Sven Michael Spengemann (born October 3, 1966) is a German-Canadian lawyer, bureaucrat and politician, who was elected to represent the electoral district of Mississauga—Lakeshore in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election. He was successfully re-elected in the subsequent 2019 federal election and the 2021 federal election. Spengemann announced on May 18, 2022 that he would be resigning as the MP for Mississauga—Lakeshore to accept a role with the United Nations.

Early life

Spengemann immigrated to Canada at age 14 with his family, and settled in the Credit Woodlands neighbourhood of Mississauga. He completed his secondary education at The Woodlands School.

Education

Spengemann earned a

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in psychology from the Mississauga campus of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

in 1990. Spengemann obtained an LL.B from

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall Law ...

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and staf ...

in 1998 and an LL.M focused on European Union Law from the

College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...

in Bruges, Belgium, in 1999. He earned a second LLM (international law) and a doctorate of juridical science at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in the field of political and constitutional theory, under the direction of

Anne-Marie Slaughter Anne-Marie Slaughter (born September 27, 1958) is an American international lawyer, foreign policy analyst, political scientist and public commentator. From 2002 to 2009, she was the Dean of Princeton University's School of Public and Interna ...

, in 2006. In the course of his studies, Spengemann earned a number of awards and distinctions, including a Canada-US Fulbright Scholarship (2001).

Career

From 1991 to 1995, Spengemen worked with

Toronto-Dominion Bank Toronto-Dominion Bank (french: links=no, Banque Toronto-Dominion), doing business as TD Bank Group (french: links=no, Groupe Banque TD), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. T ...

, supervising their Green Line Investor Services. During this time, he oversaw a team of client service employees and compliance management. From 2003 to 2005, Spengemann served as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Government of Canada’s Privy Council Office, examining national security law and international regulatory issues in the Canada-U.S. bilateral relationship. From 2005 to 2012, Spengemann served as a legal adviser and senior constitutional officer with the

United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) was formed on 14 August 2003 by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1500 at the request of the Iraqi government to support national development efforts. UNAMI's mandate includes ...

. During his service, he negotiated legal protocols with U.S. and Coalition military forces to ensure security, medical and operational support for the UN's activities in the country. Additionally, he led a team of international and Iraqi experts to assist the new Parliament of Iraq and

Kurdistan Regional Government The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) ( ku, حکوومەتی هەرێمی کوردستان, ''Hikûmetî Herêmî Kurdistan'') is the official executive body of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. The cabinet is selected by the ...

with constitutional and legislative reforms, including oil & gas management, human rights, institutional design and federalism. His work in Iraq earned him an Osgoode Hall Gold Key alumni award and recognition as a democracy expert in the

’s 'Boundless' Campaign. In 2011, he spent a four-month sabbatical leave as a visiting scholar at the university's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, with a joint appointment to the

Balsillie School of International Affairs The Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) is a centre for advanced research and teaching on global governance and international public policy, located in Waterloo, Ontario. As one of the largest social sciences initiatives in Canada, t ...

at the University of Waterloo. Following his U.N. service in 2012, he became a visiting professor and BMO Visiting Fellow at York University, teaching graduate courses at its Glendon School of Public and International Affairs. He resigned from this role in 2014 to enter electoral politics.

Politics

In 2012, Spengemann became a member of the Liberal Party Riding Association of Mississauga–Lakeshore and took on the portfolio of Vice President for Communications and Outreach. In early 2014, Spengemann declared his intention to seek the federal Liberal nomination for the riding and won the nomination in September of that year. Spengemann is a supporter of

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since ...

. In the 2015 federal election, Spengemann defeated Conservative incumbent Stella Ambler to win the new Mississauga—Lakeshore electoral district, and secured his seat in both the

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

elections. Spengemann is fluent in English and French, as well as German.

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spengemann, Sven Living people Liberal Party of Canada MPs Harvard Law School alumni Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario 1966 births People from Etobicoke Politicians from Berlin Politicians from Mississauga Politicians from Toronto Lawyers in Ontario German emigrants to Canada Osgoode Hall Law School alumni College of Europe alumni University of Toronto alumni University of Toronto faculty York University faculty Canadian officials of the United Nations Canadian civil servants Canadian bankers 21st-century Canadian politicians