Christine Lieberknecht (born Determann 7 May 1958 in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). From 2009 to 2014, she served as the Minister President of

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

. Lieberknecht was the first woman to become head of government in Thuringia and only the second woman to govern a

German state The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation and consists of sixteen partly sovereign ''states''. Of the sixteen states, thirteen are so-called area-states ('Flächenländer'); in these, below the level of the state government, there is a ...

Family, Education and Work

Christine Lieberknecht grew up as the oldest of four siblings. Her father was Protestant-Lutheran pastor. After graduation in 1976 she studied

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

theology at the Friedrich-Schiller-University

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

: * 1982 first theological examination * 1982 Vicariate with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Thuringia * 1984 second theological examination * from 1984 until 1990 Pastor in the Church District of Weimar

Political career

Lieberknecht co-chaired the CDU's national conventions in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

(2004),

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

(2007),

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

(2010) and in Berlin (2014). After serving as * Thuringian Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs (1990 to 1992) * Thuringian Minister for Federal and European Affairs (1992 to 1994) * Thuringian Minister for Federal Affairs with the State Chancellery (1994 to 1999) * Speaker of the Thuringian Parliament (1999 to 2004) * Chairperson of the CDU Faction of the Thuringian Parliament (2004 to 2008) * Thuringian Minister for Social Affairs, Family and Health (2008 to 2009) Lieberknecht was the 4th Minister President of the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

from 2009 to 2014, and served as chairwoman of the CDU state party in Thuringia from 2009 to 2014. Lieberknecht has been representing the constituency ''Weimarer Land II'' in the

Landtag of Thuringia The Landtag of Thuringia is the parliament of the German federal state of Thuringia. It convenes in Erfurt and currently consists of 88 members from five parties. According to the free state's constitution, the primary functions of the Landtag ...

since 1991. Lieberknecht served as a CDU delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international correspondence; the official English title is President of the F ...

in 2012,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. In 2019, Lieberknecht was appointed by the

Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community The Federal Ministry of the Interior (, ; abbreviated BMI) is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its main office is in Berlin, with a secondary seat in Bonn. The current minister is Nancy Faeser. It is comparabl ...

to serve on the committee that oversaw the preparations for the 30th anniversary of

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

Other activities (selection)

Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship The Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship (, alternatively translated as "(Federal) Foundation for the Study of Communist Dictatorship in East Germany") is a government-funded organisation established in 1998 by the German ...

, Member of the Board (since 2016) * German Children and Youth Foundation (DKJS), Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2010) *

Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science museum, science and technology museum, technology, with a ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2009) *

Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (, EKD), also known as the Protestant Church in Germany, is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed Protestantism, Reformed, and united and uniting churches, United Protestantism in Ger ...

(EKD), Member of the Committee on the Social Order * Evangelical Working Group of the CDU/CSU, Deputy Chairwoman (since 1991) *

Konrad Adenauer Foundation The Konrad Adenauer Foundation ('' German: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: KAS'') is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's head ...

(KAS), MemberMembers

(KAS).

References

External links

Official website

Official Thüringer Landtag profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lieberknecht, Christine 1958 births Living people Politicians from Weimar People from Bezirk Erfurt 20th-century German Lutheran clergy Christian Democratic Union (East Germany) politicians Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians Minister-presidents of Thuringia Members of the Landtag of Thuringia Women members of state parliaments in Germany 20th-century German women politicians Women minister-presidents in Germany Women Lutheran clergy