MDR manager Ralf Ludwig is a candidate for the post of director at Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR).

The board of directors of the broadcaster unanimously proposes the personnel to the broadcasting council as the second control body, as the committee office announced on Friday.

The 54-year-old has been administrative director of the MDR since 2015.

The business graduate has held various positions for the public broadcaster since 1999.

The artistic director must be elected by the end of April at the latest.

The MDR state contract regulates that the Broadcasting Council elects an artistic director for a term of office of six years at the suggestion of the administrative board.

Karola Wille leaves at the end of October

MDR director Karola Wille recently announced that she is not seeking a third term.

Her contract expires at the end of October 2023.

The 63-year-old has been head of the station since November 2011.

The fact that there is now a candidate does not automatically mean that he will also be elected.

The state treaty states: "If an election proposal does not find the required majority in the broadcasting council, the administrative board is entitled to make a new election proposal within a further month." The broadcasting council has 50 members.

In the advertisement for the post of director it was said that one was looking for a “person with leadership experience, integrity, empathy and a connection to the region”.

Ludwig was born in Borna near Leipzig in 1968.

"Excellent knowledge of media policy"

The chairwoman of the MDR board of directors, Birgit Diezel, said: "After an intensive selection process, the MDR board of directors is convinced that in Ralf Ludwig they have found the right candidate for the future management of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk from November 2023." "Excellent knowledge of media policy and, in particular through his work as MDR administrative director, many years of leadership and management experience with high budget responsibility in the MDR".

Diezel also highlighted Ludwig's experience in ARD structures and processes.

Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk is one of the medium-sized ARD broadcasters.

The transmission area covers Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.

The station was founded after reunification and started in 1992.