Hubertus Heil (born 3 November 1972) 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 ...
(SPD) who has been serving as
Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in the
fourth cabinet 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 ...
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
and the
first cabinet of Chancellor
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 ...
since 14 March 2018.
In 2005, Heil became general secretary of the SPD. In September 2009, after immense losses for the SPD during the German federal election, Heil announced his resignation from this position for November.
Andrea Nahles
Andrea Maria Nahles (born 20 June 1970) is a former German politician who has been the director of the Federal Employment Agency (BA) since 2022.
Nahles is best known for having served as leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from April 2 ...
succeeded him as general secretary in November 2009. After
Katarina Barley
Katarina Barley (born 19 November 1968) is a German politician and lawyer who has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2019, serving as one of its Vice-Presidents. She served as Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection in th ...
's appointment as
Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, he briefly returned to the office from 2 June to 8 December 2017.
Early life and career
Heil was born in
Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...
in 1972 as son of a teacher. After graduation in 1992 at the ''Gymnasium am Silberkamp'' in
Peine
Peine (; Eastphalian: ''Paane'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of the district Peine. It is situated on the river Fuhse and the Mittellandkanal, approximately west of Braunschweig, and east of Hanover.
History
A deed from 11 ...
, Heil has been drafted for the
Alternative civilian service (in German: ''
Zivildienst
Zivildienst is the German denomination for the alternative civilian service for conscripted persons who are conscientious objectors to fulfill their national service, typically in the fields of social work (e.g. hospitals, retirement homes, em ...
'') and in 1995 he started with his studies in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
and
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
at the
University of Potsdam
The University of Potsdam is a public university in Potsdam, capital of the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is mainly situated across three campuses in the city. Some faculty buildings are part of the New Palace of Sanssouci which is known ...
, which he graduated in 2006 at the
University of Hagen
The University of Hagen (german: link=no, FernUniversität in Hagen, informally often referred to as FU Hagen) is a public research university that is primarily focused on distance teaching. While its main campus is located in Hagen, North Rh ...
.
From 1995 to 1997, Heil was the assistant of Heidrun Förster, a member of the
Brandenburg State Parliament and in 1998 assistant of Eva Folta, 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 ...
.
Political career
Heil joined the SPD in 1988. At first, he was active at the
Jusos
Working Group of Young Socialists in the SPD (german: Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Jungsozialistinnen und Jungsozialisten in der SPD, Jusos) is a volunteer youth organization of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
As of 2021, there are over ...
and he was their chairman in the district of
Braunschweig
Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
from 1991 to 1995. From 1995 to 1997 Heil was executive director of the ''Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Arbeitnehmerfragen'', a
leftist
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures.
The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...
in the SPD, representing the workers' wing of the party, although he was reputed to belong to the undogmatical reform socialist wing during his
Juso time.
Today Heil serves as chairman of the SPD in Braunschweig.
Member of the German Bundestag, 1998–present
Heil has been 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 ...
since the
1998 German elections, representing the electoral district of
Gifhorn
Gifhorn () is a town and capital of the district of Gifhorn in the east of Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 42,000 and is mainly influenced by the small distance to the more industrial and commercially important cities nearby, ...
-
Peine
Peine (; Eastphalian: ''Paane'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of the district Peine. It is situated on the river Fuhse and the Mittellandkanal, approximately west of Braunschweig, and east of Hanover.
History
A deed from 11 ...
. Between 1998 and 2005, when his party was leading the federal government with
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who served as the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany ...
, he was a member of the Committee on Economic Affairs. In this capacity, he served as the SPD parliamentary group's spokesperson for telecommunications and postal services from 2003. In addition to his committee assignments, he was a member of the executive board of the SPD parliamentary group under the leadership of chairman
Franz Müntefering
Franz Müntefering (; born 16 January 1940) is a German politician. He was Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 2004 to 2005 and again from 18 October 2008 to 13 November 2009. He served as the minister of Labour and Social Affairs, ...
from 2002 to 2004.
In November 2005 the then designated party leader
Matthias Platzeck
Matthias Platzeck (born 29 December 1953) is a German politician. He was Minister President of Brandenburg from 2002 to 2013 and party chairman of the SPD from November 2005 to April 2006.
On 29 July 2013 Platzeck announced his resignation fr ...
proposed the relatively unknown Heil as the candidate for the post of secretary general, after
Franz Müntefering
Franz Müntefering (; born 16 January 1940) is a German politician. He was Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 2004 to 2005 and again from 18 October 2008 to 13 November 2009. He served as the minister of Labour and Social Affairs, ...
had resigned as SPD chairman and the initially nominated candidate
Andrea Nahles
Andrea Maria Nahles (born 20 June 1970) is a former German politician who has been the director of the Federal Employment Agency (BA) since 2022.
Nahles is best known for having served as leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from April 2 ...
, who had beaten Müntefering's candidate for that position in a vote of the party executive, had withdrawn from her candidacy. At the same time the party was forming a
grand coalition
A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government. The term is most commonly used in countries where there are t ...
government with
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
's
CDU. Heil was elected new secretary general of the SPD, but he received only 61.2 percent of the votes, about 20 percent less than his predecessor
Klaus Uwe Benneter
Klaus Uwe Benneter (born 1 March 1947) is a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Education and early life
Benneter was born in Karlsruhe. After finishing High School in Karlsru ...
. He later served under Platzeck (2005-2006) as well as under his successors
Kurt Beck
Kurt Beck (born 5 February 1949) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who served as the 7th Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate from 1994 to 2013 and as the 55th President of the Bundesrat in 2000/01. In May 2006, ...
(2006-2008) and Müntefering (2008-2009). During that time, he oversaw the drafting process of the party's Hamburg Program, which has been the
party platform
A political party platform (US English), party program, or party manifesto (preferential term in British & often Commonwealth English) is a formal set of principle goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, in order ...
since 2007. Following heavy losses in the 2009 federal election and CDU and
FDP winning a majority, Heil did not run for the position again.
Between 2009 and 2017, Heil served as deputy chairman of the SPD's parliamentary group, under the leadership of successive chairmen
Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician serving as President of Germany since 19 March 2017. He was previously Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017, as well as Vice Chan ...
(2009-2013) and
Thomas Oppermann
Thomas Ludwig Albert Oppermann (27 April 195425 October 2020) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). From October 2017 until his death he served as Vice President of the Bundestag. In his earlier career, he serv ...
(2013-2017), the first four years in the opposition and the other four as a government party. In this capacity, he was a member of the working groups on energy policy and municipal policy from 2009 until 2013. He was also an advisory member of the Commission for Fundamental Values of the executive committee of the SPD, a body led by
Gesine Schwan
Gesine Schwan (née ''Schneider'', 22 May 1943) is a German political science professor and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. The party has nominated her twice as a candidate for the federal presidential elections. On 23 May 2004, ...
.
In the negotiations to form a second
grand coalition
A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government. The term is most commonly used in countries where there are t ...
under
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 ...
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
and return to the government following the
2013 federal elections, Heil led the SPD delegation in the working group on economic affairs; his co-chair from the CDU/CSU was
Ilse Aigner
Ilse Aigner (born 7 December 1964) is a German politician and member of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU).
Aigner was born in Feldkirchen-Westerham, Bavaria, and entered Angela Merkel's grand coalition cabinet as Federal Minister of ...
. Shortly ahead of the
2017 elections, he was again appointed general secretary on acting basis by
Martin Schulz
Martin Schulz (born 20 December 1955) is a German politician who served as Leader of the Social Democratic Party from 2017 to 2018, and was a Member of the Bundestag (MdB) from 2017 to 2021. Previously he was President of the European Parliame ...
because
Katarina Barley
Katarina Barley (born 19 November 1968) is a German politician and lawyer who has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2019, serving as one of its Vice-Presidents. She served as Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection in th ...
left the office to be appointed a federal minister. In that capacity Heil organised the campaign and contributed to the
manifesto
A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...
of Schulz. In the negotiations to form the third grand coalition under Merkel, he led the working group on education policy, alongside
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (; Kramp; born 9 August 1962), sometimes referred to by her initials of AKK, is a retired German politician who served as Minister of Defence from 2019 to 2021 and as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from ...
,
Stefan Müller and
Manuela Schwesig
Manuela Schwesig (' Frenzel, born 23 May 1974) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party serving as Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern since 4 July 2017. She is the first woman to serve as head of government of this state. P ...
.
Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, 2018–present
Since becoming Minister of Labour and Social Affairs when the SPD joined the
fourth Merkel cabinet
The Fourth Merkel cabinet (German: ''Kabinett Merkel IV'') was the 23rd Government of the Federal Republic of Germany during the 19th legislative session of the Bundestag. It was sworn in on 14 March 2018 following the 2017 federal election and d ...
in a
grand coalition
A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government. The term is most commonly used in countries where there are t ...
following the
2017 German federal election
Federal elections were held in Germany on 24 September 2017 to elect the members of the 19th Bundestag. At stake were at least 598 seats in the Bundestag, as well as 111 overhang and leveling seats determined thereafter.
The Christian Democr ...
, Heil has overseen a number of legal measures to strengthen workers’ rights, including a law forcing logistics and eCommerce companies to ensure that their subcontractors pay proper social security contributions for their drivers, and the introduction of a higher basic pension for low-income workers. Amid the
COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
The COVID-19 pandemic in Germany has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths.
On 27 January 2020, the first case in Germany was confirmed near Munich, Bavaria. By mid February, the arising cluster of cases had been fully containe ...
, he worked on legislation to give employees the right to work from home even when the coronavirus crisis is over.
At a SPD national convention in 2019, Heil was elected as one of the five deputies of the party's co-chairs
Saskia Esken
Saskia Christina Esken (' Hofer; born 28 August 1961) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who has been serving as co-leader of the party since being elected in December 2019 (alongside Norbert Walter-Borjans) ...
and
Norbert Walter-Borjans
Norbert Walter-Borjans (born 17 September 1952) is a German economist and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as co-leader of the SPD (alongside Saskia Esken) from 2019 to 2021. He served as State Minister of Finance of ...
, alongside
Klara Geywitz
Klara Geywitz (born 18 February 1976) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) serving as Federal Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Building in the Scholz cabinet since 2021. She served as member of th ...
,
Kevin Kühnert
Kevin Kühnert (born 1 July 1989) is a German politician and the General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since the 2021 elections, representing Berlin-Tempelhof-Schön ...
,
Serpil Midyatli and
Anke Rehlinger
Anke Gabriele Rehlinger (''né'' Moos; born 6 April 1976) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has served as the Minister-President of Saarland since 25 April 2022. After her party won the 2022 state elect ...
.
Ahead of the
2021 elections
Many elections occurred in 2021. The National Democratic Institute maintains calendar of elections around the world
* 2021 United Nations Security Council election
* 2021 national electoral calendar
* 2021 local electoral calendar Africa
* 2021 ...
, Heil was elected to lead the SPD campaign 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 ...
. Following the elections, the SPD took over leadership of the government and new Chancellor
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 ...
announced that Heil would stay on as Labour Minister in
the new cabinet. Shortly after, he implemented the new government’s decision to increase the minimum wage to 12 euros ($13.61) per hour from October 2022 on. He also led efforts to fast-track work permits and visas for several thousand foreign airport workers, mainly from Turkey, to help to ease staffing shortages in the tourism sector after a series of
COVID-19 lockdowns
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...
.
Along with
Svenja Schulze
Svenja Schulze (born 29 September 1968) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). She serves as Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development in the cabinet of Olaf Scholz. Schulze has been serving as member of the German ...
, Heil is currently the longest-serving cabinet member.
Political positions
In 2012, Heil proposed a special panel in the
Federal Chancellery to help overcome professional skill shortages, comprising representatives of industry, unions as well as the federal labor agency and regional and community associations.
Personal life
Heil is married to lawyer Solveig Orlowski, who has managed the Berlin office of the Association of Telecommunications and Value-Added Service Providers (VATM) since 2005. The couple has two children, a son (* 2012) and a daughter (* 2014). His brother Georg Heil is a journalist with
public broadcaster
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...
. Heil is Protestant.
Other activities
Regulatory bodies
*
Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Posts and Railway (BNetzA), Member of the advisory board (2003-2005)
Corporate boards
*
KfW
The KfW, which together with its subsidiaries DEG, KfW IPEX-Bank and FuB forms the KfW Bankengruppe ("banking group"), is a German state-owned investment and development bank, based in Frankfurt. As of 2014, it is the world's largest national d ...
, Member of the Board of Supervisory Directors (2010–present)
Non-profit organizations
* ''Berliner Republik'' magazine, Publisher
*
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 ...
(FES), Member
* ''Progressives Zentrum'', Member of the Circle of Friends
Circle of Friends
Progressives Zentrum.
* FernUniversität Hagen
The University of Hagen (german: link=no, FernUniversität in Hagen, informally often referred to as FU Hagen) is a public research university that is primarily focused on distance teaching. While its main campus is located in Hagen, North Rh ...
, Member of the Parliamentary Advisory Board (2013–present)
* Leibniz Association
The Leibniz Association (German: ''Leibniz-Gemeinschaft'' or ''Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz'') is a union of German non-university research institutes from various disciplines.
As of 2020, 96 non-university research insti ...
, Member of the Senate
* Stiftung Neue Verantwortung, Member of the Presidium (2009–present)
* IG Metall
IG Metall (; IGM; German: ''Industriegewerkschaft Metall'', "Industrial Union of Metalworkers'") is the dominant metalworkers' union in Germany, making it the country's largest union as well as Europe's largest industrial union. Analysts of Ger ...
, Member
* German Association for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW), Member of the Political Advisory Board (2015-2016)
* Klaus Dieter Arndt Foundation, Deputy Chairman of the Board (2002-2005)
* ''ZDF
ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
'', Member of the Television Board (2009-2010)
References
External links
Official website
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heil, Hubertus
1972 births
German anti-communists
German Protestants
Living people
Members of the Bundestag for Lower Saxony
People from Hildesheim
Labor ministers (Germany)
Social Affairs ministers of Germany
University of Potsdam alumni
Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025
Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021
Members of the Bundestag 2013–2017
Members of the Bundestag 2009–2013
Members of the Bundestag 2005–2009
Members of the Bundestag 2002–2005
Members of the Bundestag 1998–2002
Members of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany