Ursula Schleicher (born 15 May 1933) is a German

Christian Social Union in Bavaria The Christian Social Union in Bavaria ( German: , CSU) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. Having a regionalist identity, the CSU operates only in Bavaria while its larger counterpart, the Christian Democra ...

politician and harpist who served two terms 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 ...

from 1972 to 1980 and five terms in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

between 1979 and 2004. She served as state chair of the

Paneuropean Union The International Paneuropean Union, also referred to as the Pan-European Movement and the Pan-Europa Movement, is an international organisation and the oldest European unification movement. It began with the publishing of Richard von Coudenh ...

in Bavaria between 1988 and 1994 before becoming its deputy federal chair in 1995 and was a

Vice-President of the European Parliament There are fourteen vice-presidents of the European Parliament who sit in for the President of the European Parliament, president in presiding over the plenary of the European Parliament. Role Vice-presidents are members of the Bureau (European P ...

from 1994 to 1999. Schleicher was appointed Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, the

Bavarian Order of Merit The Bavarian Order of Merit () is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian people". The or ...

and the Grand Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2001.

Early life

Schleicher was born in

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; Hessian: ''Aschebersch'', ) is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg, despite being its administrative seat, is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (, ) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. It consists of nine districts and 308 municipalities (including three cities). History After ...

, Germany, on 15 May 1933. She is one of six children to the dermatologist Adolf Schleicher, and his wife , a Member of the

Landtag of Bavaria The Landtag of Bavaria, officially known in English as the Bavarian State Parliament, is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Bavaria. The parliament meets in the Maximilianeum in Munich. Elections to the Landtag are held every ...

for the

(CSU) from 1962 to 1974. Schleicher is the great-granddaughter of the Aschaffenburg industrialist

Philipp Dessauer Philipp Dessauer (20 June 1837 – 19 August 1900) was a "Kgl. Bayer. Kommerzienrat" (Royal Bavarian Commerce Advisor) and founder of the paper factory ''Weißpapier- und Cellulosefabrik Aschaffenburg'' in Aschaffenburg. Career Philipp Dessaue ...

. She enrolled at secondary school in her hometown and graduated in 1952 when she passed her

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

. Schleicher worked as an

au pair An au pair (; : au pairs) is a person working for, and living as part of, a homestay, host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family’s responsibility for child care as well as some homemaking, housework, and receive a monetary ...

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

, Italy, where she learnt Italian and learnt to play the piano. From 1953 to 1957, she studied cultural sciences and medicine at

Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and then majored in the harp during her music degree at a music school in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

between 1957 and 1961.

Career

Schleicher was employed as a harp and piano teacher for the Seminários Livres de Música at the

Federal University of Bahia The Federal University of Bahia (, UFBA) is a public university located mainly in the city of Salvador. It is the largest university in the state of Bahia. Students can study there without paying tuition fees, as it is a public university. To j ...

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

, Brazil from 1961 to 1963 and was the university orchestra's first harpist. She went on to work at an Italian news agency in Munich between 1964 and 1965. In 1965, Schleicher became a member of the CSU after she was persuaded to enter politics by , the . She thus became the CSU's women officer that same year at party headquarters in Munich. The job entailed her travelling across Germany in towns with no women on their ward councils and was instrumental in the building of the Women's Union. In 1972, Schleicher was elected to the

via the CSU's party list and took leave from her job as its woman officer three years later. She was the only female on the CSU's parliamentary group for the first four years and was chair of the family committee. Schleicher was a secretary of the

Presidium of the Bundestag The Presidium of the Bundestag is responsible for the routine administration of the Bundestag, including its clerical and research activities. The presidium consists of the President of the Bundestag and varying number of Vice Presidents, curren ...

from 1972 to 1979, chair of the women's union in Lower Fraconia between 1975 and 1995 and deputy federal chair of the

Catholic Worker Movement The Catholic Worker Movement is a collection of autonomous communities founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in the United States in 1933. Its aim is to "live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ". One of its guiding prin ...

from 1975 to 1983. At the

1979 European Parliament election in West Germany An election of the Members of the European Parliament, delegation from West Germany to the first directly elected European Parliament was held in 1979. The CDU/CSU won these elections, They have won every election since, as of 2024. Results Wes ...

, she was elected as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP), serving a five-year term in the

on behalf of the

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...

(EPP) and the

European Democrats The European Democratic Group, more commonly known as European Democrats, was a conservative political group that operated in the European Parliament between 1979 and 1992. At its height in July 1979, it had 63 MEPs. Ideologically, ED was mor ...

for the

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

constituency. Schleicher was a member of the

Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

and the Delegation for relations with the Committee of EFTA Parliamentarians. She left the Bundestag in 1980, and became vice-president of

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 ...

in the same year. Schleicher was reelected to the European Parliament at the 1984 European Parliament election in West Germany. She became vice-chair of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection and a substitute of each of the

Committee on Budgets The Committee on Budgets (BUDG) is a committee of the European Parliament. It has 41 members plus 39 substitute members. The committee's current chair is Jean Arthuis, who has held this position since 7 July 2014.Committee on Women's Rights and the Committee on Youth, Culture, Education, Information and Sport. Schleicher gained her third term in the European Parliament at the 1989 European Parliament election in West Germany. She was made a member of the Delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries and the Delegation for relations with Czechoslovakia (later the Delegation for relations with the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic). Schleicher became a substitute of the Committee on Social Affairs, Employment and the Working Environment, the Delegation for relations with Hungary, the Delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries and the Arab Maghreb Union and the Delegation to the EU-Hungary Joint Parliamentary Committee. In 1994, she stood down as vice-chair of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection. That same year, she was reelected to a fourth term in the European Parliament at the

1994 European Parliament election in Germany An election of the Members of the European Parliament, delegation from Germany to the European Parliament was held in 1994. Due to the accession of the former East German states in 1990, these were first EU elections in Germany to have East Germa ...

. Schleicher was made a

and of the Parliament Bureau for the duration of her term. She became a member of the Delegation for relations with South Africa and was a substitute of the

Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) is a committee of the European Parliament. Responsibilities of the Committee AGRI is the European Parliament committee responsible for: #The operation and development of the Common Agricul ...

, the Committee on Institutional Affairs and Committee on the Rules of Procedure, the Verification of Credentials and Immunities. At the

1999 European Parliament election in Germany An election of MEPs representing Germany constituency for the 1999–2004 term of the European Parliament was held in 1999. Results File:European Parliament election 1999 votes CDUCSU.svg, CDU/CSU vote File:European Parliament election 1999 ...

, Schleicher was re-elected to serve a fifth term in the European Parliament. She was chair of both the Delegations to the parliamentary cooperation committees for relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and the Delegation to the EU-Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committees and vice-chair of the

Committee on Constitutional Affairs The Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) is a committee of the European Parliament dealing with institutional matters such as revisions to the Treaties of the European Union, inter-institutional agreements, and the Parliament's internal rules ...

. Schleicher was a member of the Conference of Delegation Chairs and a substitute for the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy. She retired as an MEP on 19 July 2004. Schleicher was president of the European Union of Women from 1983 to 1987 and was a member of the EPP's executive committee between 1984 and 2004. She was deputy chair of the CSU-BV Unterfranken from 1985 to 2005 and was state chair of the

in Bavaria between 1988 and 1994 before becoming its deputy federal chair in 1995. Between 1997 and 2004, Schleicher was president of the Belgian-Bavarian Society.

Personal life

She is Roman Catholic and is unmarried. Schleicher is fluent in English, French, Italian and Portuguese.

Awards

In 1979, she was conferred with the Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and the

in 1983. Schleicher was appointed Officer's Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990. That same year, she received the Decoration of Honor of the German Medical Association and the Gold Badge of Honor of the VdK Bavaria. Schleicher was honoured with the

Bayerische Verfassungsmedaille The Bayerische Verfassungsmedaille (Bavarian Constitution Medal) is an award by the German state Bavaria, which is awarded annually by the Bavarian state parliament to persons who have rendered outstanding services to the Bavarian constitution. ...

, and the Medal for special services to Bavaria in a united Europe in 1996. In 1998, she earned the Robert Schuman Medal of the EPP Group and the Pro-Retina Award. Schleicher was upgraded to the Grand Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and received the Bavarian Environment Medal in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schleicher, Ursula 1933 births Living people People from Aschaffenburg 20th-century German women politicians 20th-century women MEPs for Germany 21st-century German women politicians 21st-century women MEPs for Germany German Roman Catholics Goethe University Frankfurt alumni Academic staff of the Federal University of Bahia German harpists German women harpists Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Social Union in Bavaria Female members of the Bundestag Members of the Bundestag 1972–1976 Members of the Bundestag 1976–1980 Christian Social Union in Bavaria MEPs MEPs for Germany 1979–1984 MEPs for Germany 1984–1989 MEPs for Germany 1989–1994 MEPs for Germany 1994–1999 MEPs for Germany 1999–2004 Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany