Sven Lehmann (born 14 December 1979) is a German politician of

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (for ...

who has been serving as a member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the German Federalism, federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representat ...

from the state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...

since 2017. In addition to his parliamentary work, Lehmann has been serving as

Parliamentary State Secretary A Parliamentary State Secretary (') is a member of the Bundestag given a portfolio to assist a Minister with running a government ministry. The position is roughly analogous to deputy ministers. In 2021, there are 36 parliamentary state secretarie ...

in the

Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth The Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (german: Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend, ), abbreviated BMFSFJ, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is headquart ...

and as the Federal Government's Commissioner for the Acceptance of Sexual and Gender Diversity (nicknamed the "Queer Commissioner") in the coalition government of

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Olaf Scholz Olaf Scholz (; born ) is a German politician who has served as the chancellor of Germany since 8 December 2021. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice Chancellor under Angela Merkel and as Federal Minister ...

since 2021.

Early life and career

Lehmann grew up in Troisdorf in the Rhein-Sieg district in then-

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. In 1999 he graduated from the Gymnasium zum Altenforst in

Troisdorf Troisdorf () is a city in the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis (district), in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Troisdorf is located approximately 22 kilometers south of Cologne and 13 kilometers north east of Bonn. Division of the city Troisdorf consi ...

. In 1999 he began his studies of political science, Romance studies and education in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

and

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label=Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

, which he completed in 2006 as Magister Artium (M.A.). From 2005 to 2007 Lehmann headed the constituency office of Kerstin Müller, member of the Bundestag in Cologne. From 2007 he worked for the Rhineland Regional Council, most recently in occupational health management.

Political career

From 2010 to 2018, Lehmann served as co-chair of the Green Party in North Rhine-Westphalia, alongside Monika Düker (2010–2014) and

Mona Neubaur Mona Neubaur (born 1 July 1977) is a German politician from Alliance 90/The Greens who has been serving as Deputy Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia and also as State Minister for Economics, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy in ...

(2014–2018). Lehmann became a member of the Bundestag in the

2017 German federal election Federal elections were held in Germany on 24 September 2017 to elect the members of the 19th Bundestag. At stake were at least 598 seats in the Bundestag, as well as 111 overhang and leveling seats determined thereafter. The Christian Democr ...

, representing the

Cologne II Cologne II (german: Köln II) is an electoral constituency (German: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituen ...

district. From 2018 until 2021, he was a member of the Committee on Labour and Social Affairs. He also served as his parliamentary group’s spokesman for queer politics and for social policy. Within his parliamentary group, coordinated the Trade Union and Social Advisory Council. Lehmann has been serving as

to the

since December 8, 2021. On January 5, 2022 the Federal Government appointed him as Commissioner for the Acceptance of Sexual and Gender Diversity. In the negotiations to form a coalition government of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Green Party under

Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia The Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Ministerpräsident des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen), also referred to as Premier or Prime Minister, is the head of government of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (''NRW''). Th ...

Hendrik Wüst Hendrik Josef Wüst (born 19 July 1975) is a German politician currently serving as Minister-President of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. He is a member of the Christian democratic and liberal-conservative CDU. In October 2021 he succeeded ...

following the 2022 state elections, Lehmann was part of his party’s delegation in the working group on equality, women, families, children and youth.

Other activities

Stiftung Lesen Stiftung Lesen (Reading Foundation) is a non-profit organization based in Mainz, Germany under the patronage of Joachim Gauck. Stiftung Lesen acts as a stakeholder for reading promotion on a national and international level. It contributes to read ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2022) *

Magnus Hirschfeld Magnus Hirschfeld (14 May 1868 – 14 May 1935) was a German physician and sexologist. Hirschfeld was educated in philosophy, philology and medicine. An outspoken advocate for sexual minorities, Hirschfeld founded the Scientific-Humanitaria ...

Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees

Political positions

Within the Green Party, Lehmann is considered to be part of its

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in ...

. Referring to

Women's Declaration International The Women's Declaration International (WDI), formerly the Women's Human Rights Campaign (WHRC), is an advocacy group founded in the United Kingdom with presence in many other countries. The group is known for publishing a declaration on " sex-base ...

, Lehmann said "they are not women's rights advocates, they are transphobes." In a podcast interview on online dating Lehmann remarked how actively

Grindr Grindr () is a location-based social networking and online dating application targeted towards members of the gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. It was one of the first geosocial apps for gay men when it launched in March 2009 a ...

was being used during parliament sessions, and how it relates to his work.

References

External links

*
Bundestag biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehmann, Sven 1979 births Living people Members of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 German LGBT politicians Gay politicians LGBT members of the Bundestag Members of the Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens