Katja Dörner (born 18 February 1976) is a German politician of the
Alliance 90/The Greens
Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...
who has been serving as mayor of
Bonn
Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
since 2020. From 2009 until 2020, she was 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 ...
.
Education and early career
Dörner 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 ...
in at the universities of
Bonn
Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
,
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
and
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
from 1995 until 2000.
From 2001 until 2003, Dörner worked as a legislative adviser to
Sylvia Löhrmann, then the chairwoman of the Green Party's parliamentary group in the
Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
The Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia is the state parliament (''Landtag'') of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which convenes in the state capital of Düsseldorf, in the eastern part of the district of Düsseldorf-Hafen, Hafen ...
. She subsequently advised the parliamentary group on education and vocational training policies from 2003 until 2009.
Political career
Dörner first became a member of the German
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 ...
in the
2009 elections, representing
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
. In parliament, she served on the Committee on Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth. From 2009 until 2013, she was also a member of the Budget Committee, where she served as
rapporteur
A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word.
For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...
on the annual budget of the
Federal Ministry of the Interior. In addition to her committee assignments, she was a member of the German-British Parliamentary Friendship Group.
From 2013 until 2020, Dörner served as vice-chair of the Green Party's parliamentary group, under the leadership of
Katrin Göring-Eckardt and
Anton Hofreiter.
In the – unsuccessful – negotiations to form a
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 ...
with the Christian Democrats – both the
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the
Christian Social Union in Bavaria
The Christian Social Union in Bavaria ( German: , CSU) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. Having a regionalist identity, the CSU operates only in Bavaria while its larger counterpart, the Christian Democra ...
(CSU) – and the
Free Democratic Party following the
2017 elections, Dörner was part of her party's delegation.
In August 2019, Dörner announced her intention to become
Mayor of Bonn.
She was elected in a run-off election on 27 September 2020 with 56.27% of the vote, becoming Bonn's second-ever female mayor.
In the negotiations to form a
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 ...
under the leadership of
Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia
The Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia (), also referred to as Premier or Prime Minister, is the head of government of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (''NRW''). The position was created in 1946, when the British administr ...
Hendrik Wüst
Hendrik Josef Wüst (born 19 July 1975) is a German politician serving as Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Minister-President of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2021. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union of Ger ...
following the
2022 state elections, Dörner was part of her party’s delegation.
Other activities
Government bodies
* German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE), Member (since 2023, appointed ad personam by
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 ...
Olaf Scholz
Olaf Scholz (; born 14 June 1958) is a German politician who served as the Chancellor of Germany from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice-Chancellor of Ge ...
)
Non-profit organizations
* Bonn International Award for Democracy, Chair of the Board of Trustees (since 2022)
* Institut Solidarische Moderne (ISM), Member (since 2010)
*
German Foundation for World Population
DSW () is an international private non-profit foundation addressing Sexual & Reproductive Health (SRH) and population dynamics. DSW funds its project and advocacy work from private donations and the financial support of governments, foundations ...
(DSW), Member of the Parliamentary Advisory Board (–2020)
*
Plan International Deutschland, Member of the Board of Trustees
*
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
, Member
Personal life
Dörner has lived in
Bonn
Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
since 1995. In Berlin, she shared an apartment with
Oliver Krischer.
[Vinzenz Greiner (1 July 2015)]
Parlament und Pumpernickel
''Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorner, Katja
Members of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia
1976 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Alumni of the University of York
People from Siegen
Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021
Members of the Bundestag 2013–2017
Members of the Bundestag 2009–2013
Members of the Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens
University of Bonn alumni