Steffi Lemke (born 19 January 1968) 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 the Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and Consumer Protection in

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 ...

Olaf Scholz Olaf Scholz (; born 14 June 1958) is a German politician who served as the Chancellor of Germany from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice-Chancellor of Ge ...

's cabinet from 2021 to 2025. Lemke has been a

member of the 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 state of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

from 1994 through 2002 and since 2013.

Education and early career

After attending a polytechnic secondary school in

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

, Lemke initially trained as a zoo technician from 1984 to 1986. Afterwards she worked as a letter carrier from 1986 to 1988. She also attended a secondary school leaving certificate course at the Philanthropinum in Dessau. After graduating from high school in 1988, she studied agricultural science at the

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

, graduating in 1993 with a degree in agricultural engineering (specialising in animal production).

Political career

Lemke was one of the co-founders of the Green Party in the GDR in 1989. She first served as a member of the German Bundestag from 1994 to 2002, representing the Dessau-Roßlau and

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

districts. During that time, she was part of the Committee on Food and Agriculture. From 2002 to 2013 Lemke worked as the Green Party's managing director, under the leadership of co-chairs Angelika Beer (2002–2004), Reinhard Bütikofer (2002–2008),

Claudia Roth Claudia Benedikta Roth (; born 15 May 1955) is a German politician (Alliance 90/The Greens) and member of the Bundestag. In addition to her work in parliament, Roth served as Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media in the go ...

(2004–2013) and

Cem Özdemir Cem Özdemir (; ; born 21 December 1965) is a German politician who served as Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Germany), Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture in the Scholz cabinet, cabinet of Chancellor Olaf Scholz from 2021 to 202 ...

(2008–2013). In this capacity, she managed her party's campaigns in three national elections which were all successive. In late 2013, she considered running for the party's leadership but ultimately pulled out from consideration, instead making room for Simone Peter. Since the 2013 elections, Lemke has been a member of the German Bundestag again, where she served as one of four

whips A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

of her

parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political party, political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller politic ...

under the leadership of the group's co-chairs

Katrin Göring-Eckardt Katrin Dagmar Göring-Eckardt ( Eckardt; 3 May 1966) is a German politician of the German Green Party (officially known as Alliance 90/The Greens). Starting her political activity in the now-former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in th ...

and Anton Hofreiter from 2013 until 2021. In this capacity, she was a member of the parliament's Council of Elders, which – among other duties – determines daily legislative agenda items and assigns committee chairpersons based on party representation. Lemke was also a member of the Committee on the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. She served as her parliamentary group's spokesperson for nature conservation policy. In addition to her committee assignments, she was part of the German Parliamentary Friendship Group for Relations with the States of Central America. Following the 2016 state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Lemke was part of her party's delegation in the negotiations on forming Germany's first-ever

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

between the Christian Democratic Union, the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

and the Green Party. She was briefly considered to join the government subsequently formed under the leadership of Minister-President

Reiner Haseloff Reiner Erich Haseloff (born 19 February 1954) is a German politician who serves as the Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt. On 9 October 2020, he was elected President of the Bundesrat. His one-year term started on 1 November 2020. Political ...

and become State Minister for the Environment and Agriculture; however, the position instead went to Claudia Dalbert.

Career in government

In the negotiations to form a so-called

traffic light coalition In German politics, a traffic light coalition () is a coalition government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Alliance 90/The Greens. It is named after the parties' traditional colours, respectively red, y ...

of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

(SPD), the Green Party and the FDP following the 2021 federal elections, Lemke led her party's delegation in the working group on

environmental policy Environmental policy is the commitment of an organization or government to the laws, regulations, and other policy mechanisms concerning environmental issues. These issues generally include air and water pollution, waste management, ecosystem ...

; her co-chairs from the other parties were Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter (SPD) and Stefan Birkner (FDP). The negotiations led to the successful formation of a government, and Lemke took up the post of Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection in the new cabinet, serving under

. In 2022, Lemke introduced draft legislation requiring manufacturers of products made with single-use plastic, such as bottles and cups, to pay an annual levy into a fund to help municipalities with the cost of clearing up litter. In October 2023, Lemke participated in the first joint cabinet retreat of the German and French governments in Hamburg, chaired by Scholz and

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

Other activities

* KfW, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Supervisory Directors (since 2021) * International Academy for Nature Conservation (INA), Member of the Advisory Board

Personal life

Lemke is divorced and lives with her current partner in

. She has a son.Heidi Thiemann (17 September 2021)
Steffi Lemke ist Direktkandidatin der Grünen und hat große Lust aufs Mitregieren im Bundestag
''

Mitteldeutsche Zeitung The ''Mitteldeutsche Zeitung'' (; ) is a regional daily newspaper for southern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Published in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle with several local versions, the paper is owned by M. DuMont Schauberg, Cologne. History and profile ...

''.

References

External links