Clara Bünger (born 4 July 1986) is a German jurist and politician serving as

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

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 ...

from

Die Linke Die Linke (; ), also known as the Left Party ( ), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and Labour and Social Justice – The ...

since 2022.

Early life and education

Bünger was born in

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places * Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony * Ol ...

in 1986 and grew up in

Freiberg Freiberg () is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany, with around 41,000 inhabitants. The city lies in the foreland of the Ore Mountains, in the Saxon urbanization axis, which runs along the northern edge of the Elster and ...

. She studied

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Leipzig University Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

from 2005 until 2012 when she finished her first Staatsexam. In 2012 she worked for a law firm in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

which enforced compensation claims and pension entitlements of

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivors against the German state under the

Reparations Agreement between Israel and the Federal Republic of Germany The Reparations Agreement between Israel and the Federal Republic of Germany (, "Luxembourg Agreement", or ', "''Wiedergutmachung'' Agreement"; , "Reparations Agreement") was signed on September 10, 1952, and entered in force on March 27, 1953.Hon ...

. During 2013 and 2015 she completed her legal clerkship, working at the

Federal Foreign Office The Federal Foreign Office (, ; abbreviated AA) is the Foreign minister, foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency (Germany), federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with ...

, the

European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) is an independent, nonprofit non-governmental organization with the aim of enforcing human rights through legal means. Using litigation, it tries to hold state and non-state actors r ...

and an international law firm in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. She finished her second Staatsexam in Berlin in 2015 and has been a fully qualified lawyer ever since.

Human rights lawyer and activist

Since 2014, Bünger has been committed to helping

refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

, especially those arriving on the Greek islands. In spring 2016, she was the legal advice coordinator for the Refugee Law Clinics Germany on

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

. Although the conditions for refugees were as precarious as on

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

, there was hardly any media attention. In addition, there were no EU or UN representatives on the island at the time. As a legal advisor, she informed the refugees about the practical consequences of the EU-Turkey deal. In 2017, Bünger co-founded the association

Equal Rights Beyond Borders Equal Rights Beyond Borders is a charitable organization, founded in 2016, headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and Athens, Greece, with additional offices on the Greek islands Chios and Kos. It offers free legal support to people on the move and asyl ...

, which offers free legal aid for refugees and

asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A pers ...

and conducts

strategic litigation Strategic litigation, also known as impact litigation, is the practice of bringing lawsuits intended to affect societal change. Impact litigation cases may be class action lawsuits or individual claims with broader significance, and may rely on st ...

in the field of migration in front of Greek and German courts and the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

Political career

In 2021, Bünger was a candidate for the electoral constituency Erzgebirgskreis I but lost to Thomas Dietz. In 2022, Bünger moved up into the

, after

Katja Kipping Katja Kipping (born 18 January 1978) is a German politician of The Left (Germany), The Left party. She was a member of the Bundestag representing Saxony from 2005 to 2021, a federal co-leader of The Left from 2012 to 2021 alongside Bernd Riexinge ...

resigned to join the state government of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Despite her late entry into the Bundestag, she was ranked 7th among the Members of Parliament who gave the most speeches at the mid-term review of the legislative period. She is full member of the Committee on Legal Affairs and deputy member of the Committee on the Interior and Home Affairs. Between July 8, 2022 and December 6, 2023, she was chairwoman for

The Left (Germany) Die Linke (; ), also known as the Left Party ( ), is a Democratic socialism, democratic socialist List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of the merger of the Party of Democr ...

of the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry into the withdrawal 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 ...

from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Publications

* „Dynamiken der Einwanderungsgesellschaft“ with Catharina Ziebritzki, in: Neue Zeitschrift für Verwaltungsrecht NVwZ 2017, 200 * „Griechische Nazis vor Gericht – Das Verfahren gegen die Goldene Morgenröte“ �

in: Forum Recht 01/17 * „From first reception center to pre-removal facilities – Supreme Administrative court of Greece decides that Turkey is a safe third country�

with Robert Nestler. 2017 * „Erst Haft, dann Cherry Picking?�

with Robert Nestler, in:

Verfassungsblog Verfassungsblog () is an academic blog published in German and English, which focuses on the constitutional law of Germany and Europe in general. It was founded on 30 July 2009 by and is now published in cooperation with the Berlin Institute for ...

17.07.2019 * „#WirhabenPlatz – Die Diskussion um Landesaufnahmeprogramme für Schutzsuchende aus den griechischen Hotspots“, in: „Grundrechte-Report 2021 – Zur Lage der Bürger- und Menschenrechte in Deutschland“, Benjamin Derin et al. (Hg.), S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 2021, ISBN 978-3-596-70622-8 * „Auf hoher See ausgesetzt – Frontex muss sich vor dem Europäischen Gerichtshof verantworten“, in: „Recht gegen Rechts Report 2022“, Nele Austermann et al. (Hg.), S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2022, ISBN 978-3-10-397134-7 * „Vom Recht auf Asyl zur Entrechtung an den EU-Außengrenzen“

17.05.2023 * „Seenotretter:innen als Staatsfeinde Nr.1? Zum Vorwurf der Schlepperei durch die griechische Justiz", in: „Recht gegen Rechts Report 2024", Nele Austermann et al. (Hg.), S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 2024, ISBN 978-3-10-397556-7

References

Living people 1986 births Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Members of the Bundestag for Die Linke 21st-century German women politicians Leipzig University alumni Female members of the Bundestag Members of the Bundestag for Saxony People from Oldenburg (city) People from Freiberg Politicians from Saxony Members of the Bundestag 2025–2029 {{Germany-Left-politician-stub