Svenja Schulze (born 29 September 1968) 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). She serves as
Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development in the
cabinet of Olaf Scholz. Schulze has been serving as member of the German
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 2021, representing
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
.
Schulze served as the
Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in the
fourth coalition government
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
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 ...
from 2018 to 2021. From 15 July 2010 to 30 June 2017, she was Minister for Innovation, Science and Research in the state government of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
.
[Abgeordnete Svenja Schulze](_blank)
landtag.nrw.de
Early life and career
Schulze was born in
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
and grew up in the Weckhoven district of
Neuss
Neuss (; spelled ''Neuß'' until 1968; li, Nüss ; la, Novaesium) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It ...
. She completed her school-leaving exam in 1988 at the Gymnasium Norf in Neuss. She then studied
German Studies
German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...
and
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 ...
at
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
The Ruhr University Bochum (, ) is a public research university located in the southern hills of the central Ruhr area, Bochum, Germany. It was founded in 1962 as the first new public university in Germany after World War II. Instruction began in ...
, which she completed in 1996 with the academic degree of Magistra Artium. As part of her studies, she also completed an internship at Alice-Salomon-Berufskolleg, a
vocational school
A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...
in Bochum.
After graduating, Schulze worked as a freelancer in the advertising and
PR industry.
From 2000, she worked as a management consultant specializing in the public sector, including at
Mummert & Partner,
BBDO
BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, B ...
and
Booz & Company
Strategy& is the strategy consulting business unit of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the Big Four professional service firms. Strategy& is a global strategy consulting firm with a network of 75+ offices with 3000+ consultants around the wo ...
.
Political career
Career in state politics
Schulze joined the SPD in 1988 and served as county spokesperson for North Rhine-Westphalia from 1988 to 1989, then as a member of the Socialist College Association and chair of the
AStA
The General Students' Committee (German: Allgemeiner Studierendenausschuss) or AStA, is the acting executive board and the external representing agency of the (constituted) student body at universities in most German states. It is therefore consid ...
at the University of Bochum. From 1993 to 1997, Schulze was North Rhine-Westphalia's regional leader of
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 ...
.
From 1996 to 2002 and again from 2006 to 2018, Schulze served on the leadership of the
SPD in North Rhine-Westphalia.
From 3 June 1997 to
1 June 2000 and again from 22 October 2004, Schulze was a member of the
State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia.
She last moved in for Frank Baranowski, who had been elected Lead Mayor of
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...
. In the
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
and
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
elections she was again elected to the state parliament.
From 2005 until 2010, she served as her parliamentary group's spokesperson on
environmental policy
Environmental policy is the commitment of an organization or government to the laws, regulations, and other policy mechanisms concerning environmental issues. These issues generally include air and water pollution, waste management, ecosystem mana ...
and
consumer protection
Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...
.
[Nora Marie Zaremba (October 18, 2018)]
Bundesministerin für Umwelt: Svenja Schulze sucht ihr Profil
''Der Tagesspiegel
''Der Tagesspiegel'' (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington D.C. and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, s ...
''.
In 2007, Schulze took over the chairmanship of the SPD sub-district Münster from Christoph Strässer and held it until 21 May 2011.
After
2010 state elections,
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 ...
Hannelore Kraft
Hannelore Kraft (''née'' Külzhammer; born 12 June 1961) is a German politician. She served as the Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2010 until 2017. Kraft was the first woman to serve as head of government of this state and was ...
appointed Schulze as State Minister of Innovation, Science and Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (
Cabinet Kraft I). With the abolition of
tuition fees
Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spen ...
in North Rhine-Westphalia, Schulze launched one of the government's major political projects. During her term, the so-called "nuclear sphere affair" regarding the
AVR reactor
The AVR reactor (german: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Versuchsreaktor) was a prototype pebble-bed reactor, located immediately adjacent to Jülich Research Centre in West Germany, constructed in 1960, grid connected in 1967 and shut down in 1988. It was ...
in
Jülich
Jülich (; in old spellings also known as ''Guelich'' or ''Gülich'', nl, Gulik, french: Juliers, Ripuarian: ''Jöllesch'') is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. As a border region betwe ...
occurred. At the
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
on 13 May 2012, she won the direct mandate in the Münster II constituency and was directly elected to the state legislature with 40.1 percent. On 21 June 2012, she was appointed again as State Minister of Innovation, Science and Research in the
Cabinet Kraft II.
From 2017 until 2018, Schulze served as Secretary General of the
SPD North Rhine-Westphalia, in this capacity supporting interim chairman Michael Groschek. On 8 December 2017, she was elected to the SPD national board, under the leadership of chairwoman
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 ...
. On the following day she was also elected to the SPD Presidium.
Federal Minister of the Environment, 2018–2021
In the negotiations to form a
fourth coalition government 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 ...
following the
2017 federal elections, Schulze was part of the working group on education policy, led by
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
Hubertus Heil
Hubertus Heil (born 3 November 1972) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who has been serving as Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in the fourth cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and the first ca ...
. On 9 March 2018, she was nominated by the party executive committee of the SPD as Minister of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in the new government. When Germany held the rotating
presidency
A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...
of the
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...
in 2020, she chaired the meetings of its
Environment Council
The Environment Council (ENVI) is a configuration of the Council of the European Union. It meets about four times a year. It brings together the environment ministers and is responsible for the EU environment policy.
This Council deals with envir ...
.
After SPD chairwoman
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 ...
resigned in 2019, Schulze declined to join the race to succeed her; instead
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 ...
became the party's co-chairs.
During her time in office, Schulze helped implement the Merkel government's 2019 agreement on the introduction of a carbon price for key sectors such as transport and a €54 billion spending package to encourage companies and households to reduce their carbon emissions. She later oversaw the introduction of 2021 legislation under which farmers in Germany would have to gradually reduce their use of
glyphosate
Glyphosate (IUPAC name: ''N''-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum Herbicide, systemic herbicide and Crop desiccation, crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by inhibiting the plan ...
and stop using it completely from 2024 in order to preserve clean habitats for insects. Later that year, she led the government's efforts to raise Germany's target for reducing carbon emissions by 2030 from 55 per cent to 65 per cent and to achieve
carbon neutrality
Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...
by 2045, five years earlier than initially planned.
In October 2020, Schulze announced that she would run for a parliamentary seat in the
2021 federal elections. In the elections, she stood in
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...
but came in third place. She was elected on the state list.
In the negotiations to form a so-called
traffic light coalition
In German politics, a traffic light coalition (german: Ampelkoalition) is a coalition government of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Alliance 90/The Greens. It is named after the parties' tra ...
of the SPD, the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
and the
Free Democratic Party (FDP) following the elections, Schulze was part of her party's delegation in the working group on climate protection and energy policy, co-chaired by
Matthias Miersch,
Oliver Krischer
Oliver Krischer (born 26 July 1969) is a German politician of the Alliance '90/The Greens who has been serving as State Minister for Environment, Nature Protection, and Transport in the government of Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphali ...
and
Lukas Köhler.
Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, 2021–present
After the SPD won the
2021 election,
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 ...
succeeded Merkel as Chancellor and named Schulze as
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (german: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, ), abbreviated BMZ, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its main office is ...
, while, under the terms of the
traffic light coalition
In German politics, a traffic light coalition (german: Ampelkoalition) is a coalition government of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Alliance 90/The Greens. It is named after the parties' tra ...
agreement,
Steffi Lemke
Steffi Lemke (born 19 January 1968) is a German politician of Alliance 90/The Greens who has been serving as Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and Consumer Protection in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's cabinet ...
of the
Greens took Schulze's old job as Environment Minister. Schulze took office in her new role on 8 December 2021. Along with
Hubertus Heil
Hubertus Heil (born 3 November 1972) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who has been serving as Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in the fourth cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and the first ca ...
, she is currently the longest-serving cabinet member.
In her capacity as minister, Schulze chaired the meetings of the
Group of Seven
The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is official ...
(G7) development ministers when Germany held the group's rotating presidency in 2022. In April 2022, she also co-hosted a donor conference which helped raise $4.8 billion in funding pledges for the vaccine-sharing scheme
COVAX
COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, is a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines directed by the GAVI vaccine alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the World Hea ...
. In response to the
2022 food crises
2022 saw a rapid increase in food prices and shortages of food supplies around the world. The compounding crises in distinct parts of the world were caused by compounding geopolitical and economic crisis. The crises followed food security a ...
, she led G7 efforts to establish the Global Alliance for Food Security, jointly convened with the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
.
In September 2022, Schulze made available an additional 200 million euros ($199.02 million) to fund Ukraine’s aid programs for those
internally displaced
An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee.
A ...
as a result of
Russia’s invasion.
Other activities
International organizations
* Joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee, Member (since 2022)
*
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is an international financial institution which offers political risk insurance and credit enhancement guarantees. These guarantees help investors protect foreign direct investments against ...
(MIGA),
World Bank Group
The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Grou ...
, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2021)
*
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2021)
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 ...
, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Supervisory Directors (since 2018)
*
NRW.BANK, Member of the Parliamentary Advisory Board (2017–2018)
Non-profit organizations
* Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Member of the Political Advisory Board (since 2020)
*
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 Program Committee (since 2019)
*
German Research Foundation
The German Research Foundation (german: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germ ...
(DFG), Member of the Joint Committee (2010–2017)
*
Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. ...
, Member of the Senate (2010–2017)
* Heinrich Hertz Foundation, chairwoman of the Board of Trustees (2010–2017)
*
, Deputy Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees (2010–2017)
*
German United Services Trade Union (ver.di), Member
*
IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie
The IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie (IG BCE) is a trade union in Germany. It is one of eight industrial affiliations of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB).
History and structure
The IG BCE was created in 1997 from the merger of the Che ...
(IG BCE), Member
* Arbeiterwohlfahrt, Member
*
Naturschutzbund Deutschland
The Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V. ("Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union") or NABU is a German non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to conservation at home and abroad, including the protection of rivers, forests and individu ...
(NABU), Member
*
Slow Food
Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regi ...
, Member
* "Frauenzeiten", co-founder
Political positions
Amid the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, Schulze opposed a
waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the Prevention, Containment and Treatment of COVID-19. In a 2021 interview with ''
RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland
The (RND) () is the Hanover-based joint corporate newsroom of German . The biggest limited partner of Madsack is the , which is fully owned by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
Madsack has the majority in regional newspapers with ...
'', she argued that "as a former science minister, I see patent protection as the basis for successful research and development" and that "the manufacturing process for modern vaccines is so technically demanding and complex that suspending it would not help at all."
Personal life
Schulze has been married to Italian-born
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
ist Andrea Arcais since 2011. The couple live in
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...
.
[Klaus Baumeister (9 March 2018)]
Umweltministerin Svenja Schulze: Mit großer Freude von Münster nach Berlin
''Westfälische Nachrichten''. Schulze is a
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
.
External links
Official website
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schulze, Svenja
Government ministers of Germany
Living people
1968 births
Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians
Members of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
Politicians from Düsseldorf
20th-century German politicians
20th-century German women politicians
21st-century German politicians
21st-century German women politicians
Women federal government ministers of Germany
Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025
Members of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia
Female members of the Bundestag
Women government ministers of Germany
Vegetarian