Ellen Ueberschär is a German

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

Early life and education

Ueberschär was born in 1967 in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

where she also grew up. After finishing school she intended to study medicine, yet the East German authorities refused permission. In 1988 she began to study theology at the Sprachenkonvikt Berlin. After

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller politics or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal govern ...

she continued her studies at

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

as well as in Berlin, graduating in 1995. Between November 1995 and March 1997 Ueberschär was a fellow with

Studienstiftung The German Academic Scholarship Foundation (German: , or ''Studienstiftung'' for short) is Germany's largest and most prestigious scholarship foundation. According to its statutes, it supports "the university education of young people who, on ac ...

and, until 2001, a junior researcher with the theology faculty at

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

, where she obtained her doctorate with a thesis on evangelical youth work in East Germany between 1945 and 1961. Her thesis received an award of excellence from Marburg University.

Professional life

Between 2004 and 2006 Ellen Ueberschär was director of studies in theology, ethics, and law at the

Loccum Loccum () is a village situated about west-northwest of Hanover in the district of Nienburg in Lower-Saxony, Germany. It has been a part of the city of Rehburg-Loccum since 1974. Loccum covers an area of with a population of about 3166 people ...

Evangelical Academy. Since 2006 she is Secretary General of the

German Evangelical Church Assembly The German Protestant Church Assembly ( German ''Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag'', DEKT) is an assembly of lay members of the Protestant Church in Germany, that organises biennial events of faith, culture and political discussion. History ...

. On 25 November 2016 she, along with Barbara Unmüßig, was elected co-president of the

Heinrich Böll Foundation The Heinrich Böll Foundation (German language, German: ''Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Eingetragener Verein, e.V.''; Abbreviation: HBS) is a German legally independent political foundation. Affiliated with Alliance '90/The Greens, Alliance 90/The Gr ...

and took office in July 2017.

Family

Ellen Ueberschär is married and the mother of one child.Short biography provided by the Evangelical Church Rhineland
(in German) retrieved 10 December 2016

References

External links

''Deutsche Welle'' interview with Ueberschär (in English) about the "Kirchentag" church conferences
October 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ueberschar, Ellen 1967 births 20th-century German Protestant theologians 21st-century German Protestant theologians Living people Women Christian theologians People from East Berlin Writers from Berlin German women non-fiction writers 20th-century German women writers 21st-century German women writers Heidelberg University alumni University of Marburg alumni