Björn Böhning (born 2 June 1978) is a German politician of the
Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as State Secretary at the
Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs under the leadership of minister
Hubertus Heil from 2018 to 2022.
From 2004 to 2007 Böhning was the
chairperson
The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...
of the
Young Socialists in the SPD
''Working Group of'' Young Socialists ''in the SPD'' (, Jusos) is a volunteer youth organisation, youth organization of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
As of 2025, there are over 50,000 official Juso members.
Membership
Every ...
("Jusos"), the SPD's youth organization.
Early life and educations
Böhning was born in
Geldern and grew up in
Lübeck
Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...
. He studied
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
at the
Otto Suhr Institute (OSI) of the
Free University of Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...
from 1999 until 2004.
Political career
From 15 February 2008 Böhning served as spokesperson of the "
Forum Demokratische Linke 21" of the SPD, a group of left-aligned politicians within the party; in 2014, he left the group. He unsuccessfully ran as candidate for the electoral district of
Berlin-Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Prenzlauer Berg East in the
2009 national elections.
From December 2011 Böhning served as Head of the
Senate Chancellery of the Federal State of
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 ...
, first under
Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit (2011–2014) and later under
Michael Müller (2014–2018). In the negotiations to form a ''
Grand Coalition
A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political party, political parties of opposing political spectrum, political ideologies unite in a coalition government.
Causes of a grand coali ...
'' of
Chancellor
Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (
CDU together with the Bavarian
CSU) and the SPD following the
2013 German elections, he was part of the SPD delegation in the working group on digital policy, led by
Dorothee Bär and
Brigitte Zypries.
In the
fourth coalition government
A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
of
Chancellor
Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
Angela Merkel, Böhning has been serving as State Secretary at the
Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs under the leadership of minister
Hubertus Heil since 2018.
Other activities
* Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Member of the Political Advisory Board (since 2020)
*
German Film and Television Academy (DFFB), Chairman of the Board of Trustees
*
Deutsche Kinemathek, Member of the Board of Trustees
*
Deutschlandradio, Member of the Supervisory Board
* German Federal Film Board (FFA), Member of the Supervisory Board
*
Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Member of the Supervisory Board
*
Villa Aurora, Member of the Board of Trustees
* Checkpoint Charlie Foundation, Chairman of the Board of Trustees
* ''spw – Zeitschrift für sozialistische Politik und Wirtschaft'', Member of the Editorial Board
*
2017 German Computer Games Award, Member of the Jury
Personal life
Böhning has been married since 2008.
[Christine Richter (28 June 2008)]
Eine Hochzeit, ein Baby
'' Berliner Zeitung''.
See also
*
List of Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bohning, Bjorn
1978 births
Living people
People from Geldern
Free University of Berlin alumni
Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians