Simone Lange (born 24 October 1976) is a German politician of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SPD) who has served as elected mayor of

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

since 2017.

Early life and career

Lange grew up in Rudolstadt and completed 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 1995. After completing a polytechnic degree in 1998 (Dipl.-Verwaltungsfachwirtin (police division)), she was employed at the criminal investigation department in

from 1999 until 2012.

Political career

Lange joined the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 2003 and held multiple positions in the party. She was part of Flensburg council from 2008 until 2012. She was a direct candidate for the Schleswig-Holstein state election in 2012. On the day of the election, she won against the former district representative of the Christian Democratic Union and was directly elected into the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein. In the SPD faction of the Schleswig-Holstein Landtag, she was spokesperson for

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

policy and equality. She held the position of acting chair of the

select committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system), a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues *Select or special committee (United States Congress) *Select ...

for home and legal affairs and acting member of the social and health select committee. During her political tenure, she took a stand for labelling requirements of police officers and the introduction of a police representative. On 28 July 2015, it was announced that Lange would run against

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

Simon Faber of the

South Schleswig Voters' Association da, Sydslesvigsk Vælgerforening frr, Söödschlaswiksche Wäälerferbånd , logo = Südschleswigscher Wählerverband, Logo.svg , logo_size = 165px , chairman = Christian Dirschauer , leader1_title = Vice Chairmen ...

for the 2016

mayor elections. She was backed by the SPD, Bündnis Alliance 90/The Greens and the Christian Democratic Union. During the election on 5 June 2016, Lange won during the first ballot and received 51.4% of the votes. Faber received 22.8% of the votes, according to the official election results. Lange took office as mayor of Flensburg in January 2017. In February 2018, she stood for the leadership of 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 ...

. She was defeated at the party conference - which was held in Wiesbaden on 22 April 2018 - by

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 ...

, winning 27% of the vote to Nahles's 66%. In the 2019 SPD leadership election, she announced her intention to run for the position again, this time together with Alexander Ahrens;Lange und Ahrens erreichen nötige Unterstützung
''

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'', 27 August 2019. shortly after, both withdrew their candidacies and instead endorsed

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 ...

and

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) ...

Other activities

Corporate boards

* Nord-Ostsee Sparkasse, Ex-Officio Member of the Supervisory Board

Non-profit organizations

* Nikolaus Reiser Foundation, Ex-Officio Member of the Board *

Trade Union of the Police The Gewerkschaft der Polizei (GdP; en, Trade Union of the Police) is a trade union in Germany. It represents 181,000 police employees, and is one of eight industrial affiliations of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB). The GdP is one ...

(GdP), Member

References

External links

Website of Simone Lange
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lange, Simone 1976 births Living people People from Rudolstadt People from Bezirk Gera Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Members of the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein Mayors of Flensburg Aufstehen Women members of State Parliaments in Germany Women mayors of places in Germany 21st-century German women politicians 20th-century German women