Steffen Dittes (born 23 June 1973 in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

) is a German politician (

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 ...

, PDS). He 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 1994 to 2004 and again between 2014 and 2024. From March 2021 to September 2024 he was chairman of his parliamentary group in the Thuringian state parliament.

Life

After attending school, Steffen Dittes completed vocational training and obtained a high school diploma as an electronics technician from 1990 to 1993. While working, he studied from 2001 to 2004 at the Thuringian Academy of Administration and Economics in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

, graduating with a degree in administrative business administration (VWA). From 2005 to 2008 he studied political science (BA in political science) at the

University of Erfurt The University of Erfurt () is a public university located in Erfurt, the capital city of the German state of Thuringia. It was founded in 1379, and closed in 1816. It was re-established in 1994, three years after German reunification. Therefore ...

Political career

Dittes initially belonged to the Party of Democratic Socialism and was elected to the Thuringian state parliament in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, where he remained until 2004. From 1999 to 2011 he was a member of the city council of

Arnstadt Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera (river), Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially ...

, and since 2004 as parliamentary group leader. In the

2014 Thuringian state election The 2014 Thuringian state election was held on 14 September 2014 to elect the members of the 6th Landtag of Thuringia. The government prior to the election was a grand coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party ...

, he was again elected via the state list. In the state parliament, he is the domestic policy spokesman for the DIE LINKE parliamentary group. He maintains his constituency office in

. In the 6th and 7th electoral terms of the Thuringian state parliament (2014–2019 and from 2019), he was elected chairman of the Interior and Local Government Committee. Since November 2013, Dittes has been deputy state chairman of the Thuringian state association of the Left Party. In the

2019 Thuringian state election The 2019 Thuringian state election was held on 27 October 2019 to elect the members of the 7th Landtag of Thuringia. The outgoing government was a coalition consisting of The Left, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and The Greens, led by Minis ...

, he received the direct mandate in the Weimar II constituency. After the election of the previous state party leader

Susanne Hennig-Wellsow Susanne Hennig-Wellsow (born Hennig on 13 October 1977) is a German politician. She was federal co-chairwoman of The Left (Germany), The Left from 2021 to 2022 and has served as a member of the Bundestag for Thuringia since 2021. Previously, sh ...

as federal party leader, he took over the state party chairmanship on an interim basis at the beginning of March 2021 together with Heike Werner. On 6 March 2021 he was appointed the new chairman of the Thuringian state parliamentary group of the Left Party, also succeeding Hennig-Wellsow. After his election as parliamentary group leader, Sascha Bilay succeeded him as the new chairman of the Interior Committee. He did not stand in the

2024 Thuringian state election The 2024 Thuringian state election was held on 1 September 2024 to elect the members of the 8th Landtag of Thuringia. It was held on the same day as the 2024 Saxony state election. The outgoing government was a minority government consisting o ...

and so left the state parliament.

Memberships

In addition to his parliamentary work, Steffen Dittes is a member of ver.di, Alternative 54 e. V. and the Thuringia Refugee Council.

References

External links

*
Short biography
' on the website of the Thuringian State Parliament.
Personal homepage of Steffen Dittes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dittes, Steffen Living people 1973 births People from Weimar University of Erfurt alumni 20th-century German politicians Die Linke politicians Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) politicians Members of the Landtag of Thuringia