Agnes Alpers (born 29 June 1961) is a

Diplom A ''Diplom'' (, from grc, δίπλωμα ''diploma'') is an academic degree in the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and a similarly named degree in some other European countries including Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus ...

-qualified educator, politician with the Left, and former member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

Biography

Education and career

Starting in 1980, Alpers studied

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

at the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

, finishing her Diplom degree in 1986. Subsequently, she was active in child welfare. She is a founder of school groups and was the leader of the first Kids Samba Group in Bremen during

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

. She is married with two children. After a speech in the Bundestag on 28 June 2013, Alpers collapsed and had to be resuscitated on site. A

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

as a result of an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus (s ...

was diagnosed, and Alpers was placed into an

artificial coma An induced comaalso known as a medically induced coma (MIC), barbiturate-induced coma, or drug-induced comais a temporary coma (a deep state of unconsciousness) brought on by a controlled dose of an anesthetic drug, often a barbiturate such as pe ...

. By the end of July, she was taken out of her coma. In September, she was moved to a hospital in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

and is currently undergoing rehabilitation. She handed in her Bundestag mandate effective 2 March 2015 and was succeeded in office by Birgit Menz.

Politics

Agnes Alpers was a member of the "

Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin The Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Westberlins, SEW) was a communist party in West Berlin. The party was founded on 24 November 1962, when the West Berlin local organization of the Socialist Unity Pa ...

", which was closely related to the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and the German Communist Party in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

. From October 2007, Alpers represented the Left in a Bremen "Deputation" (a kind of local parliamentary council) for Education in the Bremen Parliament. In September 2009, she was elected to the

(or German Parliament) as part of the Bremen state party list. In parliament, she is a member of the Committee on Education, Research, and Technology. Despite her stroke, Alpers remained the lead candidate on the Bremen state party list and was reelected to the Bundestag in the federal election in 2013.

Positions

Alpers supported a cross-party bill, brought to parliament by a group of over 50 representatives on 8 November 2012, which would limit

circumcision Circumcision is a surgical procedure, procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin ...

for religious purposes for only those who have reached religious maturity (14 years)."Draft law on the scope of custody and rights of the male child at circumcision" (''Drucksache 17/11430 Entwurf eines Gesetzes über den Umfang der Personensorge und die Rechte des männlichen Kindes bei einer Beschneidung'') (PDF, 18 Seiten; 219 kB)
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References

External links

Website of Agnes Alpers

Profile on the Parliamentary group for the Left's website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alpers, Agnes 1961 births Living people People from Rotenburg (district) Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin politicians Members of the Bundestag for Bremen (state) Female members of the Bundestag 21st-century German women politicians Members of the Bundestag 2013–2017 Members of the Bundestag 2009–2013 Members of the Bundestag for The Left