Dorothée Luise Menzner née Katz (born 14 September 1965 in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

) is a German politician ( Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, until 2021

Die Linke The Left (german: Die Linke; stylised as and in its logo as ), commonly referred to as the Left Party (german: Die Linkspartei, links=no ), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of th ...

/ PDS). She was state chairwoman of the Party of Democratic Socialism in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

from 1998 to 2006 and a

member of the German Bundestag Member of the German Parliament (german: Mitglied des Deutschen Bundestages) is the official name given to a deputy in the German Bundestag. ''Member of Parliament'' refers to the elected members of the federal Bundestag Parliament at the Reichs ...

for her party from 2005 to 2013.

Life and career

After graduating from high school in 1985, Menzner first completed a voluntary social year in a home for the mentally and multiply disabled and began studying

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

at the

University of Hanover Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover (german: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität), also known as the University of Hannover, is a public research university located in Hanover, Germany. Founded on 2 May 1831 as Higher Vocational Sc ...

in 1986. After her intermediate diploma, she changed her subject and began studying

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

, which she completed in 1996 with a degree in

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

. From 1999 to 2002, Menzner worked for the PDS

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 ...

and was initially unemployed after leaving the

. From 2003 to 2005, she was self-employed. From 2005 to 2013, Menzner was a

Member of the German Bundestag Member of the German Parliament (german: Mitglied des Deutschen Bundestages) is the official name given to a deputy in the German Bundestag. ''Member of Parliament'' refers to the elected members of the federal Bundestag Parliament at the Reichs ...

. Since 2012, she has worked as a freelance publicist and

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

. In 2012, she produced the film ''Hibakusha - Journey to the Island of Happiness'' about Japan one year after the Fukushima disaster. After her Bundestag mandate, Menzner became self-employed as a legal counselor. From 2015 to 2018, she studied part-time again and graduated with a bachelor's degree in "Care and Guardianship" in November 2018. Menzner is widowed and has one son.

Politics

In her youth, Menzner was primarily involved in church youth and disability work. In 1994 she became a member of the PDS. From 1995 to 1998 she was a member of the PDS district executive committee in Hanover and also of the federal party council from 1995 to 1996. From 1997 to 2000, 2002 to 2003 and from 2004 to 2006, she was a member of the federal executive of the PDS. From 2003 to 2005, she was also a member of the Geraer Dialog spokespersons' council. Menzner was state chairwoman of the PDS in Lower Saxony from 1998 to 2006 and continued to be a member of the state executive committee as an assessor from 2006 to 2010. From 2005 to 2013, Menzner was a

. In the 16th legislative period, she was transport policy Spokesperson for the Left Party parliamentary group, in the 17th legislative period

energy policy Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contri ...

Spokesperson for the

DIE LINKE The Left (german: Die Linke; stylised as and in its logo as ), commonly referred to as the Left Party (german: Die Linkspartei, links=no ), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of th ...

parliamentary group. She was elected to the

via the state list

. Menzner justified her resignation from the party in 2021 by stating that the former party chairman Klaus Ernst had been elected chairman of the Bundestag Committee for Climate Protection and Energy. She has been a member of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen since spring 2023.divorce-with-obstacles.html Linke und Wagenknecht: Scheidung mit Hindernissen
at nd. In November 2023, she told nd that she could imagine rejoining Die Linke. As of 2008, she is a member of the Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime - League of Anti-Fascists (VVN-BdA) and delegate to the Federal Congress.Bayerisches Staatsministerium
des Innern: '' '' (S. 184)

References

External links

Lebenslauf bei der Bundestagsfraktion Die Linke
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Menzner, Dorothee Living people 1965 births Members of the Bundestag 2005–2009 Members of the Bundestag 2009–2013 Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) politicians Alliance 90/The Greens politicians Politicians from Darmstadt