Anke Rehlinger

Anke Gabriele Rehlinger (''née'' Moos; born 6 April 1976) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) serving as the minister-president of Saarland and President of the Bundesrat. After her party won the 2022 state elections in Saarland, she became the second female minister-president after Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and the first from her party. She was previously the deputy minister president of Saarland from 17 December 2013 until her election by the State Parliament of Saarland as minister-president in 2022.

Early life, education and sports

Rehlinger studied law at Saarland University. As a student, she was successful in field competitions in athletics. As of March 2024 she holds the Saarland state record in shot put (16.03 m in Rehlingen on 17 August 1996) as well as the Saarland youth state record in discus throw (49.18 m on 23 September 1995 in Rehlingen).

She successfully competed in the senior track and field German Championships in 2014 and 2015.

Political career

Career in state politics

Since the 2004 state elections, Rehlinger has been a member of the Landtag of Saarland. In parliament, she was the chairwoman of the committee on European affairs (2008–2009) and of the committee on education, cultural affairs and media (2009–2011). From 2011 until 2012, she was her parliamentary group's deputy chairwoman, under the leadership of chairman Heiko Maas.

Between 2012 and 2014, Rehlinger was state minister of justice, consumer protection and environmental affairs in the government of the minister-president of Saarland Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. In 2014, she succeeded Heiko Maas as deputy minister-president and state minister for economic affairs, first under the leadership of Kramp-Karrenbauer (2014–2018) and later Tobias Hans (2018–2022). She was the candidate of SPD in 2017 state elections, but lost against Kramp-Karrenbauer and continued her role in the state government instead.

As one of her state's representatives at the Bundesrat, Rehlinger sat on the committee on labour, integration and social policy, the committee on economic affairs and on the committee on transport.

In March 2018, Rehlinger succeeded Heiko Maas as leader of the SPD in Saarland. At a party convention, she was elected with a majority of 94.5 percent.

Career in national politics

Rehlinger co-chaired the SPD's national conventions in Berlin (2015, 2017, 2019) and Wiesbaden (2018).

In the negotiations to form a coalition government on the national level following the 2017 federal elections, Rehlinger co-chaired the working group on agriculture. Her counterparts were Julia Klöckner and Christian Schmidt. She was also a member of the working group on transport.

At a SPD national convention in 2019, Rehlinger, with Klara Geywitz, Hubertus Heil, Kevin Kühnert and Serpil Midyatli, was elected as one of the five deputies of the party's co-chairs Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans.

In the negotiations to form a so-called "traffic light coalition" of the SPD, the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) following the 2021 federal elections, Rehlinger led her party's delegation in the working group on mobility. Her co-chairs from the other parties were Anton Hofreiter and Oliver Luksic.

Since 2023, Rehlinger has been coordinating her party's relations with Asia. In this capacity, she joined chairman Lars Klingbeil on an official trip to China, South Korea and Mongolia that year.

Rehlinger was nominated by her party as delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the president of Germany in 2022.

In October 2023, Rehlinger joined the first joint cabinet retreat of the German and French governments in Hamburg, chaired by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Emmanuel Macron.

On 18 October 2024, she was elected President of the Bundesrat. Her one-year term started on 1 November 2024.

Other activities

Regulatory bodies

* Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway (BNetzA), member of the advisory board (since 2014)

Corporate boards

* Landesbank Saar (SaarLB), ''ex-officio'' member of the supervisory board
* VSE AG, ''ex-officio'' member of the advisory board

Non-profit organization

* Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, member of the Political Advisory Board (since 2018)
* Franco-German Institute (DFI), member of the board
* Völklingen Ironworks, ''ex-officio'' chairwoman of the supervisory board
* IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie (IG BCE), member
* German Red Cross, member

Personal life

From 1999 to 2022, Rehlinger was married to Thomas Rehlinger, a medical doctor. In 2008, she gave birth to a son. Rehlinger is Roman Catholic.

References

External links

Homepage by Anke Rehlinger


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rehlinger, Anke
Members of the Landtag of Saarland
Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians
Living people
1976 births
21st-century German politicians
21st-century German women politicians
Saarland University alumni
People from Merzig-Wadern
Presidents of the German Bundesrat
Minister-presidents of Saarland
Leaders of political parties in Germany
German Roman Catholics
Women minister-presidents in Germany
Women ministers of state governments in Germany