Curriculum Vitae

Parliament

• Member of the German Bundestag since 2005 with the Social Democratic Party (SPD)

• Member of the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid

• Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

• Spokesperson for human rights and humanitarian aid of the SPD Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag

International involvement

• since 2012 member of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
• 2014-2022 substitute chair of the German delegation of PACE
• 2018 chair of the Committee of Legal Affairs and Human Rights of PACE
• since 2018 chair of the Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group of the Council of Europe (PACE)
• since 2022 chair of the German delegation of PACE
• since 2006 continuous participation in the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
• Member of the „Climate and Energy“ Network of the Party of European Socialists (PES)

Political involvement

• Since 2022 Commissioner for Freedom of Religion or Belief of the federal government

• active in local environmental and climate initiatives since 1990

• Involved in human rights initiatives and local Eine-Welt-Gruppen - especially FIAN Marl (a local group of the Food First Information and Action Network) and the catholic Eine-Welt-Gruppe in Recklinghausen

• Joined the SPD in 1991

• Member of BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany)

• Member of the Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union (IG BCE)

Foreign languages

• English (proficient)
• Spanish (elementary)
• French (elementary)