Sören Pellmann
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Sören Pellmann (born 11 February 1977 in Leipzig, East-Germany) is a German politician who represents The Left. Pellmann has served as a member of the
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...
from Leipzig II in the state of
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
since 2017. Since 2024, he has been serving as the Leader of The Left Group in the
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...
, alongside
Heidi Reichinnek Heidi Reichinnek (; born 19 April 1988) is a German politician and Member of the German Bundestag, Member of the Bundestag for the left-wing party Die Linke. Since 2024, she has been serving as the Leader of Die Linke in the Bundestag, alongside ...
.


Life

Pellmann was born in
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
,
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
. His father was the historian and SED-, later PDS-politician Dietmar Pellmann. He graduated at the Polytechnic Secondary School " „
Adolf Hennecke Adolf Hennecke, (25 March 1905 in Meggen (Lennestadt) – 22 February 1975 in East Berlin) was an official of the German FDGB (''Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund'') and of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. He gave his name to the Hennecke mo ...
“ and then the Lichtenberg-Gymnasium in Leipzig-Grünau, where he passed his Abitur in 1995. This was followed by community service with the city of Leipzig in a home for severely and multiply handicapped children and young people. During his law studies at the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
, he worked for Barbara Höll and Heidemarie Lüth, who were members of the German Bundestag at the time. Subsequently, he studied to become a teacher for special schools with a focus on education for the mentally handicapped and education for the learning disabled until 2009. He completed his subsequent legal clerkship at the "Adolph Diesterweg" Learning Special School in Leipzig and at the "Schule Rosenweg" Special School for the Mentally Handicapped in Leipzig.


Politics

Pellmann joined the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) on his sixteenth birthday in 1993. He became active in local politics in Leipzig, and was elected to the city council in 2009. In the
2017 German federal election The 2017 German federal election was held in Germany on 24 September 2017 to elect the List of members of the 19th Bundestag, members of the 19th Bundestag. At stake were at least 598 seats in the Bundestag, as well as 111 Overhang seat, overhan ...
, he ran as The Left's candidate for Leipzig II. He narrowly defeated incumbent Thomas Feist, winning 25.3% of votes to Feist's 24.6%. He became the first member of his party to win a constituency in Saxony, and the only Left MP to win a constituency outside
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
in 2017. Pellmann was re-elected in Leipzig II in 2021. While his vote fell slightly to 22.8%, his margin increased to 4.4% as the second-placed candidate, Paula Piechotta of the Greens, won 18.4%. Pellmann's re-election was especially significant since The Left won only 4.9% of votes nationally, just short of the 5%
electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can operate in various ...
, and was only entitled to
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
due to winning three constituencies: Berlin-Treptow-Köpenick,
Berlin-Lichtenberg Lichtenberg () is a quarter (''Ortsteil'') of Berlin in the homonymous borough (''Bezirk'') of Lichtenberg. Until 2001 it was an autonomous district with the localities of Fennpfuhl, Rummelsburg, Friedrichsfelde and Karlshorst. History The ...
, and Leipzig II. Within the party, Pellmann was considered a supporter of
Sahra Wagenknecht Sahra Wagenknecht (; 16 July 1969) is a German politician. She was a member of the Bundestag from 2009 to 2025, where she represented The Left until 2023. From 2015 to 2019, she served as that party's parliamentary co-chair. With a small team ...
. After the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
in February 2022, he and five other Left MdBs joined Wagenknecht in issuing a joint statement attributing responsibility for the war in part to the United States and
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
. This was met with harsh criticism from a number of party members, including foreign policy spokesman and party elder
Gregor Gysi Gregor Florian Gysi (; born 16 January 1948) is a German attorney, former president of the Party of the European Left and a prominent politician of The Left () political party. He belonged to the reformist wing of the governing Socialist Unity ...
. At the Left party congress in June, Pellmann ran unsuccessfully for the party co-leadership, winning 176 votes (31.6%) to MEP
Martin Schirdewan Martin Schirdewan (born 12 July 1975) is a German journalist and politician who served as of The Left from June 2022 to October 2024. He has sat as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2017, and was elected co-chair of The Left in ...
's 341 (61.3%). In February 2024, Pellmann was elected co-leader of the Left's reorganised Bundestag group alongside
Heidi Reichinnek Heidi Reichinnek (; born 19 April 1988) is a German politician and Member of the German Bundestag, Member of the Bundestag for the left-wing party Die Linke. Since 2024, she has been serving as the Leader of Die Linke in the Bundestag, alongside ...
, defeating
Clara Bünger Clara Bünger (born 4 July 1986) is a German jurist and politician serving as member of the Bundestag from Die Linke since 2022. Early life and education Bünger was born in Oldenburg in 1986 and grew up in Freiberg. She studied Law at Leipz ...
14 votes to 13. At the 2025 German federal election Sören Pellmann won the direct mandate of Leipzig II electoral district.


References


External links

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Bundestag biography
1977 births Living people Members of the Bundestag for Saxony Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Members of the Bundestag for Die Linke Members of the Bundestag 2025–2029 {{Germany-Left-politician-stub