Mayor 2015 - 2016
Herman Beyersdorf was born in Germany in 1948, and emigrated to Australia in 1957 as a child with his parents. He studied at the University of New England, where he obtained a BA (Honours) and Ph.D. After post-graduate studies at the Free University of Berlin in 1971/72, Herman became a Temporary Lecturer in German at the University of Queensland in 1973, before he joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1974, initially in Canberra and then as Third Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Berne, Switzerland. In 1977 Herman was appointed as Lecturer and later promoted to Associate Professor of German at UNE, including a term as Head of the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics (2004-2007). Herman also served on the Council of the University of New England for over 10 years, as well as being President of the UNE Branch of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) during this time. Herman retired from UNE at the end of 2008, although he continued his association with the University in a number of ways since that time.
Herman was a Councillor of Armidale Dumaresq Council from 1991 to 2016, a period of nearly twenty-five years. He served two terms as Deputy Mayor, and was the last Mayor of Armidale Dumaresq Council, serving from September 2015 - May 2016, when Armidale Dumaresq was amalgamated with Guyra to form the new Armidale Regional Council. Over the years he has been involved in numerous Council activities, including his leadership for many years as Chair of Council's Waste Management Committee, Chair of Council’s Economic Development Committee, Chair of the Environmental Sustainability Committee and a large number of other Council committees. Herman was on the Board of NERAM (New England Regional Art Museum) for a number of years, and was also Deputy Chair of Regional Development Australia – Northern Inland for a two-year term (2010-2011), to name just a few of the community activities and appointments with which Herman has been involved. Herman is married and has four adult children.
Written by Herman Beyersdorf, 20.6.17