Anke Spoorendonk (born 21 September 1947 in

Busdorf Busdorf ( da, Bustrup) is a municipality in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous cou ...

) is a German politician from the

South Schleswig Voters' Association da, Sydslesvigsk Vælgerforening frr, Söödschlaswiksche Wäälerferbånd , logo = Südschleswigscher Wählerverband, Logo.svg , logo_size = 165px , chairman = Christian Dirschauer , leader1_title = Vice Chairmen ...

(SSW). From 12 June 2012, until 28 June 2017 she was the Minister of Justice, Culture and European Affairs in the state government of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

Life

Spoorendonk is a part of the Danish minority in Schleswig-Holstein. In 1976, she graduated from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

with a master's degree in

German studies German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...

and History. From 1977 to 1996 she was a teacher at the Duborg-Skolen in

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

. Spoorendonk is a widow and has two children.

Political life

From 1996 to 2012, she was a member of the

Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...

of Schleswig-Holstein, representing the SSW, which represents the interests of the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

and the Frisian minorities. In this period she was as well the leader of the SSW group in the state parliament. After the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

, she was appointed minister for Justice, Culture and European Affairs in the newly formed coalition government called Danish traffic light coalition which consisted of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

, the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

and the SSW. It was the first time in history that this coalition has been formed. The government was led by the Social Democrat

Torsten Albig Torsten Albig (born 25 May 1963) is a German politician from the Social Democratic Party of Germany. From 2012 until 2017 he served as the 13th Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein. Early life and education Albig grew up in Ostholstein and B ...

. Because of her appointment as a minister, she resigned her office as a member of the

to pass it on to another representative from her party the SSW.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spoorendonk, Anke 1947 births Living people German people of Danish descent University of Copenhagen alumni People from Schleswig-Flensburg 21st-century German women politicians Ministers of the Schleswig-Holstein State Government South Schleswig Voters' Association politicians Women government ministers of Germany