Michaele Schreyer (born 9 August 1951) is a German politician of

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 ...

who served as a European Commissioner from September 1999 to November 2004, holding the budget portfolio.

Education

Schreyer wrote her doctoral thesis on tax federalism at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...

Political career

From 1983 until 1987, Schreyer worked as an advisor on financial policy to the Green Party's parliamentary group in 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 ...

.Mistress of her brief
''

European Voice ''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the American news organization ''Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices in ...

'', 26 April 2000. In 1989, Schreyer was appointed State Minister for Urban Development in the government of Governing Mayor

Walter Momper Walter Momper (born 21 February 1945) is a German politician of the SPD (Social Democrats) and former Governing Mayor of Berlin (West Berlin 1989–1990, reunited Berlin 1990–1991). Whilst Governing Mayor, he served as President of the Bun ...

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 ...

. In the 1990 state elections, she was elected to the

Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin The of Berlin (House of Representatives) () is the state parliament ('' Landtag'') of Berlin, Germany according to the city-state's constitution. In 1993, the parliament moved from Rathaus Schöneberg to its present house on Niederkirchnerst ...

. Between 1995 and 1997, she served as chairwoman of the Sub-Committee on Public Housing. In 1998, she assumed the leadership of the Green Party's parliamentary group, alongside

Renate Künast Renate Elly Künast (born 15 December 1955) is a German politician of Alliance 90/The Greens party. She was the Minister of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture from 2001 to 2005 and subsequently served as chairwoman of her party's parliame ...

European Commissioner, 2000–2004

In 2000, Germany's

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 ...

Gerhard Schröder Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German former politician and Lobbying, lobbyist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (S ...

nominated Schreyer, alongside

Günter Verheugen Günter Verheugen (; born 28 April 1944) is a German politician who served as European Commissioner for Enlargement from 1999 to 2004, and then as European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry from 2004 to 2010. He was also one of five vic ...

, as one of two German members of 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 ...

under President

Romano Prodi Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...

. In the

Prodi Commission The Prodi Commission was the European Commission in office between 1999 and 2004. The administration was led by former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. History The commission took office on 16 September 1999 following the scandal and subs ...

, Schreyer took on an enlarged portfolio for control of the 80 billion euro ($83.73 billion)

budget of the European Union The budget of the European Union ( The Union’s annual budget) is used to finance EU funding programmes (such as the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, Horizon Europe, or Erasmus+) and other expenditure at the European ...

. During Schreyer's time in office, the European Commission filed a high-profile civil lawsuit in the United States against

Philip Morris International Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is a multinational tobacco company, with products sold in over 180 countries. Marlboro is PMI’s most recognized brand, but in the last quarter of 2023, Iqos generated the greatest revenue. Philip Mor ...

and

R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) is an American tobacco manufacturing company based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded by namesake R. J. Reynolds in 1875, it is the largest tobacco company in the United States. The company is a w ...

seeking damages for what it called their involvement with organized crime in smuggling cigarettes into Europe. By 2004, Schreyer and Philip Morris had negotiated a

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), downward movement of a structure's foundation *Settlement (finance), where securities are delivered against payment of money *Settlement (litigatio ...

under which the company agreed to pay about $1 billion over 12 years.

Other activities

* European Youth Parliament – Germany, Member of the Board of Trustees *

European Movement Germany European Movement Germany (EM Germany) is a non-partisan network of interest groups in the field of EU politics in Germany. It cooperates closely with all EU stakeholders on a national and European level, most particularly with the German Feder ...

, Vice President * Schwarzkopf Foundation, Member of the BoardMembers of the Board
Schwarzkopf Foundation. *

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 ...

, Member of the Supervisory Board (2007–2014) Schreyer is co-author (with Lutz Mez) of the publication "ERENE – European Community for Renewable Energy".

References

External links

Commissioner Michaele Schreyer – Member of the European Commission
web-archive of the EU Commission

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Schreyer, Michaele 1951 births Living people German European commissioners Alliance 90/The Greens politicians Senators of Berlin Women European commissioners 20th-century German politicians 21st-century German politicians 20th-century German women politicians 21st-century German women politicians