Gabriele "Gabi" Zimmer (born 7 May 1955) is a German politician who served as leader of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) from 2000 to 2003. After leaving office as leader, she 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 ...

from 2004 to 2019. Zimmer sat with the

European United Left–Nordic Green Left The Left in the European Parliament (The Left) is a left-wing political group of the European Parliament established in 1995. Prior to January 2021 it was named the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (, GUE/NGL). The group is mainly compos ...

(GUE/NGL) group, which she chaired from 2012 to 2019.

Personal life

Zimmer was born in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

in 1955. After graduating from high school, she studied Russian and French in the Theoretical and Applied Linguistics section of the Karl Marx University in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

from 1973 to 1977, graduating as a qualified linguist. Then she worked as a clerk at VEB vehicle and hunting weapons factory "Ernst Thälmann" in

Suhl Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella ...

. From 1981 to 1987 she was the editor of the company's newspaper, and from 1987 to 1989 she was a member of the SED party leadership of this company. Zimmer is

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...

, married, and has two children.

Political career

She joined the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (, ; SED, ) was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from the country's foundation in 1949 until its dissolution after the Peaceful Revolution in 1989. It was a Mar ...

(SED), the ruling party of the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(East Germany), in 1981. After its transformation into the Party of Democratic Socialism in 1990, she became the party's leader in the new state 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 ...

, a position she held until 1998. She was a member of 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 ...

from 1990 until 2004. Zimmer became federal deputy leader of PDS in 1996. She was elected federal leader in 2000 after the resignation of Lothar Bisky. The party suffered a major defeat in the 2002 federal election, failing to pass the 5%

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can operate in various ...

and returning only two representatives. Zimmer was re-elected as leader at the first party congress after the election, but after internal party disputes, announced she would step down and not seek re-election at an extraordinary party congress in 2003. She left the leadership in May of that year. Zimmer remained active in the party, and was elected to the European Parliament in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. In 2007, the PDS merged into The Left. Zimmer was re-elected as an MEP representing The Left in 2009 and 2014. In 2012, she became the chairwoman of the GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament. She did not seek re-election in the

2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 23 and 26 May 2019. It was the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) we ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmer, Gabi 1955 births Living people People from East Berlin Socialist Unity Party of Germany members Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) politicians Die Linke politicians Members of the Landtag of Thuringia Women members of state parliaments in Germany Die Linke MEPs MEPs for Germany 2004–2009 MEPs for Germany 2009–2014 MEPs for Germany 2014–2019 21st-century women MEPs for Germany 20th-century German women