Matthias Bartke (born 16 January 1959) is a German politician of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

(SPD) who served as 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 ...

from 2013 to 2021. From January 2016 held the position of legal advisor and thus a member of the executive board of the SPD Parliamentary Group.

Early life and education

Bartke grew up in Fischerhude near

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

. After his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

in 1978, he finished his military service in

Rotenburg an der Wümme Rotenburg an der Wümme (also known as ''Rotenburg (Wümme)''; ''Rotenburg in Hannover'' until May 1969; Northern Low Saxon: ''Rodenborg'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Rotenburg (district), Rotenburg ...

. He studied law in

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...

(1981-1987). After that he worked as a lawyer in

Altona, Hamburg Altona (), also called Hamburg-Altona, is the westernmost Boroughs and quarters of Hamburg#Boroughs, urban borough (''Bezirk'') of the Germany, German States of Germany, city state of Hamburg. Located on the right bank of the Elbe river, Alton ...

. From 1987 till 1991 he was a research consultant at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH) at the University of Hamburg. He holds a doctoral degree in law. He complete his PhD (Thesis: "Defence mission of the

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

: a constitutional law analysis" (''„Verteidigungsauftrag der Bundeswehr: eine verfassungsrechtliche Analyse“'') in 1991.

Early career

In 1991 Bartke entered the civil service in Hamburg. He had various executive positions at the Social Security Office of Hamburg at the department for Labour and Social affairs, Family and Integration. After the Hamburg state election of 2011, he was the office manager of Senator for Social Affairs, Detlef Scheele. From January 1, 2013 until his election as a Member of the German Bundestag Bartke was the manager of the legal department of the Social Security Office of Hamburg. Until 2014 he was the board chairman of the Foundation Lawaetz.

Political career

Bartke has been a member of the SPD since 1978. He was an active member of the

Jusos ''Working Group of'' Young Socialists ''in the SPD'' (, Jusos) is a volunteer youth organization of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). As of 2025, there are over 50,000 official Juso members. Membership Every member of the SPD w ...

and a member of the district committee of Jusos in Altona. Bartke was a member of the district assembly of Altona, Hamburg from 1986 till 1989. He was then elected as the chairman of the SPD Altona North-District. In 1996 he was elected as a member of the SPD Altona-District Executive, where he served temporarily as Chairman in 2008. Bartke was a member of the SPD-state board between 2008 and 2010. He was the founder chairman of the consortium "Selbst aktiv" for people with disabilities in SPD Hamburg.

Member of the German Bundestag, 2013–2021

Bartke first became a Member of the German

in the 2013 federal elections, after winning in the electoral district of Altona, Hamburg, with 34.9% of the first votes. Throughout his time in parliament, Bartke served on the Committee for Labour and Social Affairs, with a main focus on labour and disability policy; he was elected chairman of the committee in March 2018. In addition, Bartke was a member of the parliament’s Council of Elders and of the Committee for the Scrutiny of Elections, Immunity and the Rules of Procedure since January 2016. From 2013 until 2017, he was also a member of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Consumer Protection, where he served as his parliamentary group’s

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 ...

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

conservatorship Under U.S. law, a conservatorship results from the appointment of a guardian or a protector by a judge to manage the personal or financial affairs of another person who is incapable of fully managing their own affairs due to age or physical or m ...

and

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

s, and a substitute member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In addition to his committee assignments, Bartke also served as vice-chairman of the German-Japanese Parliamentary Friendship Group. Within the SPD parliamentary group, he belonged to the Parliamentary Left, a left-wing movement.Members
Parlamentarische Linke.

Other activities

* Sozialverband Deutschland, Member * German United Services Trade Union (ver.di), Member * Arbeiterwohlfahrt, Member

Personal life

Bartke is married and has one son.

References

External links

Homepage of Matthias Bartke (in German)

Biography, speeches and vote history of Matthias Bartke on the Website of the German Bundestag (in German)

Facebook page of Matthias Bartke
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartke, Matthias 1959 births University of Hamburg alumni Living people Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Members of the Bundestag for Hamburg Members of the Bundestag 2013–2017 Members of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany