Gerhard Max Trabert (born 3 July 1956) is a German public figure. By profession he is a general practitioner and emergency medicine doctor but is also known as a professor of social medicine and

social psychiatry Social psychiatry is a branch of psychiatry that studies how the social environment impacts mental health and mental illness. It applies a cultural and societal lens on mental health by focusing on mental illness prevention, community-based care, m ...

, as well as an author of books. In the 1970s, he was involved in professional sports. He was also a political candidate for

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 ...

in the

2022 German presidential election An indirect presidential election (officially the 17th Federal Convention) was held in Germany on 13 February 2022 to elect the next president of Germany. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, COVID-19 pandemic and the high number of dele ...

and the

2021 German federal election The 2021 German federal election was held in Germany on 26 September 2021 to elect the members of the 20th Bundestag. State elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern were also held. Incumbent chancellor Angela Merkel, first elected in 2005, ...

. He will be the top candidate on the

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

state list The State List or List-II is a list of 61 items. Initially there were 66 items in the list in Schedule Seven to the Constitution of India. The legislative section is divided into three lists: the Union List, the State List and the Concurrent Lis ...

in the

2025 German federal election The 2025 German federal election was held in Germany on 23 February 2025 to elect the 630 members of the List of members of the 21st Bundestag, 21st Bundestag, down from 736 in 2021 due to reforms in seat distribution. The 2025 election took plac ...

Life and work

Gerhard Trabert was born in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

in July 1956. During his childhood, he spent a lot of time in the orphanage where his father worked as an educator. This experience made him aware of the suffering felt by disadvantaged people at an early age. Trabert studied social work at the Wiesbaden University of Applied Sciences from 1975 to 1979, graduating with a degree in social education. After completing his studies, Trabert worked in

medical social work Medical social work is a sub-discipline of social work that addresses social components of medicine. Medical social workers typically work in a hospital, outpatient clinic, community health agency, skilled nursing facility, long-term care facilit ...

. In 1983 he began studying

human medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

, which he completed in 1989 at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. During his studies, Trabert received a scholarship from the . After completing his studies, Trabert was awarded a doctorate in medicine by the medical faculty of the University of Mainz with his dissertation on the health situation and medical care of homeless people''.'' Trabert worked clinically for ten years in hospitals in

and

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

. His focus was

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

, specifically the

medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and

psychosocial The psychosocial approach looks at individuals in the context of the combined influence that psychological factors and the surrounding social environment have on their physical and mental wellness and their ability to function. This approach is ...

care of

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...

patients. He trained as a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

for

family medicine Family medicine is a medical specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. The specialist, who is usually a primary care physician, is ...

and as an

emergency medicine Emergency medicine is the medical specialty concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians (or "ER doctors") specialize in providing care for unscheduled and undifferentiated pa ...

doctor. From the beginning of his medical career, he completed numerous assignments abroad, including in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and the United States. Gerhard_Trabert

During his trip through India, Trabert became acquainted with the "outreach health care concept" ''Medical Streetwork'', which primarily treated patients with leprosy. The guiding principle of this concept is: "If the patient does not come to the doctor, the doctor comes to the patient." Inspired by this work and his experiences there, he transferred this medical approach to the health care of homeless people. In 1994, he founded the Mainz Model, a medical care facility for homeless people. With a "mobile doctor", Trabert and his colleagues visit certain locations and offer medical help free of charge. Trabert was the first doctor in Germany to receive statutory health insurance approval for this form of mobile practice. He is the author of numerous specialist articles on the subject of poverty and health, child poverty, poverty and suicidality, and children of parents with cancer. Trabert is also the author of children's books on the subject of cancer. In 1998 he founded the association, and is a member of the . He is also the founder and chairman of the ''Flüsterpost association.'' From 1999 to 2009 he was a professor of medicine and social medicine at the Technische Hochschule Nürnberg, Georg Simon Ohm University in Nuremberg, and since 2009 he has been a professor of social medicine and

in the social work department at the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences. He is also the owner of the ''G. Trabert publishing house''. In 2013, Trabert set up the “Ambulance without Borders” in the city of Mainz. The organisation employs twenty doctors, nurses and social workers and provides uninsured patients including homeless people with free medical treatment.

Sport

Gerhard Trabert Leichtathletik-Junioren-EM 1975

Before and during his studies, Gerhard Trabert was part of the German junior and student national athletics team. His sporting successes include the silver medal in the 4 x 400 meter race at the 1975 European Athletics Junior Championships and the bronze medal in the 4 x 400 meter race at the 1977 FISU World University Games. His best time of 1:49.26 minutes for 800 meters, which Trabert set in 1981, is still included in the list of the "Eternal Top Ten" of the USC Mainz.

Politics

In the

, Trabert ran as a Direktmandat, direct candidate for the The Left (Germany), Die Linke party for the Mainz (electoral district), Mainz constituency but was not on the party's

. In the election on 26 September, he came in 4th place with 12.7% of the vote and thus missed out on a place in the Bundestag. This made him the best first vote result of a candidate from the Left Party in West Germany in the 2021 election. In the

on 13 February 2022, Die Linke nominated Trabert as its candidate against the incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier who was running for another term. Trabert wanted to use this candidacy, in his own words, to draw attention to poverty and social injustice in Germany: "It's not about me. It's about the people I'm committed to," he said. Trabert received 96 of the 1,437 votes cast in the Federal Convention (Germany), Federal Assembly, 25 more than the number of representatives The Left had. Re-elected President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier addressed Trabert directly in his speech on February 13, 2022:

"Permit me, dear Professor Trabert, to say one more thing. With your candidacy, you have drawn attention to an issue that deserves more attention: the situation of the poorest and most vulnerable in our country. You deserve not only respect for this, but I hope that your momentum will continue." – Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Steinmeier also suggested a meeting with Trabert in order to "bring more attention to this pressing issue together". This meeting took place on 4 March 2022 at Bellevue Palace, Germany, Bellevue Palace. They discussed concrete measures and actions to help poor people. The promised visit of the Federal President to Mainz took place on June 2, 2022. Steinmeier visited the mobile doctor's unit for the homeless and was very impressed by Trabert's work. Long-term cooperation in combating poverty was discussed. As part of his candidacy, Trabert pointed out the turning a blind eye to the conditions of refugees and poor people in Germany and drew a parallel to the turning a blind eye to the Nazi war crimes, atrocities committed by the Nazis during the National Socialist era in Germany, National Socialist era: "Just as many Germans knew back then what was happening to the Jews, today we know what is happening to refugees in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, in Libyan and Syrian camps. We know how poverty is increasing, we know about the increased death rate of poor people here in Germany too." Trabert also said of the situation in Germany: "The courts are also abusing their power to silence criticism in this democracy. We cannot accept that." Although Trabert was referring to the criminalization of Search and rescue, sea rescue workers, his statements were criticized from various sides. At the end of 2022, Trabert was one of the first signatories of a petition and campaign by DiEM25 to abandon the debt brake of the German balanced budget amendment. In February 2023, he was the first signatory of the "Manifest für Frieden, Manifesto for Peace" petition to Olaf Scholz, initiated by Sahra Wagenknecht and Alice Schwarzer, which called for diplomacy and negotiations and against further "escalating arms deliveries" to Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian invasion. In July 2023, the proposed Trabert for fourth place on the party's candidate list for the 2024 European Parliament election in Germany, 2024 European elections. Since the party received only three seats with 2.7 percent of the vote, he missed out on a place in the European Parliament. In the

, Trabert will run again in the Mainz constituency. He will be the top candidate on the

International missions

* Health clinic for Bosnian refugees in Ljubljana, Slovenia * Health care programme in the slums of Dhaka,

* 2001 after the September 11 attacks in Afghanistan * 2005 after the Boxing Day Tsunami in Sri Lanka * 2009 healthcare in the South Pacific, Cook Islands * 2010 after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, earthquake in Haiti * 2010 Pakistan after the 2010 Pakistan floods, flood disaster * 2011 Tunu, East Greenland * 2012 Prisoner Care in Ethiopia * 2013 Care for the mentally ill in Indonesia (Bali) * 2013 Supply of Refugees of the Syrian civil war, Syrian refugees in Lebanon * 2014 Tunu, East Greenland * 2014 Care for the mentally ill in Indonesia * 2014 Care for street children in Kisumu, Kenya * 2015 Mare Liberum (ship), Sea-Watch – Civil Sea Rescue of Refugees, Lampedusa, Italy * 2015 Providing care for refugees in Kilis, (Syria–Turkey border, Turkey-Syrian border) * 2016 Mare Liberum (ship), Sea-Watch – Civil Sea Rescue of Refugees, Malta * 2016 Providing care to refugees in Idomeni, Greece * 2016 Providing care to refugees in Kilis, Türkiye (Syrian border) * 2016 Providing care to refugees in Reyhanli, Türkiye (Syrian border) * 2016 Support of the Akrabat Hospital in Idlib, Syria * 2017 Support for health facilities in the Rojava conflict, Rojava region, Northern Syria (including in Kobani) * 2017 Work in the Ayn Issa refugee camp in the Raqqa region, Northern Syria * 2017 Support of the aid organization – Collaboration in TSP (Trauma Stabilisation Point) in Mosul, Iraq * 2017 Care for refugees on the island of Lesbos, Greece * 2018 Providing aid to refugees in Kobani, Raqqa and Manbij, Northern Syria * 2019 humanitarian, medical mission in an orphanage in Benin, West Africa * 2019 Care of patients with diabetes mellitus in Kobani, Northern Syria * 2019 ResQship – Civil Sea Rescue of Refugees in the Mediterranean * 2019 Care for street children in Kisumu, Kenya * 2020 Providing care to refugees in Kara Tepe Refugee Camp and Moria refugee camp, Camp Moria on Lesbos, Greece * 2021 Providing care for refugees in Bihać, Bihac, Bosnia-Herzegovina * 2021 Providing care to refugees in Kara Tepe Refugee Camp on Lesbos, Greece (in June and October 2021) * 2021 Relief operation during the 2021 European floods, flood disaster in the Ahr Valley * 2021 ResQship – Civil Sea Rescue of Refugees in the Mediterranean

Honours and awards

Trabert has received numerous awards, including the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Order of Merit of Rhineland-Palatinate and the . In 2019, Trabert was the first university of applied sciences teacher to receive the "" award, worth 10,000 euros; the ceremony was scheduled to take place on April 6, 2020, as part of the "Gala of German Science" in Berlin, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, coronavirus.

Sports

* 1975: Silver medal 4 × 400 m, European Athletics U20 Championships, European Athletics Junior Championships Athens * 1977: Bronze medal 4 × 400 m, FISU World University Games, Universiade, World Student Championship Sofia * 2004: Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Cross of Merit on Ribbon) * Günter Gloser Prize * 2009: Child Protection Award of , Rhineland-Palatinate State Association * 2014: (highest award of the German Medical Association) * 2015: Order of Merit of Rhineland-Palatinate (highest award of the State of

) * 2015: 1st Civil Society Prize to the Association ''Poverty and Health'', European Economic and Social Committee * 2016: Volunteering Award for Social Work, Lotto Foundation * 2018: Carola Gold Prize, Berlin * 2019: of the German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention * 2020: * 2021:

External links

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trabert, Gerhard Living people 1956 births 20th-century German physicians 21st-century German physicians Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany West German male middle-distance runners Competitors at the 1977 Summer Universiade Candidates for President of Germany German general practitioners German psychiatrists Members of the Bundestag 2025–2029 Die Linke politicians German academics German sportsperson-politicians German medical researchers Politicians from Rhineland-Palatinate Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz alumni