Awet Tesfaiesus ( ti, ዓወት ተስፋየሱስ; born 5 October 1974) is a German politician from
Alliance 90/The Greens
Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...
who has served as a member of the
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
from the state of
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
since 2021. Previously a lawyer who represented asylum seekers and refugees, Tesfaiesus was elected as a city councillor for the city of
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
in 2016. Tesfaiesus was elected in the
2021 German federal election
Federal elections in Germany, Federal elections were held in Germany on 26 September 2021 to elect the members of the List of members of the 20th Bundestag, 20th Bundestag. States of Germany, State elections in 2021 Berlin state election, Berli ...
as a member of the Green Party list in the state of
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
. She is the first black woman to ever be elected to the Bundestag.
Political career
Tesfaiesus has been a member of
Alliance 90/The Greens
Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...
since 2009.
After expressing concern over the
Alternative for Germany
Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist
*
*
*
*
*
*
* political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...
's entry into the Kassel city council as a result of increased anti-immigrant sentiments, she decided to enter municipal politics to become a city councillor. She was elected to Kassel's city council in 2016 and introduced
anti-discrimination legislation
This is a list of anti-discrimination acts (often called discrimination acts or anti-discrimination laws), which are laws designed to prevent discrimination.
Australia
*Anti-discrimination laws in Australia
**Age Discrimination Act 2004
**Anti- ...
inspired by her experiences dealing with racism in her daily life. Tesfaiesus cited her experience of being shut out of being offered apartments due to her surname, only to have her German-born husband call and be accepted.
Tesfaiesus also cited the 2020
Hanau shootings
The Hanau shootings occurred on 19 February 2020, when eleven people were killed and five others wounded in a terrorist shooting spree by a schizophrenic far-right extremist targeting two shisha bars in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. A ...
, where a far-right extremist engaged in a racially motivated mass shooting in Hesse, her home state, as her reason for entering national politics.
She had previously considered withdrawing from the political scene, but was incentivized to step forward in response to the xenophobic attacks.
Tesfaiesus ran as a direct candidate in
Werra-Meißner – Hersfeld-Rotenburg
Werra-Meißner – Hersfeld-Rotenburg is an electoral constituency (German: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as cons ...
constituency in the
2021 federal election and placed fourth. Tesfaiesus' campaign slogan was "courage to change".
She was in ninth position on the Greens
party list
An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...
for the state of Hesse, and was elected to the Bundestag. Tesfaiesus became the first black woman elected to the
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
in what was a younger and more ethnically diverse Bundestag cohort than previously.
Tesfaiesus aims to remove barriers to naturalization within Germany, including lifting restrictions imposed by the
dual citizenship
Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...
status.
Tesfaiesus wished to use her platform to demonstrate to people who did not "look German" that they had a place within Germany's society and political culture.
Other activities
* German Federal Film Board (FFA), Alternate Member of the Supervisory Board (since 2022)
Mitglieder mehrerer Gremien gewählt
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
, press release of 17 February 2022.
Personal life
Tesfaiesus was born in Asmara
Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The ...
, Eritrea (then known as Eritrea Province
The Province of Eritrea (, ) was a province in the far north part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Asmara. Eritrea gained its independence in 1993 following the Eritrean War of Independence.
History
The region was historically called Medri ...
under Ethiopian rule) in 1974, less than a month after the Derg
The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " c ...
overthrew the government of the Ethiopian Empire
The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historical ...
. Her family had sought asylum in Germany to escape political persecution, as her father was sought out by the Ethiopian police due to his support for Eritrean independence. Her family emigrated to the city of Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
when Tesfaiesus was ten years old.
Growing up, she failed to see any Afro-German
Afro-Germans (german: Afrodeutsche) or Black Germans (german: schwarze Deutsche) are people of Sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or residents of Germany.
Cities such as Hamburg and Frankfurt, which were formerly centres of occupatio ...
representation on television, with the only exceptions being African Americans while she was watching MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
at 12 in the morning. She received aid from individuals who supported her in her childhood, including teachers and church groups, and she decided to pursue a career which would help repay their efforts. In her everyday life, she experienced individuals who would initially speak to her in English assuming that she was a foreigner. Tesfaiesus eventually was able to become a German citizen, and after contemplating it in 1996, she subsequently accepted the offer.
Her first name means "victory" in the Tigrinya language
(; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions.
History and literature
...
.
Tesfaiesus studied law and moved to Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
in northern Hesse, where she had lived for the past 20 years. Tesfaiesus primarily focuses on cases pertaining to foreigners and asylum law, and often represents asylum seekers and refugees.
Tesfaiesus had considered moving to Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
with her 10-year-old son and husband following the Hanau shootings
The Hanau shootings occurred on 19 February 2020, when eleven people were killed and five others wounded in a terrorist shooting spree by a schizophrenic far-right extremist targeting two shisha bars in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. A ...
and the elevated xenophobia which had been the cause for the incident.
See also
*Karamba Diaby
Karamba Diaby (born 27 November 1961) is a Senegalese-born German chemist and politician of the Social Democratic Party who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since the 2013 elections.
Early life and education
Diaby grew up in Marsas ...
, previously Germany's only black MP
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tesfaiesus, Awet
Members of the Bundestag for Hesse
Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025
1974 births
Female members of the Bundestag
Living people
21st-century German women politicians
Members of the Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens
German people of Eritrean descent
Naturalized citizens of Germany