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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 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 co ...
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 (SPD), he previously served as Vice Chancellor under Angela Merkel and as Federal Minister ...
's cabinet since 2021. Lemke has been a
member of the Bundestag Member of the German Parliament (german: Mitglied des Deutschen Bundestages) is the official name given to a deputy in the German Bundestag. ''Member of Parliament'' refers to the elected members of the federal Bundestag Parliament at the Reich ...
from the state of
Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it t ...
from 1994 through 2002 and since 2013.


Education and early career

After attending a polytechnic secondary school in
Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßla ...
, Lemke initially trained as a zoo technician from 1984 to 1986. Afterwards she worked as a letter carrier from 1986 to 1988. She also attended a secondary school leaving certificate course at the Philanthropinum in Dessau. After graduating from high school in 1988, she studied agricultural science 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 ...
, graduating in 1993 with a degree in agricultural engineering (specialising in animal production).


Political career

Lemke was one of the co-founders of the Green Party in the GDR in 1989. She first served as a member of the German Bundestag from 1994 to 2002, representing the
Dessau-Roßlau Dessau-Roßlau () is a '' kreisfreie Stadt'' (urban district) in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Elbe and Mulde. The town was formed by merger of the towns of Dessau and Roßlau in the course ...
and
Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north ...
districts. During that time, she was part of the Committee on Food and Agriculture. From 2002 to 2013 Lemke worked as the Green Party's managing director, under the leadership of co-chairs Angelika Beer (2002–2004), Reinhard Bütikofer (2002–2008),
Claudia Roth Claudia Benedikta Roth (born 15 May 1955) is a German politician ( Alliance 90/The Greens). She was one of the two party chairs from 2004 to 2013 and previously served as one of the vice presidents of the ''Bundestag''. She is also currently ser ...
(2004–2013) and Cem Özdemir (2008–2013). In this capacity, she managed her party's campaigns in three national elections which were all successive. In late 2013, she considered running for the party's leadership but ultimately pulled out from consideration, instead making room for Simone Peter. Since the 2013 elections, Lemke has been a member of the German Bundestag again, where she served as one of four
whips A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
of her
parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamenta ...
under the leadership of the group's co-chairs Katrin Göring-Eckardt and
Anton Hofreiter Anton "Toni" Hofreiter (born 2 February 1970) is a German politician who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since the 2005 elections. Political career As a member of Alliance 90/The Greens, Hofreiter has been a member of the Bunde ...
from 2013 until 2021. In this capacity, she was a member of the parliament's Council of Elders, which – among other duties – determines daily legislative agenda items and assigns committee chairpersons based on party representation. Lemke was also a member of the Committee on the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. She served as her parliamentary group's spokesperson for nature conservation policy. In addition to her committee assignments, she was part of the German Parliamentary Friendship Group for Relations with the States of Central America. Following the 2016 state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Lemke was part of her party's delegation in the negotiations on forming Germany's first-ever
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 ...
between the Christian Democratic Union, 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 F ...
and the Green Party. She was briefly considered to join the government subsequently formed under the leadership of
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 ...
Reiner Haseloff Reiner Haseloff (born 19 February 1954) is a German politician who serves as the Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt. On 9 October 2020, he was elected President of the Bundesrat. His one-year term started on 1 November 2020. Political career R ...
and become State Minister for the Environment and Agriculture; however, the position instead went to Claudia Dalbert.


Career in government

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' traditi ...
of the
Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promot ...
(SPD), the Green Party and the FDP following the 2021 federal elections, Lemke led her party's delegation in the working group 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 man ...
; her co-chairs from the other parties were Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter (SPD) and Stefan Birkner (FDP). The negotiations led to the successful formation of a government, and Lemke took up the post of Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection in the new cabinet, serving 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 co ...
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 (SPD), he previously served as Vice Chancellor under Angela Merkel and as Federal Minister ...
. In 2022, Lemke introduced draft legislation requiring manufacturers of products made with single-use plastic, such as bottles and cups, to pay an annual levy into a fund to help municipalities with the cost of clearing up litter.


Other activities

* KfW, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Supervisory Directors (since 2021) * International Academy for Nature Conservation (INA), Member of the Advisory Board


Personal life

Lemke is divorced and lives with her current partner in
Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßla ...
. She has a son.Heidi Thiemann (17 September 2021)
Steffi Lemke ist Direktkandidatin der Grünen und hat große Lust aufs Mitregieren im Bundestag
''
Mitteldeutsche Zeitung The ''Mitteldeutsche Zeitung'' (''Central German Newspaper'') is a regional daily newspaper for southern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Published in Halle with several local versions, the paper is owned by M. DuMont Schauberg, Cologne. History and pr ...
''.


References


External links

*
Bundestag biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemke, Steffi 1968 births Living people Members of the Bundestag for Saxony-Anhalt Female members of the Bundestag 21st-century German women politicians Government ministers of Germany Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Members of the Bundestag 2013–2017 Members of the Bundestag 1998–2002 Members of the Bundestag 1994–1998 Members of the Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens 20th-century German women Women government ministers of Germany Women federal government ministers of Germany