Katja Meier | |
---|---|
Saxon State Minister of Justice and for Democracy, Europe and Equality | |
Assumed office 20 December 2019 | |
Preceded by | Sebastian Gemkow |
Member of the Landtag of Saxony | |
In office 2015–2020 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Zwickau,East Germany | 10 September 1979
Political party | Greens |
Alma mater | University of Münster |
Katja Meier (born 10 September 1979) [1] [2] is a German politician who is a member of Alliance 90/The Greens. She was a member of the Landtag of Saxony 2015-2020 and has been serving as Saxon State Minister of Justice and for Democracy,European Affairs and Equality since 20 December 2019. [3]
Meier was born in Zwickau. In the 1990s,she played bass in a local punk band called Harlekin. [4] After passing her Abitur in 1998,she studied political science,modern and contemporary history and sociology at the Universities of Jena,Tartu,and Münster,graduating with a MA degree in 2004. [3]
Meier became a member of the Greens in 2005 and became a member of the Landtag of Saxony in 2015,after the originally elected Eva Jähnigen gave up her seat. [5] Jointly with Wolfram Günther,she was elected as her party's top candidate in the 2019 Saxony state election. [6] Subsequent coalition talks led to a black-red-green coalition under Minister-President Michael Kretschmer,and Meier was given the post of Saxon State Minister of Justice and for Democracy,Europe and Equality on 20 December 2019,and subsequently gave up her seat in the Landtag on 9 January 2020. [3]
In early 2020,videos of the punk band Meier had been playing bass guitar in as a teenager surfaced,including an anti-police song with violent lyrics ("Advent,Advent,a cop is burning. First one,then two,then three",paraphrasing the well known advent song and children's rhyme Advent,Advent,ein Lichtlein brennt ). Meier was attacked by politicians of the far right Alternative for Germany over this;she distanced herself from any support of violence,and was supported by politicians from other parties. [7] [8]
After Meier raised a rainbow flag in front of her ministry building to celebrate Christopher Street Day 2020,a citizen took the ministry to court for violation of neutrality. The courts allowed the flag to stay. [9]
Meier was nominated by her party as delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2022. [10]
Meier lives in Dresden. Her partner is Josefine Paul,chairwoman of the Green group in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. [11]
The Landtag of Saxony,also known in English as the Saxon State Parliament,is the legislature of the Free State of Saxony,one of Germany's sixteen states. It is responsible for legislation,control of the government,and electing some state officials. The Landtag has existed in various forms since 1831,but the current body was established during German reunification in 1990. The Landtag is directly elected and has a term of five years.
Katja Kipping is a German politician of The Left party. She was a member of the Bundestag representing Saxony from 2005 to 2021,a federal co-leader of The Left from 2012 to 2021 alongside Bernd Riexinger,and the Senator for Integration,Labour and Social Affairs in the Berlin state government from December 2021 to April 2023.
Stanislaw Rudi Tillich is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as the 3rd Minister President of Saxony from 2008 to 2017. From 1 November 2015 until 31 October 2016,he was President of the Bundesrat and ex officio deputy to the President of Germany. Tillich is of Sorbian ethnicity and lives in Panschwitz-Kuckau (Pančicy-Kukow),which is 35 kilometres north-east of Dresden near Kamenz.
The Lower Saxon Landtag or the Parliament of Lower Saxony is the state diet of the German state of Lower Saxony. It convenes in Hanover and currently consists of 146 members,consisting of four parties. Since 2022 the majority is a coalition of the Social Democratic Party and the Greens,supporting the cabinet of Minister-President Stephan Weil (SPD).
Winfried Kretschmann is a German politician serving as Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg since 2011. A member of the Alliance '90/Greens,he was President of the Bundesrat and ex officio deputy to the President of Germany from 2012 to 2013. He is the first member of the Greens to serve in these offices. Identifying himself as a green conservative,Kretschmann has been associated with both culturally and economically liberal policies.
The Minister-president is the head of state and government in thirteen of Germany's sixteen states.
The 2019 Saxony state election was held on 1 September 2019 to elect the members of the 7th Landtag of Saxony. The outgoing government was a grand coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Minister-President Michael Kretschmer.
Anke Domscheit-Berg is a German politician and activist. She has been a member of the Bundestag since 2017,when she was elected on the party list of The Left,without being a party member. She joined the party in 2021 following her nomination to the top female position on the party election list in the state of Brandenburg. Previously,she was a member of the Pirate Party Germany and the Greens. She is married to Daniel Domscheit-Berg. In 2010 she received the Berliner Frauenpreis.
Jens Maier is a German judge and politician for Alternative for Germany. The Saxon Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies him as a right-wing extremist. As of March 24,2022,he is barred from the bench.
Caren Nicole Lay is a German politician. She has been a member of the Bundestag since 2009 and has been deputy chairperson of the Die Linke parliamentary group in the Bundestag since 2017. From 2012 to 2018,she was one of the deputy chairpersons of her party. In November 2019,Lay unsuccessfully applied to succeed Sahra Wagenknecht as co-chairperson of the Die Linke parliamentary group in the Bundestag. She was defeated by Amira Mohamed Ali in a competitive vote.
The 2024 Thuringian state election was held on 1 September 2024 to elect the members of the 8th Landtag of Thuringia. It was held on the same day as the 2024 Saxony state election.
The 2021 Saxony-Anhalt state election was held on 6 June 2021 to elect the 8th Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt. The outgoing government was coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU),Social Democratic Party (SPD),and The Greens,led by Minister-President Reiner Haseloff.
Aminata Touré is a German politician of Alliance 90/The Greens,the German green party,who has been serving as Deputy Minister-President since 1 August 2024 and Minister of Social Affairs,Youth,Family,Senior Citizens,Integration and Equality of the State of Schleswig-Holstein since 29 June 2022. She was elected on 29 June 2017,at the age of 25,to the State Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein and served as the parliament's vice-president until 2022.
Cornelia Lüddemann is a German politician of Alliance 90/The Greens. Since 2016,she has served as chairwoman of the Greens parliamentary group in the Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt. She previously served as leader of the party's state branch from 2011 to 2016. She was the Greens lead candidate for the 2021 Saxony-Anhalt state election.
The Saxon State Ministry of Justice and for Democracy,European Affairs and Gender Equality is the Ministry of Justice of the Government of the Free State of Saxony. The current minister is Katja Meier. Since 2019,the scope includes democracy,representation of Saxon interests in the European Union,and gender equality,anti-discrimination and protection from violence.
Petra Zais was a German politician.
Frauke Heiligenstadt is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since 26 October 2021. She was a member of the Lower Saxony state parliament from 2003 to 2021,and Lower Saxony's Minister of Education from 2013 to 2017.
Julia Willie Hamburg is a German politician of Alliance 90/The Greens,serving as the Deputy Minister-President of Lower Saxony and the State Minister for Education and Culture. Before that she served as the leader of the party's group in the State Parliament of Lower Saxony.
Josefine Paul is a German politician who is a member of Alliance 90/The Greens. She has been a member of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2010 and has been serving as North Rhine-Westphalia State Minister for Children,Youth,Family,Equality,Asylum and Integration in the Second Wüst cabinet since 2022.
Susanne Schaper is a German politician from Die Linke. She is an elected member of the Landtag of Saxony.