Dietmar Artzinger-Bolten

Dietmar Artzinger-Bolten (23 September 1940 – 4 March 2023) was a German football chairman, lawyer and CDU politician. He was known for his position as President of the football club 1. FC Köln from 1987 to 1991.

Life and career Artzinger-Bolten originally came from Allenstein in Ostpreußen, but was relocated to Weinheim in 1945. As a teenager he was a supporter of Stuttgarter Kickers and played on the school football team. He graduated in Weinheim in 1960, and also joined the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) that same year. Artzinger-Bolten, who was deputy federal chairman of the Ring of Christian Democratic Students, began studying Jurisprudence at the Ruprecht-Karls-University in Heidelberg. After three semesters he left Heidelberg and continued his studies in Cologne, then in Bonn. While studying in Köln, Artzinger-Bolten came into contact with 1. FC Köln as a spectator during the home games. Beginning in 1969, he worked as a lawyer. He was a member of the City Council of Cologne from 1975 to 1994 and chaired the Urban Development Committee between 1980 and 1994.

From the start of the 1980's, Artzinger-Bolten was the legal advisor to the players of 1. FC Köln. This was therefore classified as an "emergency solution". He wanted to convert the Bundesliga club into a Joint-stock company and place it into the Exchange (organized market) in 1991–92. At the time of his resignation as president in 1991, the club was heavily in debt. His successor as president to 1. FC Köln was Klaus Hartmann.

Artzinger-Bolten was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany at the end of November 1985 in recognition of his social commitment (member of the Lions Clubs International and the Board of Trustees of the Kölner Philharmonie), as well as receiving the Cross of Merit 1. Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in November 2004.