Klaus Lederer (born 21 March 1974) is a German politician of The Left who is serving as

Deputy Mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected dep ...

and Senator for Culture and Europe in the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

state government since December 2016. He is also a member of the

Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin The Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin (House of Deputies) () is the state parliament (''Landtag'') of Berlin, Germany according to the city-state's constitution. In 1993 the parliament moved from Rathaus Schöneberg to its present house on Niederkirchne ...

since 2001. He previously served as chairman of the Berlin branch of The Left from 2006 to 2016. He was lead candidate for his party in the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

state elections.

Early life and education

Lederer was born in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...

and grew up in

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

, where he attended

Polytechnic Secondary School The polytechnic secondary school, officially ''ten-class general educational polytechnic secondary school'', abbreviation POS, pronounced P-O-S, was the standard type of school in the school system of East Germany. The POS was established in 1959 ...

. In 1988, the family moved to

Hohenschönhausen Hohenschönhausen () was a borough of Berlin, that existed from 1985 until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform. It comprised the localities of Alt-Hohenschönhausen (the core of the borough), Neu-Hohenschönhausen, Malchow, Wartenberg and Falken ...

in Berlin. There he attended Heinrich-Hertz-Oberschule in

Friedrichshain Friedrichshain () is a quarter (''Ortsteil'') of the borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in Berlin, Germany. From its creation in 1920 until 2001, it was a freestanding city borough. Formerly part of East Berlin, it is adjacent to Mitte, Prenz ...

, studying mathematics and science and earning his

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 1992. He then spent a year in youth social work before studying law at the

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

. He passed the first state law examination in 1998. After his studies, he did one year of civilian service in senior citizen care. He then worked on his dissertation on ''Privatization in the water sector'' at the Law Faculty of Humboldt University, where he received his doctorate in 2004. In February 2005, Lederer received the Carl Goerdeler Award from the Carl and Anneliese Goerdeler Foundation Leipzig and the

Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik The Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik (English: ''German Institute of Urban Affairs'') is a German think tank. It conducts research on urban development in Germany and in other German-speaking countries or regions. The institute was founded by t ...

for his doctoral thesis, as well as the John Desmond Bernal Award from the

Rosa Luxemburg Foundation The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (german: Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung), named in recognition of Rosa Luxemburg, occasionally referred to as ''Rosa-Lux'', is a transnational alternative policy lobby group and educational institution, centered in Germa ...

Brandenburg. In February 2006, he passed the second state law examination.

Personal life

Lederer lives with his husband in

Prenzlauer Berg Prenzlauer Berg () is a locality of Berlin, forming the southerly and most urban district of the borough of Pankow. From its founding in 1920 until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a district of Berlin in its own right. However, that year it was incorp ...

. He is a member of the ''Queer Nations'' initiative and participated in the

Equality Parade Equality Parade ( pl, Parada Równości) is an LGBT community pride parade held in Warsaw since 2001, usually in May or June. It has attracted at least several thousand attendees each year; 20,000 attendees (the largest number of any year prior ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

as part of the Queer Nations conference in 2007. He performed several times with the Prenzlauer Berg-based

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

group Rostkehlchen and released a CD in 2002, covering songs of the former East German punk band

Feeling B Feeling B was a punk rock band founded in East Berlin in 1983. They started out firmly grounded in the underground punk scene. Over time, Feeling B's popularity grew greatly, and climaxed around the end of the German Democratic Republic. Front ...

in the style of a 1920s tenor. On 5 June 2009, Lederer entered into a civil partnership with his long-term partner. They have been married since August 2018.

Political career

Lederer joined the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) in 1992. From 1992 to 1995, he was a member of the youth welfare committee of the Mitte borough of Berlin. In 1995, he was elected to the municipal council in

for the PDS. From 1997 to 2003, he was a member of the PDS federal arbitration committee. In 2000, he became deputy chairman of the PDS in

Pankow Pankow () is the most populous and the second-largest borough by area of Berlin. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, it was merged with the former boroughs of Prenzlauer Berg and Weißensee; the resulting borough retained the name Pankow. P ...

; in 2003 he was elected deputy state chairman. Lederer entered the

on 1 January 2003 after the resignation of Harald Wolf. He became the PDS spokesman for legal policy and a member of the Committee for Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Immunity, and Rules of Procedure. In December 2005, Lederer succeeded

Stefan Liebich Stefan Liebich (born 30 December 1972) is a German politician, who served as a member of the Bundestag for the Democratic Socialist party The Left (DIE LINKE) between 2009 and 2021. Life Liebich was born on 30 December 1972 in the East Germ ...

as state chairman of the Berlin branch of the PDS, which by this time had been renamed ''Left Party.PDS''. At the state party conference, he received nearly 90% of votes. After the foundation of The Left in June 2007, he was elected Berlin state chairman with 80% of votes. Lederer ran as a candidate in

Berlin-Mitte Mitte () (German for "middle" or "center") is a central locality () of Berlin in the eponymous district () of Mitte. Until 2001, it was itself an autonomous district. Mitte proper comprises the historic center of Alt-Berlin centered on the chu ...

for the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

federal elections but was unsuccessful, placing fourth both times. Within The Left, Lederer is a member of the reform-oriented Forum for Democratic Socialism. He became a member of the party's federal executive board in 2012, serving until 2018. Lederer was re-elected to the Abgeordnetenhaus in the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

state elections. He was The Left's lead candidate in the 2016 election and was re-elected; The Left became the third largest party in the Abgeordnetenhaus. Lederer subsequently led the Left's negotiations with the

SPD 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 ...

and

Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...

to form a coalition government, which were successful. After joining the

Senate of Berlin The Senate of Berlin (german: Berliner Senat) is the executive body governing the city of Berlin, which at the same time is a States of Germany, state of Germany. According to the the Senate consists of the Governing Mayor of Berlin and up to t ...

, he resigned from the Abgeordnetenhaus in January 2017. He served as lead candidate for The Left for a second time in the 2021 state election, and was re-elected once again.

Senator of Berlin

On 8 December 2016, Lederer became Deputy Governing Mayor and Senator for Culture and Europe in the

second Müller senate The second Müller senate was the state government of Berlin between 2016 and 2021, sworn in on 8 December 2016 after Michael Müller was elected as Governing Mayor by the members of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. It was the 27th Senate of Berl ...

. After the 2021 election, he was re-appointed to the same positions in the Giffey senate.

Literature

*Karsten Krampitz, Klaus Lederer: ''Schritt für Schritt ins Paradies. Handbuch zur Freiheit.'' Karin Kramer Verlag, Berlin 2013, .

External links

* * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lederer, Klaus 21st-century German politicians Senators of Berlin Members of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin Politicians from Berlin The Left (Germany) politicians Gay politicians German LGBT rights activists LGBT legislators in Germany 1974 births Living people People from Schwerin