Britta Ernst (born 23 February 1961) is a German politician of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

who has served as Education Minister of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

since 2017. She was a member of the

Hamburg Parliament The Hamburg Parliament (german: Hamburgische Bürgerschaft; literally “Hamburgish Citizenry”) is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Hamburg according to the constitution of Hamburg. As of 2011 there were 121 members in the parli ...

from 1997 to 2011, served as School Minister 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 ...

from 2014 to 2017, and as president of the

Kultusministerkonferenz The ''Kultusministerkonferenz'' (literally ''conference of ministers of education'') is the assembly of ministers of education of the German states. The body is not part of the federal government, and its directives do not immediately become eff ...

in 2021. She is the wife of

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Olaf Scholz Olaf Scholz (; born ) is a German politician who has served as the chancellor of Germany since 8 December 2021. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice Chancellor of German ...

Early life

Ernst was born in Hamburg. After her

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

in 1980, she completed an

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

in real estate. Afterwards, Ernst studied

general economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyze ...

, graduating in 1990, and

social economics Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local ...

, graduating in 1992. Ernst is a member of the

Friedrich Ebert Foundation The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as the ...

and of the

ver.di (''Verdi'' (stylized as ''ver.di''; �vɛʁdiː; German: ''United Services Trade Union'') is a German trade union based in Berlin, Germany. It was established on 19 March 2001 as the result of a merger of five individual unions and is a memb ...

union. In 1998, Ernst married fellow politician

, who was elected

Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...

in 2021. The couple lives in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

Political career

Ernst has been an active member of the

(SPD) since 1978. From 1991 to 1993 as a member of the Altona district assembly. In 1993 she was

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

's personal advisor. From 1994 to 1997 she was senator

Thomas Mirow Thomas Mirow (born 6 January 1953) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party who served as president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from 2008 to 2012. Early life and educatio ...

's personal advisor. Ernst was a member of the

from 8 October 1997 to 31 August 2011. She represented the SPD in the school committee, science committee and the special committee for neglected children. She was also a member of the commission for school development. From 2001 to 2006 she was deputy parliamentary group leader of the SPD parliamentary group and spokesperson for school policy. Her political priorities are school and education policy as well as gender equality. From 2006 to the beginning of 2011, Ernst was the parliamentary director of her faction. In the

2008 Hamburg state election The 2008 Hamburg state election was held on 24 February 2008 to elect the members of the 19th Hamburg Parliament. The incumbent Christian Democratic Union led by First Mayor Ole von Beust government lost its majority. The CDU subsequently formed ...

, she was re-elected to the Hamburg parliament, this time for the . During this term of office, Ernst served as the SPD's spokesperson on constitutional matters. In addition, she continued to serve on the school committee and started to serve on the constitutional and district committee. During the

2009 Schleswig-Holstein state election The 2009 Schleswig-Holstein state election was held on 27 September 2009 to elect the members of the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein. It was held on the same day as the 2009 federal election and the 2009 Brandenburg state election. The election w ...

, Ernst was a member of

Ralf Stegner Ralf Stegner (born 2 October 1959) is a political scientist and a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as a member of the German Bundestag for the constituency of Pinneberg since the 2021 elections. Stegn ...

's shadow cabinet. In the

2011 Hamburg state election The 2011 Hamburg state election was held on 20 February 2011 to elect the members of the 20th Hamburg Parliament. The election was triggered by the collapse of the coalition government between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Green Al ...

, she was re-elected to the Hamburg parliament, but resigned on 31 August of the same year in order to work as deputy parliamentary group manager for the SPD faction in the

German Bundestag German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. In 2014, she was appointed Minister for School and Professional Education of the state of Schleswig-Holstein in

minister-president A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. It ...

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 Bi ...

's cabinet and served as such until 2017, as well as deputy member of the

German Bundesrat The German Bundesrat ( lit. Federal Council; ) is a legislative body that represents the sixteen ''Länder'' (federated states) of Germany at the federal level (German: ''Bundesebene''). The Bundesrat meets at the former Prussian House of Lords ...

from 2014 to 2017. Since September 2017, Ernst has been serving as State Minister for Education, Youth and Sport of

in minister-president

Dietmar Woidke Hubert Dietmar Woidke (born 22 October 1961) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Since August 2013, Woidke has served as Minister President of Brandenburg. Political career Woidke has been a member of the SPD ...

's cabinet. From 2017 to 2019, she has been a member of the

, and has been a deputy member since 2019. In 2021, she also served as President of the

, the assembly of ministers of education of the German states.

Other activities

Stiftung Lesen Stiftung Lesen (Reading Foundation) is a non-profit organization based in Mainz, Germany under the patronage of Joachim Gauck. Stiftung Lesen acts as a stakeholder for reading promotion on a national and international level. It contributes to readi ...

, Member of the Board of TrusteesBoard of Trustees

References

External links

*
Ministerin Ernst
at the Ministry for Education, Youth and Sport * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ernst, Britta Living people 1961 births Politicians from Hamburg 20th-century German women politicians Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Members of the Hamburg Parliament Olaf Scholz 21st-century German women politicians Ministers of the Schleswig-Holstein State Government Women ministers of State Governments in Germany Ministers of the Brandenburg State Government Spouses of chancellors of Germany