Melis Sekmen (born 26 September 1993) is a German politician. She was a

member of the German Bundestag Member of the German Parliament () is the official name given to a deputy in the Bundestag, German Bundestag. ''Member of Parliament'' refers to the elected members of the federal Bundestag Parliament at the Reichstag building in Berlin. In G ...

from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 2021 until 2025. She previously was a member of the

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 ...

party. She is of Turkish descent.

Political career

In the Bundestag, Sekmen served on the Committee on Economic Affairs. In addition to her committee assignments, she has been 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 ...

since 2022. Elected as a Green in 2021, she resigned from her former party and its Bundestag fraction on 1 July 2024, intending to apply for membership in the CDU and the CDU/CSU (Union) parliamentary group. Sekmen said, "My idea of how and in what style politics is done has evolved." Sekmen's differences of opinion with the Green Party's majority line had recently become apparent primarily in the areas of migration and the economy; for example, she had called for a "change of course" in migration and integration policy. She also cited her recognition of the Union's new basic program as a reason for the switch. On 9 July, Sekmen was admitted to the CDU. She is thus the first Green member of the Bundestag to switch to the Union parties since

Vera Lengsfeld Vera Lengsfeld (born 4 May 1952) is a German politician. She was a prominent civil rights activist in East Germany and after the German reunification she first represented the Alliance 90/The Greens and then the German Christian Democratic Uni ...

in 1996, and the third CDU member of Turkish origin after

Cemile Giousouf Cemile Giousouf (; ; born 5 May 1978) is a German politician. She was the first ever Muslim member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), serving as Member of the Bundestag for one legislative term from 2013 until 2017. In January 2019, ...

and

Serap Güler Serap Güler (born 7 July 1980) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as a Member of the German Bundestag since 2021, representing the Leverkusen – Cologne IV district. In addition to her work i ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sekmen, Melis Living people 1993 births Politicians from Mannheim 21st-century German women politicians Members of the Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Female members of the Bundestag German politicians of Turkish descent Members of the Bundestag for Baden-Württemberg