Members of the Board

Romani Rose (Chairman)

Romani Rose was born in Heidelberg in 1946, where he worked as a businessman until 1982. After the establishment of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma in 1982, he was elected as the first chairman by the delegates of the member organizations – at that time nine, today 16 state associations and regional associations – and has since been confirmed in office every four years by the general assembly. From 1991, Rose assumed the management of the Documentation and Cultural Center of German Sinti and Roma in Heidelberg. In 2017, he was personally awarded the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Oswald Marschall (Vice Chairman)

Oswald Marschall was active in German amateur boxing from 1963 and became a German national team boxer for the first time in 1971. In 1974, he took part in the European Championships in Kyiv as part of the German national team. After the end of his active career, Oswald Marschall founded the Boxclub Minden e.V. in his home town.

Through sports activities, exhibitions and educational programs, he wants to help strengthen the self-confidence of young Sinti and Roma and raise awareness of the concerns of Sinti and Roma in mainstream society. Oswald Marschall is the first chairman of the Association of German Sinti e.V. Minden, which was founded in 2010, and of the educational center “Mer Ketne Wir zusammen!”, which opened in 2016 He works as a political advisor for the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma.

Erich Schneeberger (Vice Chairman)

Erich Schneeberger has been involved with the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma since the 1980s and is a founding member of the Bavarian State Association of German Sinti and Roma. He has been managing director of the office and advisory center and chairman of the board of the Bavarian state association since 1998.

In lectures at Bavarian schools and adult education institutions, Erich Schneeberger has been reporting on the history and current situation of the Sinti and Roma living in Bavaria for over two decades. In 2011, Erich Schneeberger was awarded the Bavarian Constitutional Medal in Silver by State Parliament President Barbara Stamm for his outstanding services to the Bavarian constitution.