Franziska Katharina Brantner (born 24 August 1979) is a German politician of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

who has been serving as a member of the

German Parliament The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the lower house of the German federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic Law for ...

since 2013. Since 2024, she has also been serving as co-leader of Alliance 90/The Greens, alongside Felix Banaszak. In addition to her parliamentary mandate, Brantner served as

Parliamentary State Secretary A Parliamentary State Secretary (') is a member of the Bundestag given a portfolio to assist a Minister with running a government ministry Ministry or department (also less commonly used secretariat, office, or directorate) are designations us ...

at the

Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (, ; abbreviated BMWE, formerly BMWi) is a Cabinet of Germany, cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. It was previously known as the "Ministry of Economy". It was recreate ...

in the

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Olaf Scholz Olaf Scholz (; born 14 June 1958) is a German politician who served as the Chancellor of Germany from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice-Chancellor of Ge ...

from 2021 to 2025. In this capacity, her portfolio included European affairs, trade policy, and digitization. Moreover, she was also the ministry's Special Coordinator for the

Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is a Norwegian-based organization that seeks to establish a global standard for the good governance of oil, gas and mineral resources. It seeks to address the key governance issues in the ...

(EITI). Brantner was a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) from 2009 to 2013.

Early life and career

Brantner grew up in Neuenburg/Rhein. After graduating from the bilingual

Deutsch-Französisches Gymnasium There are five French-German secondary schools known in German language, German as and in French language, French as . Mixing students, teachers and teaching methods of both countries, DFG/LFAs are highly selective schools of excellence. Thei ...

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

and gathering her first international experiences working at the offices of the

Heinrich Böll Foundation The Heinrich Böll Foundation (German language, German: ''Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Eingetragener Verein, e.V.''; Abbreviation: HBS) is a German legally independent political foundation. Affiliated with Alliance '90/The Greens, Alliance 90/The Gr ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

and

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

she studied political science with focus on International Affairs and European Policy at the

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

in Paris and

School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University The School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) is the international affairs and public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City. SIPA offers Master of I ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where she graduated in 2004. In 2010, Brantner defended her PhD thesis "The reformability of the United Nations" at the

University of Mannheim The University of Mannheim (German: ''Universität Mannheim''), abbreviated UMA, is a public university, public research university in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1967, the university has its origins in the ''Palatine Aca ...

where she used to be a research associate at the department for Political Science II of Prof. Dr. Thomas König with a lectureship for International Policy. From 2006 to 2007, she worked as a research associate at the European Studies Centre of

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics, politic ...

. During the conference "Peking+5" of the UN Plenum in 2000 (following the UN World Women Conference of Peking in 1995) and until 2005 Brantner was Vice President of the "Youth Caucus" belonging to the

United Nations Commission on the Status of Women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the principal organs of the United Nations. CSW has been described as the UN organ promoting gen ...

. She also worked as a consultant for the

United Nations Development Fund for Women The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, , ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International Women's Year. Its first director was Margaret C. Snyder. U ...

(UNIFEM), the Women’s Rights Organisation of the UN. In Brussels she coordinated a project in cooperation with the French

presidency of the Council of the European Union The presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union, which is the co-legislator of the EU legislature alongside the European Parliament. It rotates among the member state ...

in 2008, which developed the European master plan for the resolution 1325 of the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

. In 2010, Brantner was (along with Richard Gowan) co-author of a study concerning the EU Human Rights Policy on behalf of the

European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decis ...

. According to the study, 127 out of the 192 members of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

voted against EU stances on human rights, up from 117 previous year; only half of democratic countries outside the Union voted with it most of the time. For the

Bertelsmann Foundation The Bertelsmann Stiftung is an independent foundation under private law, based in Gütersloh, Germany. It was founded in 1977 by Reinhard Mohn as the result of social, corporate and fiscal considerations. The foundation states that it prom ...

, she worked in Brussels on the subjects of European Foreign Affairs and European answers to the banking crisis. Brantner speaks fluent French, English and Spanish and is able to communicate in Hebrew.

Political career

In 1996, Brantner became a member of the Green Party Youth at the age of 17. She then was part of the Green Party's local administration in Baden-Württemberg and their Federal Board. During her studies at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

she founded a Green university group and was co-organiser of the first "European Students Convent" in 2001/2002. She is a member of the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

of the

, was member of the Peace and Security Commission of the Green national party and was one of the authors of the party's manifesto for the European election in 2009.

Member of the European Parliament, 2009–13

In the 2009 European elections, Brantner obtained one of the 14 mandates of the German

in the European Parliament. She was member of the

Greens–European Free Alliance The Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) is a political group of the European Parliament composed primarily of Green politics, green political parties. The group consists of European Green Party (EGP), part of the European Free Allianc ...

group, then under the leadership of

Daniel Cohn-Bendit Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit (; ; born 4 April 1945) is a French-German politician. Born stateless to a German-Polish Ashkenazi Jewish family, Daniel Cohn-Bendit obtained German citizenship in 1959 and French citizenship in 2015. Cohn-Bendit was a ...

and

Rebecca Harms Rebecca Harms (born 7 December 1956) is a German politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2004 until 2019. She is a member of the Alliance '90/The Greens, part of the European Green Party. From 2010 until 2016 she ser ...

. During her time in parliament, Brantner served as Member and coordinator on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and as substitute member on the

Subcommittee on Security and Defence The Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) is a subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament. It is responsible for European security and defence policy, including institutions, capabilities and operations, as we ...

, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and on the

Committee on Budgets The Committee on Budgets (BUDG) is a committee of the European Parliament. It has 41 members plus 39 substitute members. The committee's current chair is Jean Arthuis, who has held this position since 7 July 2014.Instrument for Stability. She also was her group’s chief negotiator for the establishment of the

European External Action Service The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service in charge of executing all Foreign relations of the European Union, international relations of the European Union. The EEAS is led by the Vice-President of the European Co ...

(EEAD). In 2010, she joined the ''Friends of the EEAS'', a unofficial and independent pressure group formed because of concerns that the

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Un ...

Catherine Ashton Catherine Margaret Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland (born 20 March 1956) is a Labour Party (UK), British Labour politician who served as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of th ...

was not paying sufficient attention to the Parliament and was sharing too little information on the formation of the European External Action Service. In 2010 she supported the

Spinelli Group The Spinelli Group is an initiative founded with a view to reinvigorate the endeavour for federalisation of the European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic uni ...

initiative for more Europe. During the

euro crisis The euro area crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis, European debt crisis, or European sovereign debt crisis, was a multi-year debt crisis and financial crisis in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until, in Greece, 2018. The ...

, Brantner pleaded for solidarity and community liability.

Member of the Bundestag, 2013–present

In 2013, Brantner was elected to 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 ...

(the German Parliament) for

Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

, succeeding Fritz Kuhn as representative of the 274th district

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. Following the 2013 federal election, she became a member of the Bundestag. Between 2014 and 2017, Brantner served as chairwoman of the parliamentary Sub-Committee for Civilian Crisis Prevention and as member of the Committee on Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. From 2017 until 2021, she has been serving as

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

of her parliamentary group, in this position assisting the group's chairs

Katrin Göring-Eckardt Katrin Dagmar Göring-Eckardt ( Eckardt; 3 May 1966) is a German politician of the German Green Party (officially known as Alliance 90/The Greens). Starting her political activity in the now-former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in th ...

and Anton Hofreiter. She also served on the Committee on European Affairs. From 2019 until 2021, she was a member of the German delegation to the

Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly The Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly (, ''APFA''; , ''DFPV'') is a joint body of the German Bundestag and the French National Assembly formed to enable cooperation between both houses. Background The French and German parliaments had p ...

. In addition to her committee assignments, Brantner is a Deputy Chairwoman of the German-Egyptian Parliamentary Friendship Group. She is also part of the Elie Wiesel Network of Parliamentarians for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities and against Genocide Denial. In the negotiations to form a

under the leadership of Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg

Winfried Kretschmann Winfried Kretschmann (; born 17 May 1948) is a German politician serving as Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg since 2011. A member of the Alliance '90/Greens, he was President of the Bundesrat and ''ex officio'' deputy to the President o ...

following the 2021 state elections, Brantner was part of the working group on European and international affairs, led by Theresa Schopper and Daniel Caspary. In the negotiations to form a so-called

traffic light coalition In German politics, a traffic light coalition () is a coalition government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Alliance 90/The Greens. It is named after the parties' traditional colours, respectively red, y ...

of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

(SPD), the Green Party and the FDP following the 2021 federal elections, Brantner led her party's delegation in the working group on European affairs; her co-chairs from the other parties were Udo Bullmann and

Nicola Beer Nicola Beer (born 23 January 1970) is a German lawyer and politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) who has been serving as a vice president of the European Investment Bank since 2024, under the leadership of president Nadia Calviño. Earl ...

Other activities

Government agencies

* Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI), Ex-Officio Chair of the Supervisory Board (since 2022) * German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ), Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2022) * Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIN-D), Ex-Officio Member of the Supervisory Board (since 2022)

Non-profit organizations

* European Policy Centre (EPC), Member of the Governing Board (since 2021) * Jacques Delors Centre at

Hertie School The Hertie School (until 2019 Hertie School of Governance) is a German private, independent graduate school for governance (public policy, international affairs and data science) located in Berlin. Hertie School is accredited to confer master's ...

, Member of the Advisory Board (since 2019) *

(ECFR), Member of the Council (since 2019) * Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA), Member of the Strategic Committee *

EastWest Institute The EastWest Institute (EWI), originally known as the Institute for East-West Security Studies and officially the Institute for EastWest Studies, Inc., was an international not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank focused on international conflic ...

, Member of the Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention *

, Member of the General Assembly * New Pact for Europe, Member of the Advisory Group

Political positions

Since becoming a member of the Bundestag, Brantner has regularly abstained from parliamentary votes on the participation of Germany in United Nations peacekeeping missions as well as in United Nations-mandated European Union peacekeeping missions, including those for

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 ...

(2014),

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

(2014, 2015 and 2018), Darfur/Sudan (2013, 2014),

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

(2013 and 2014) and the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

(2014). She voted against participation in EUTM Somalia (2014 and 2016). However, she voted in favor of extending the German mandate for the UN missions in

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

(2014, 2016 and 2018),

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

(2014) and

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

(2015). Amid the

European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...

in 2015, Brantner and fellow Green parliamentarians Luise Amtsberg,

Annalena Baerbock Annalena Charlotte Alma Baerbock (; born 15 December 1980) is a German politician and diplomat of the Alliance 90/The Greens party. She served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Germany's minister for foreign affairs from 2021 to 2025. I ...

, Manuel Sarrazin and Wolfgang Strengmann-Kuhn called for more responsibilities for the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

in managing the European Union's intake of refugees, a clearer definition of the mandate of

Frontex The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, commonly known as Frontex (from French ''frontières extérieures'', "external borders"), is an agency of the European Union headquartered in Warsaw, Poland. In coordination with the border and coast gu ...

and EU-managed facilities for asylum seekers in their countries of origin.Flüchtlingskrise: Grünen-Abgeordnete prangern Versäumnisse ihrer Partei an
''

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'', 15 December 2015.

References

External links

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

web pag
Franziska Katharina BRANTNER

Official web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brantner, Franziska Katharina 1979 births Living people Alliance 90/The Greens MEPs MEPs for Germany 2009–2014 21st-century women MEPs for Germany Female members of the Bundestag School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni Members of the Bundestag for Baden-Württemberg Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Members of the Bundestag 2013–2017 Members of the Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens Members of the Bundestag 2025–2029