Overview
- The council voted on November 26 to confer the municipal honor, increasing the number of living Munich honorary citizens from 18 to 19.
- Since 1818 the city has awarded honorary citizenship only 67 times, underscoring the rarity of the distinction.
- Mayor Dieter Reiter praised Lesch for explaining complex issues in accessible ways and for his commitment to environmental protection.
- Lesch is a professor at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and is widely known from television programs and his YouTube channel "Urknall, Weltall und das Leben."
- He serves on the Bavarian Climate Council, recently criticized Markus Söder’s climate policy, and has previously received the Bavarian Maximilian Order and the Federal Cross of Merit.