Federal Government Commissioner for the Acceptance of Sexual and Gender Diversity

Commissioner for the Acceptance of Sexual and Gender Diversity of Government of Germany
Incumbent Sophie Koch since 28 May 2025 [1]
Inaugural holder	Sven Lehmann
Formation	5 January 2022
Unofficial names	Queer Commissioner
Website	Official Website (German)

The Federal Government Commissioner for the Acceptance of Sexual and Gender Diversity (known as Commissioner for LGBTIQ+ Equality for short and informally nicknamed the "Queer Commissioner") is an office in the federal Government of Germany's Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth that is tasked with promoting and defending LGBTQ rights and fighting anti-LGBTQ hate. The incumbent has been Sophie Koch since 28 May 2025. ^[2]

The office was created by the coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz in 2021. The inaugural holder of the office is Sven Lehmann of the Alliance 90/The Greens. ^{[3] [4] [5]} In November 2022 the federal cabinet adopted a new strategy to promote LGBTIQ+ rights and combat anti-LGBTIQ+ hate. ^[6]

Policy

On November 18, 2022, the German Federal Government adopted the Queer Living Action Plan . It encompasses the following areas of action: legal recognition, participation, safety, health, strengthening of support and community structures, and international relations. The Commissioner coordinates the work process for its implementation. It is supported by the Federal Service Center for Queer Living (German : Bundesservicestelle Queeres Leben) within the Federal Office for Family Affairs and Civil Society, an office within the same ministry. ^{[7] [8]}

Of the 140 associations and initiatives that applied to participate in the working group process for the German Federal Government's "Queer Living" action plan through the expression of interest process, 78 were selected.  The budget for the action plan was €342,245 in 2023. No projects will be funded in 2024. The evaluation of the action plan, which has a budget of €210,000, is not scheduled to begin until early 2025.

List of officeholders

No.	Name	Time in office	Party
1	Sven Lehmann	2021-2025	Alliance 90/The Greens
2	Sophie Koch	2025-present	SPD

External links

• Official Website (German)

References

1. "Beauftragte für Akzeptanz sexueller und geschlechtlicher Vielfalt". BMBFSFJ (in German). 2025-05-28. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
2. "Beauftragte für Akzeptanz sexueller und geschlechtlicher Vielfalt". BMBFSFJ (in German). 2025-05-28. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
3. "LGBTQ+ rights: Germany appoints first 'commissioner for queer affairs'". Deutsche Welle . Retrieved 28 August 2022.
4. "Germany gives proudly queer MP crucial government role defending LGBT+ rights and fighting hate". PinkNews . Retrieved 28 August 2022.
5. "Neuer Beauftragter für die Akzeptanz sexueller und geschlechtlicher..." BMBFSFJ (in German). 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
6. "Bundeskabinett beschließt Aktionsplan "Queer leben"". BMBFSFJ (in German). 2022-11-18. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
7. "Wayback Machine" (PDF). www.bmbfsfj.bund.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-08-06. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
8. "Bundeskabinett beschließt Aktionsplan "Queer leben"". BMBFSFJ (in German). 2022-11-18. Retrieved 2025-12-26.