gone are the days when Nashville looked to Atlanta, Georgia, for inspiration. Nashville has now chartered its own path of development. The new ties with Magdeburg will further broaden its outlook and enrich its culture. From a professional standpoint, I am also pleased by the Nashville-Magdeburg news. Sachsen-Anhalt is part of my district as Consul General, a position I assumed in October 2002.

My official duties include making sure the relationship flourishes. When I made my introductory calls on the Minister-President of Sachsen-Anhalt and the Lord Mayor of Magdeburg, one of my first topics was the new city partnership.

My first visit to Magdeburg was in the spring of 1991, when I was working in Bonn at our Embassy. I have thus seen the impressive progress of the city in the past decade. The Nashville connection can also help broaden the perspective of the citizens of Magdeburg.

An urban planner once said, We shape our cities – and then they shape us. The same is true for sister-city relationships. I am confident, since I know both Nashville and Magdeburg, that this new relationship will shape us in positive ways.

Fletcher M. Burton
Former Consul General of the United States of America in Leipzig