Ursula von der Leyen

President of the European Commission since 2019

"Von der Leyen" redirects here. For other uses, see Von der Leyen (disambiguation).

In this German name, the surname is  von der Leyen.

The Honourable

Ursula von der Leyen

Von der Leyen in 2024

President of the European Commission

Incumbent

Assumed office
1 December 2019
Preceded by| Jean-Claude Juncker
Minister for Defence
In office
17 December 2013 – 17 July 2019
Chancellor| Angela Merkel
Preceded by| Thomas de Maizière
Succeeded by| Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
Minister for Labour and Social Affairs
In office
30 November 2009 – 17 December 2013
Chancellor| Angela Merkel
Preceded by| Franz Josef Jung
Succeeded by| Andrea Nahles
Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
In office
22 November 2005 – 30 November 2009
Chancellor| Angela Merkel
Preceded by| Renate Schmidt
Succeeded by| Kristina Schröder

Party roles

Deputy Leader of the Christian Democratic Union
In office
15 November 2010 – 22 November 2019

Serving with Volker Bouffier, Julia Klöckner, Armin Laschet, Thomas Strobl

Leader| Angela Merkel
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
Preceded by| Christian Wulff
Succeeded by| Silvia Breher

Lower Saxony Cabinet

Minister for Social Affairs, Women and Families and Health
In office
4 March 2003 – 22 November 2005
Minister-President| Christian Wulff
Preceded by| Gitta Trauernicht
Succeeded by| Mechthild Ross-Luttmann

Parliamentary constituencies

Member of the Bundestag
for Lower Saxony
In office
27 October 2009 – 31 July 2019
Preceded by| Multi-member district
Succeeded by| Ingrid Pahlmann
Constituency| Christian Democratic Union list
Member of the
Landtag of Lower Saxony
for Lehrte
In office
4 March 2003 – 7 December 2005
Preceded by| Gerhard Schröder (1998)
Succeeded by| Dorothee Prüssner

Personal details
Born|

Ursula Gertrud Albrecht

(1958-10-08) 8 October 1958 (age 66)
Ixelles, Belgium
Nationality| German
Political party| Christian Democratic Union (since 1990)
Other political
affiliations| European People's Party
Spouse|

Heiko von der Leyen

(m. 1986)​

Children| 7
Parent|

* Ernst Albrecht (father)

Relatives|

* Hans-Holger Albrecht (brother)
* Carl Albrecht
(grandfather)

Alma mater| University of Göttingen
London School of Economics
Hannover Medical School (MD, MPH)
Occupation|

* Politician
* Physician
* Research fellow

Signature|
Website| ec.europa.eu/president

Ursula von der Leyen's voice

Von der Leyen's speech following the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Recorded 24 February 2022

Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (German: [ˈʊʁzula ˈɡɛʁtʁuːt fɔn deːɐ̯ ˈlaɪən] ⓘ; née Albrecht; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding positions in Angela Merkel's cabinet, most recently as Federal Minister for Defence. She is a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its affiliated European political party, the European People's Party (EPP). On 7 March 2024, the EPP elected her as its Spitzenkandidat to lead the campaign for the 2024 European Parliament elections. She was re-elected to head the Commission in July 2024.[1]

Von der Leyen was born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, to German parents. Her father, Ernst Albrecht, was one of the first European civil servants. She was brought up bilingually in German and French, and moved to Germany in 1971 when her father became involved in German politics. She graduated from the London School of Economics in 1978, and in 1987, she acquired her medical license from Hanover Medical School. After marrying fellow physician Heiko von der Leyen, she lived for four years in the United States with her family in the 1990s. After returning to Germany she became involved in local politics in the Hanover region in the late 1990s, and she served as a cabinet minister in the state government of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2005.

In 2005, von der Leyen joined the federal cabinet, first as Minister for Family Affairs and Youth from 2005 to 2009, then taking on the role of Minister for Labour and Social Affairs from 2009 to 2013, and finally serving as Minister for Defence from 2013 to 2019, the first woman to do so.[2] When she left office, she was the only minister to have served continuously in Merkel's cabinet since Merkel became chancellor. She served as a deputy leader of the CDU from 2010 to 2019, and was regarded as a leading contender to succeed Merkel as the chancellor of Germany and as the favourite to become the secretary general of NATO after Jens Stoltenberg. British defence secretary Michael Fallon described her in 2019 as "a star presence" in the NATO community and "the doyenne of NATO ministers for over five years".[3] In 2023, she was again regarded as the favourite to take the role.[4]

On 2 July 2019, von der Leyen was proposed by the European Council as the candidate for president of the European Commission.[5][6] She was then elected by the European Parliament on 16 July;[7][a] she took office on 1 December, becoming the first woman to hold the office. In November 2022 she announced that her commission would work to establish an International Criminal Tribunal for the Russian Federation.[9] She was named the most powerful woman in the world by Forbes in 2022, 2023 and 2024.[10][11][12]

On 18 July 2024, von der Leyen was re-elected as President of the European Commission by the European Parliament with an absolute majority of 401 members of the European Parliament out of 720. Her absolute majority was strengthened by around thirty votes compared to her election in 2019.[13]

## Family and early life

[edit]

Main article: Albrecht family

Von der Leyen family arms

Von der Leyen was born in 1958 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium, where she lived until she was 13 years old. In 1971, she relocated to Sehnde in the Hanover region after her father had become CEO of the food company Bahlsen and involved in state politics in Lower Saxony.[14]

In 1986, she married physician Heiko von der Leyen, a member of the von der Leyen family that made their fortune as silk merchants. They have seven children, born between 1987 and 1999.[15] Von der Leyen is Lutheran.[16][17]

She lives with her family on a farm in Burgdorf near Hanover where they keep horses.[18] She is a keen equestrian and has been involved in competitive horseriding.[19]

## Education and professional career

[edit]

Von der Leyen moved to the Hanover Region in 1971 when her father entered politics to become minister-president of the state of Lower Saxony in 1976. In 1977, she started studying economics at the University of Göttingen. At the height of the fear of communist terrorism in West Germany, she fled to London in 1978 after her family was told that the Red Army Faction (RAF) was planning to kidnap her due to her being the daughter of a prominent politician. She spent more than a year in hiding in London, where she lived with protection from Scotland Yard under the name Rose Ladson to avoid detection and enrolled at the London School of Economics.[20][21][22][23] A German diminutive of Rose, Röschen, had been her nickname since childhood,[24] while Ladson was the name of her American great-grandmother's family, originally from Northamptonshire. She said that she "lived more than she studied",[25] and that London was "the epitome of modernity: freedom, the joy of life, trying everything" which "gave me an inner freedom that I have kept till today".[21] She returned to Germany in 1979 but lived with a security detail at her side for several years.[26]

In 1980, she switched to studying medicine and enrolled at the Hannover Medical School, where she graduated in 1987 and acquired her medical licence, specialising in women's health.[27] From 1988 to 1992, she worked as an assistant physician at the Women's Clinic of the Hannover Medical School. Upon completing her doctoral studies, she defended the thesis[28] and graduated as a Doctor of Medicine in 1991. Following the birth of twins, she was a housewife in Stanford, California, from 1992 to 1996, while her husband was a faculty member of Stanford University, returning to Germany in 1996.[29]

From 1998 to 2002, she taught at the Department of Epidemiology, Social Medicine and Health System Research at the Hanover Medical School.[30] In 2001 she earned a Master of Public Health degree at the institution.[31][32][33]

### Plagiarism accusations

[edit]

In 2015, researchers collaborating at the VroniPlag Wiki reviewed von der Leyen's 1991 doctoral dissertation and alleged that 43.5% of the thesis pages contained plagiarism and in 23 cases citations were used that did not verify claims for which they were given.[34][35] Multiple notable German academics such as Gerhard Dannemann [de] and Volker Rieble [de] publicly accused von der Leyen of intended plagiarism.[36] The Hannover Medical School conducted an investigation and concluded in March 2016 that while the thesis contains plagiarism, no intention to deceive could be proven.[37][38]

The university decided not to revoke von der Leyen's medical degree.[37] Critics questioned the independence of the commission that reviewed the thesis as von der Leyen personally knew its director from joint work for an alumni association.[38] Various media outlets also criticised the decision for being non-transparent, not according to established rules, and failing to secure high academic standards.[38][39][40]

## Early political career

[edit]

Ursula von der Leyen joined the CDU in 1990, and became active in local politics in Lower Saxony in 1996, shortly after she had returned to Germany after living in California. She was a member of the committee on social policy of CDU in Lower Saxony from 1996, and also became active in the association of medical doctors in the CDU party.[41]

### In the Lower Saxony Landtag, 2003–2005

[edit]

Ursula von der Leyen was elected to the Parliament of Lower Saxony in the 2003 state election for Lehrte, the same constituency then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder represented from 1986 to 1998. From 2003 to 2005 she was a minister in the state government of Lower Saxony, serving in the cabinet of Christian Wulff, with responsibility for social affairs, women, family, and health.[42]

In 2003, von der Leyen was part of a group assigned by the then-opposition leader and CDU chairwoman Angela Merkel to draft alternative proposals for social welfare reform in response to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's "Agenda 2010". The so-called Herzog Commission, named after its chairman, the former German President Roman Herzog, recommended a comprehensive package of reform proposals including, among other things, decoupling health and nursing care premiums from people's earnings and levying a monthly lump sum across the board instead.[43]

2005 campaign poster featuring von der Leyen

Ahead of the 2005 federal elections, Angela Merkel chose Ursula von der Leyen to cover the family and social security portfolio in her shadow cabinet.[44][45] In the negotiations to form a government following the election, von der Leyen led the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on families; her co-chair from the SPD was Renate Schmidt.[46]

### In the Bundestag, 2005–2019

[edit]

#### Minister of Family Affairs and Youth, 2005–2009

[edit]

In 2005, Ursula von der Leyen was appointed Federal Minister of Family Affairs and Youth in the cabinet of Angela Merkel. On the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel, von der Leyen participated in the first joint cabinet meeting of the governments of Germany and Israel in Jerusalem in March 2008.[47]

#### Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, 2009–2013

[edit]

At the federal election of 2009, von der Leyen was elected to the Bundestag, Germany's Parliament, representing the 42nd electoral district of Hanover, alongside Edelgard Bulmahn of the Social Democrats. In the negotiations to form a coalition government following the elections, she led the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on health policy; her co-chair from the FDP was Philipp Rösler. She was reappointed as family minister,[48] but on 30 November 2009 succeeded Franz Josef Jung as Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.[49]

Ursula von der Leyen at a horse show in Hagen in Osnabrück, Germany, in 2013

During her time in office, von der Leyen cultivated the image of being the social conscience of the CDU[50] and helped Merkel to move the CDU into the political centre-ground.[51] In speaking out for increasing the number of childcare nurseries, for the introduction of a women's quota for listed companies' main boards, for gay marriage and a nationwide minimum wage, von der Leyen made enemies among the more traditionalist party members and won admirers on the left.[52]

Von der Leyen also lobbied for lowering the barriers to immigration for some foreign workers, in order to fight shortages of skilled workers in Germany.[53] In 2013, she concluded an agreement with the Government of the Philippines that was aimed at helping Filipino health care professionals to gain employment in Germany. A vital provision of the agreement is that the Filipino workers are to be employed on the same terms and conditions as their German counterparts.[54]

Von der Leyen was initially considered the front-runner to be nominated by the ruling CDU/CSU parties for election as President of Germany in the 2010 presidential election,[55] but Christian Wulff was eventually chosen as the parties' candidate. The news media later reported that Wulff's nomination came as a blow to Merkel, whose choice of von der Leyen had been blocked by the two parties' more conservative state premiers.[56]

In November 2010, von der Leyen was elected (with 85% of the votes) as one of four deputies of CDU chairwoman Merkel, serving alongside Volker Bouffier, Norbert Röttgen and Annette Schavan. Later that month, she told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that the CDU should consider establishing a formal voting process for choosing future candidates for Chancellor.[57] In 2012, she was re-elected (with 69% of the votes) as one of Merkel's deputies as CDU chairwoman, this time serving alongside Bouffier, Julia Klöckner, Armin Laschet and Thomas Strobl.[58]

In the negotiations to form a government following the 2013 federal elections, von der Leyen led the CDU/CSU delegation in the labour policy working group, with Andrea Nahles of the SPD as her co-chair.[59]

Von der Leyen with German soldiers during a visit to the Field Marshal Rommel Barracks, Augustdorf (2014)

#### Minister of Defence, 2013–2019

[edit]

In December 2013, Ursula von der Leyen was appointed by Merkel as Germany's first female defence minister.[52] By placing a significant party figure such as von der Leyen at the head of the Defence Ministry, Merkel was widely seen as reinvigorating the scandal-ridden ministry's morale and prestige.[60] Until her 2019 appointment as the president of the European Commission, she was the only minister to remain with Merkel since she became chancellor in 2005.[2] In December 2014, von der Leyen had her fingerprint cloned by a German hacker who was able to use the commercially available VeriFinger product from Neurotechnology UAB to replicate her fingerprint using photographs taken with a "standard photo camera".[61][62] In August 2016, von der Leyen joined the World Economic Forum board of trustees.[63] In September 2016, von der Leyen chaired the EPP Defence Ministers Meeting, which gathers EPP defence ministers ahead of meetings of the Council of the European Union.[64] Former British Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon noted in 2019 that she had been "a star presence" in the NATO community and "the doyenne of NATO ministers for over five years".[3] She has faced domestic criticism for her leadership style, reliance on outside consultants, and continued gaps in military readiness.[65]

##### International crises

[edit]

Chuck Hagel and Ursula von der Leyen at the September 2014 NATO summit in Newport, Wales

Within her first year in office, von der Leyen visited the Bundeswehr troops stationed in Afghanistan three times and oversaw the gradual withdrawal of German soldiers from the country as NATO was winding down its 13-year combat mission ISAF.[66] In September 2015, she signalled that she was open to delaying the withdrawal of 850 German soldiers from Afghanistan beyond 2016 after the Taliban's surprise seizure of the northern city of Kunduz. German forces used to be based in Kunduz as part of NATO-led ISAF and remain stationed in the north of the country.[67] She later opposed the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.[68]

Von der Leyen and General Bekir Ercan Van (far left), the commander of Incirlik Air Base, who was accused of complicity in the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt

In the summer of 2014, she was instrumental in Germany's decision to resupply the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters with lethal assistance.[69] Following criticism from German officials of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's escalation of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict in August 2015, von der Leyen decided to let Germany's three-year Patriot missile batteries mission to southern Turkey lapse in January 2016 instead of seeking parliamentary approval to extend it. That same month, she participated in the first joint cabinet meeting of the governments of Germany and Turkey in Berlin.[70] By April 2016, under von der Leyen's leadership, the German Federal Armed Forces announced they would commit 65 million Euro to establish a permanent presence at Incirlik Air Base, as part of Germany's commitment to the military intervention against ISIL.[71][72][73]

At the Munich Security Conference in February 2015, von der Leyen publicly defended the German refusal to supply Ukraine with weapons. Stressing that it was necessary to remain united in Europe over Ukraine, she argued that negotiations with Russia, unlike with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant jihadists, were possible. Angela Merkel saw Ukraine and Russia as a chance to prove that in the 21st century, developed nations should solve disputes at the negotiating table, not with weapons, she said. She also noted that Russia has an almost infinite supply of weapons it could send to Ukraine. She questioned whether any effort by the West could match that or, more importantly, achieve the outcome sought by Ukraine and its supporters.[74] On the contrary, von der Leyen said that giving the Ukrainians arms to help them defend themselves could have unintended and fateful consequences. "Weapons deliveries would be a fire accelerant", von der Leyen told the Süddeutsche Zeitung daily. She agreed with NATO SACEUR General Philip Breedlove that "it could give the Kremlin the excuse to openly intervene in this conflict".[75]

After Hungary used a water cannon and tear gas to drive asylum seekers back from the Hungarian-Serbian border in September 2015, during the European migrant crisis, von der Leyen publicly criticised the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and called the measures "not acceptable and [...] against the European rules that we have".[76]

Under von der Leyen's leadership, the German parliament approved government plans in early 2016 to send up to 650 soldiers to Mali, boosting its presence in the U.N. peacekeeping mission MINUSMA in the West African country.[77]

##### Armed forces reform

[edit]

Von der Leyen during the MSC 2017

In June 2014, von der Leyen introduced a €100 million plan to make the Bundeswehr more attractive to recruits, including by offering crèches for soldiers' children, limiting postings to match school term dates, and considerable rises in hardship allowances for difficult postings.[78][79]

In August 2014 in a debate over funding priorities, von der Leyen categorised as "vital to national interests" only sensor and cryptotechnology and left all other funding items as secondary. Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel was unhappy with her and said that "this will have significant consequences for national defence procurement and European cooperation" as the key focus of the debate would determine where funding will be allocated. She admitted that "Germany would at present be unable to meet NATO requirements". For example, at this time the majority of the German Air Force was grounded, with 42 of its 109 Eurofighter Typhoons and 38 of 89 Tornado fighters ready for deployment. An external report had been commissioned and, with cost overruns rising into the billions of euros, all nine of the Bundeswehr's major projects had been delayed by between 30 and 360 months. This occurred one year into her tenure at Defense.[80]

In 2015, as a result of severe NATO–Russian tensions in Europe, Germany announced an increase in defence spending. In May 2015, the German government approved an increase in defence spending, at the time 1.3% of GDP, by 6.2% over the following five years, allowing the Ministry of Defense to modernise the army fully.[81] Plans were also announced to expand the tank fleet to a potential number of 328, order 131 more Boxer armoured personnel carriers, increase the submarine fleet, and to develop a new fighter jet to replace the Tornado.[82][83][84] Germany considered increasing the size of the army,[85] and in May 2016 von der Leyen announced it would spend €130 billion on new equipment by 2030 and add nearly 7,000 soldiers by 2023 in the first German military expansion since the end of the Cold War.[86][87] In February 2017, she announced that the number of Bundeswehr professional soldiers would increase from 178,000 to 198,000 by 2024.[88]

In April 2017, after Bundeswehr officials failed to properly investigate persistent reports of brutal hazing rituals, sexual humiliation, and bullying in military training, von der Leyen fired the army's training commander, Major General Walter Spindler.[89]

##### European Army efforts

[edit]

As a consequence of improved Dutch–German cooperation, since 2014 two of the three Royal Netherlands Army Brigades are under German Command. In 2014, the 11th Airmobile Brigade was integrated into the German Division of fast forces (DSK). The German 414 Tank Battalion was integrated into the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade. In turn, the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade will be assigned to the 1st Panzer Division of the German army, with the integration starting at the beginning of 2016, and the unit becoming operational at the end of 2019.[90] In February 2016 it was announced that the Seebatallion of the German Navy would start to operate under Royal Dutch Navy command.[91] The Dutch-German military cooperation was seen in 2016 by von der Leyen and Dutch Minister of Defence Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert as an example for setting up a European defence union.[91]

A further proposal by von der Leyen, to allow non-German EU nationals to join the Bundeswehr, was met in July 2016 by strong opposition, even from her own party.[92]

According to a policy dictated by von der Leyen in February 2017, the Bundeswehr is to play a greater role as an "anchor army" for smaller NATO states, by improving coordination between its divisions and smaller members' Brigades.[93]

It was announced in February 2017 that the Czech Republic's 4th Rapid Deployment Brigade and Romania's 81st Mechanized Brigade would be integrated into Germany's 10th Armoured Division and Rapid Response Forces Division.[94]

##### Military procurement

[edit]

Ursula von der Leyen with US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter (2015 in Berlin)

In October 2014, von der Leyen pledged to get a grip on Germany's military equipment budget after publishing a KPMG report on repeated failures in controlling suppliers, costs and delivery deadlines, e.g., with the Airbus A400M Atlas transport plane, Eurofighter Typhoon jet and the Boxer armoured fighting vehicle.[95]

In January 2015, von der Leyen publicly criticised Airbus over delays in the delivery of A400M military transport planes, complaining that the company had a serious problem with product quality.[96] Under her leadership, the ministry agreed to accept 13 million euros in compensation for delays in deliveries of both the second and third A400M aircraft. In 2016, she asked for an additional 12.7 million euros in damages for delays in the delivery of a fourth plane.[97] Also in 2015, von der Leyen chose MBDA, jointly owned by Airbus, Britain's BAE Systems, and Italy's Leonardo S.p.A., to build the Medium Extended Air Defense System, but set strict milestones for it to retain the contract.[98]

##### Arms exports

[edit]

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen after being received by Vice Admiral AR Karve, Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command during her visit to India

During her May 2015 visit to India, von der Leyen expressed support for a project initiated by the Indian government to build six small German TKMS diesel-electric submarines for a total cost of $11 billion.[99][100]

In 2019, she also promoted the German government's decisions on arms exports to Saudi Arabia and Turkey.[101][102]

##### "Consultants affair"

[edit]

Since 2018 an investigative committee organised by Germany's Federal Audit Office has been looking into how contracts worth tens of millions of euros were awarded to external consultancy firms.[103][104][65] The auditing office has found several irregularities in how the contracts were awarded. During the investigation, two of von der Leyen's phones were confiscated, but data from both phones have been deleted before being returned to the defence ministry.[105] In turn, opposition lawmaker Tobias Lindner has filed a criminal complaint against von der Leyen suspecting deliberate destruction of evidence relevant for the case.[106][107]

### CDU party career

[edit]

Von der Leyen was elected as a member of the CDU executive board in December 2014 and received 70.5% of the votes. Compared with her re-elections in 2016 (72.4%) and 2018 (57.47%), it was the weakest of all the results.[108][109][110][111]

As a cabinet member, von der Leyen was, for several years, regarded as one of the leading contenders to succeed Merkel as Chancellor.[50][51][112][113][114][115] In 2010 she was Merkel's preferred candidate for President of Germany, but her nomination was blocked by the conservative wing of the CDU/CSU.[116] From 2018 until her nomination as European Commission president she was described as the favourite to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as Secretary General of NATO.[117][118][119] Die Welt reported that von der Leyen "is highly respected in the alliance" and that "all the [NATO] defence ministers listen when she speaks".[120]

## President of the European Commission

[edit]

See also: von der Leyen Commission I

Presidency of Ursula von der Leyen
1 December 2019 – present

President

Ursula von der Leyen

Cabinet| Von der Leyen Commission (2019–2024)
Von der Leyen Commission (2024–current)
Party| European People's Party
Seat| Brussels

← Jean-Claude Juncker

* * *

Commission logo

Official website
Ursula von der Leyen addressing the European Parliament on 16 July 2019

### 2019

[edit]

On 2 July 2019, von der Leyen was proposed by the European Council as their candidate for the office of President of the European Commission.[5][6] On 16 July, her nomination was approved by the European Parliament with 383 to 327 votes.[7] Germany abstained from the vote to nominate her. An article in The Guardian said that the reason for Germany's refusal to support her nomination in the European Council was that von der Leyen was considered divisive in her home country.[121] She is the first woman to hold the office[122] and the first German since the commission's first president, Walter Hallstein.[123]

When she lived in Brussels, her little sister Benita-Eva died of cancer at the age of eleven and she remembered "the enormous helplessness of my parents" in view of the cancer. This inspired her to make cancer a focus of her commission.[124]

At the press conference announcing her nomination, European Council President Donald Tusk noted von der Leyen's intention to retain Commission First-Vice-President Frans Timmermans during her administration. Timmermans has previously been one of the "lead candidates" (German: Spitzenkandidat) for the commission's presidency. As a candidate, she published a document entitled "My agenda for Europe",[125] and was fêted for her commitment to "gender equality and gender mainstreaming" by at least one observer who sought to advance the "professional development of women in the field of international peace and security".[126]

Following her nomination as a candidate for Commission president, the Commission provided her with a salary, office, and staff in Brussels to facilitate negotiations between the EU institutions as to her election. These arrangements were extended, to enable a smooth transition, during her period as president-elect, until the new College of Commissioners was confirmed by the European Parliament and took office in November.[127] In light of her new role, von der Leyen resigned her seat in the German Bundestag on 31 July 2019.[128]

Von der Leyen supported the proposed European Union–Mercosur free trade agreement,[129] which would form one of the world's largest free trade areas.[130] The fear is that the deal could lead to more deforestation of the Amazon rainforest as it expands market access to Brazilian beef.[131]

Von der Leyen with her proposed College of Commissioners on 19 November 2019

Von der Leyen unveiled the new proposed EU Commission's structure (whom she deemed to be a "geopolitical" one)[132] on 10 September 2019, renaming a number of posts of the College of Commissioners to make them sound less formal and more goal-oriented, including the controversial portfolio for "Protecting our European Way of Life",[133][134] a vice-presidency responsible for the coordination of migration, security, employment and education policies.[135][136] The later portfolio's name drew heavy criticism, as it was considered to carry a xenophobic message linking the protection of the "European Way of Life" to migration policies.[b][133] The proposed structure for the college also saw the "unexpected" promotion of EPP's Valdis Dombrovskis to a role of executive vice-president, up to a number of three executive vice-presidencies, equalling the roles entrusted to Timmermans and Margrethe Vestager.[132]

As part of her efforts to be elected President of the EU Commission, von der Leyen made remarks in favour of EU parliamentarians being given the right to initiate legislation,[139] but reversed course shortly after assuming office.[140]

#### Controversy and investigation over award of contracts by German defence ministry

[edit]

At the time of von der Leyen's nomination as president of the Commission, an investigative committee of the German parliament was investigating how, during her time as minister of defence of Germany, lucrative contracts from her ministry were awarded to outside consultants without proper oversight, and whether a network of informal personal connections facilitated those deals.[141]

In December 2019, German parliamentarians accused the German Defence Ministry of torpedoing the investigation into alleged wrongdoing in its consultant contracts by deleting data from the official phone of von der Leyen from the time she was Minister of Defence after it was declared evidence in the investigation, and by arguing that the deletion of the phone data was "for security reasons".[142]

### 2020

[edit]

Von der Leyen delivering her first State of the European Union address on 16 September 2020

In March 2020, von der Leyen's Commission turned down the idea of suspending the Schengen Agreement in order to introduce border controls around Italy, at that time the centre of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.[143][144][145] The decision drew criticism from some European politicians.[146][147] After some EU member states announced closure of their national borders to foreign nationals due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said: "Certain controls may be justified, but general travel bans are not seen as being the most effective by the World Health Organization. Moreover, they have a strong social and economic impact, they disrupt people's lives and business across the borders."[148] She condemned the U.S. decision to restrict travel from the coronavirus-affected Europe to the United States.[149]

Von der Leyen supported the EU's imposition of sanctions against Belarus after the security services violently cracked down on street protests in Minsk and elsewhere against the 26-year authoritarian rule under President, Alexander Lukashenko. The protests took place after a disputed presidential election, which was contested by the opposition and designated by the EU as not free and fair.[150][151] Sanctions were imposed after the Belarusian government diverted a civilian aircraft in order to seize an opposition figure, Roman Protasevich.[151]

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called for EU sanctions against Turkey (citing Belarus as precedent) over Turkey's incursions into Greek maritime zones in the eastern Mediterranean, including illegal drilling and the passage of the Oruç Reis, accompanied by a Turkish Navy ship, in Greek waters. Sanctions would require a unanimous decision of the EU Council of Ministers. While France and Austria fully backed Greece's position, Germany (which at the time held the rotating EU presidency) took a more ambiguous stance. Von der Leyen said that Turkey and Belarus are "two different situations".[152]

### 2021

[edit]

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin and von der Leyen meeting in Helsinki on 4 October 2021 Von der Leyen with U.S. President Joe Biden, 2021 G20 summit in Rome, 31 October 2021

French-U.S. and French-Australia relations suffered a period of tension in September 2021 due to fallout from the AUKUS defence pact between the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Australia. The security pact is directed at countering Chinese power in the Indo-Pacific region.[153] As part of the agreement, the U.S. agreed to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. After entering into AUKUS, the Australian government cancelled an agreement that it had made with France for the provision of French conventionally powered submarines. Von der Leyen called the way France was treated "unacceptable" and demanded an explanation.[154] The EU also demanded an apology from Australia.[155]

Von der Leyen speaking at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow

Due to a combination of unfavourable conditions, which involved soaring demand of natural gas, its diminished supply from Russia and Norway to the European markets, and less power generation by renewable energy sources such as wind, water and solar energy, Europe faced steep increases in energy prices in 2021.[156] Some critics blamed a record-breaking surge in energy prices on the European Commission's Green Deal, which aims to make the EU climate neutral by 2050.[157][158][159] She said: "Europe today is too reliant on gas and too dependent on gas imports. The answer has to do with diversifying our suppliers ... and, crucially, with speeding up the transition to clean energy."[160]

During the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, von der Leyen condemned "arbitrary attacks by Hamas against Israel" adding that "civilians on both sides must be protected".[161]

In December 2021 von der Leyen expressed concern that one-third of the European population were not vaccinated: "EU nations should open a debate around making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory because too many people still refuse to get shots voluntarily."[162]

#### Controversy over COVID-19 vaccine deal

[edit]

Main article: Pfizergate

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2024)

|

During the COVID-19 pandemic when European countries were scrambling for vaccines, Pfizer was able to close a deal worth €35 billion to provide 900 million doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine with an additional 900 million doses available for purchase.[163] The deal was initially well-received, although a later low-range estimate according to Politico suggested that over 100 million doses worth approximately €4 billion were discarded, raising concerns about vaccine equity.[164][165]

In April 2021, The New York Times reported that von der Leyen had exchanged electronic correspondence with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla negotiating terms of sale of the COVID-19 vaccine to the European Union.[166] Emily O'Reilly, the European Ombudsman, accused von der Leyen of "maladministration" for failure to disclose that correspondence upon a FOI request, and for claiming that the messages had disappeared, and for further claiming that the vaccine line item of the EU's budget was confidential.[167][168]

Von der Leyen and Frans Timmermans in 2021

Von der Leyen was first reported to have taken a personal role in negotiating the vaccine deal. Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides later informed the European Parliament that von der Leyen played no (formal) role and "was not involved in the negotiations on the Covid vaccine contract". The last COVID-19 vaccines will according to the contract with Pfizer be delivered in 2027.[169][170]

The incident has been reported as "Pfizergate". In 2024 the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) took over the investigation from Belgian authorities. The original complaint, from a Belgian lobbyist, cited "interference in public functions, destruction of SMS, corruption and conflict of interest".[164]

In early May 2024, a few days before the hearing in Liège was supposed to take place, Baldan's lawyer, Diane Protat, visited the EPPO's offices in Brussels and Luxembourg to request a copy of its case file, but was she told that there was no such file and security was called on her. A few days later, it was reported that Hungary and Poland had joined the lawsuit.[171] By the end of the month, the plaintiff asked "the European People's Party to withdraw the candidacy of Ms von der Leyen for the post of President of the European Commission" as well as "prohibiting anyone from presenting the candidature of Mrs von der Leyen to the post of President of the European Commission or any other post within the European institutions as long as she is the subject of criminal proceedings".[172]

### 2022

[edit]

Von der Leyen with US President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders at the 2022 NATO Brussels summit Von der Leyen, EU High Representative Josep Borrell, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk in Bucha on 8 April 2022

After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Ukraine should become a member of the European Union, the Ukrainian people belong to the European family, but there is a long way to go and the war must end.[173] On 8 April 2022, in the midst of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, von der Leyen travelled to Kyiv (which had seen open hostilities only days earlier) to lend her support to the beleaguered Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his countrymen. She visited the site of the Bucha massacre, tweeted: "Those responsible for the atrocities will be brought to justice. Your fight is our fight." and vowed she would work toward that country's accession to the EU. "Our goal is to present Ukraine's application to the council this summer." She was accompanied by Josep Borrell, who expressed "confidence that EU states would soon agree to his proposal to provide Ukraine with an additional €500 million to support the armed forces in their fight against the Russian army".[174][175][176][177][178] On 4 May 2022, she announced the European Union would seek to ban all imports of Russian crude oil and petroleum products.[179] She stated: "We must become independent from Russian oil, coal and gas."[180]

Von der Leyen with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other G7 leaders at the 48th G7 summit in Germany, 26 June 2022

At a 2022 Europe Day event to celebrate the conclusion of the Conference on the Future of Europe,[181] von der Leyen stated her agreement with the report[182] prepared by panels of randomly selected EU citizens, that the Union needed to move away from unanimous voting in the Council when it comes to foreign policy decisions.[183] In a June Politico interview, she expressed that her views had been shaped by the slow pace of the Union in adopting sanctions against Belarus and Russia due to unanimity requirements.[184] She has said the Union should not completely move away from unanimity.[184]

In August 2022, she proclaimed the necessity of the EU emission trading system to reduce CO2 emissions.[185]

Von der Leyen with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in Brussels, 3 November 2022

#### Controversy over gas deliveries from Azerbaijan

[edit]

Von der Leyen with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, 18 July 2022

On 18 July 2022 von der Leyen called Azerbaijan a reliable partner for energy supply,[186] later signing an agreement with Azerbaijan government intended to diversify gas supplies in the context of the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war 2022.[187] This sparked controversy when Azerbaijan attacked its neighbour Armenia just a few months later, and Azeri soldiers committed various documented atrocities including rapes and the murder of prisoners of war. Human rights activists claim that an EU president cannot condemn one dictator while embracing another, which was also expressed in the EU parliament by Martin Sonneborn.[188][189][190]

The deal will double Azerbaijan's natural gas exports through the Southern Gas Corridor by 2027.[191]

### 2023

[edit]

Von der Leyen with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius, 12 July 2023 Von der Leyen with President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in Brussels, 17 July 2023 Von der Leyen with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other leaders at the International Conference on Development and Migration in Rome, 23 July 2023 Von der Leyen with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, 2 November 2023 Von der Leyen with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in Cairo, 18 November 2023 Von der Leyen with Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk, in Brussels, 15 December 2023

In April von der Leyen issued a video statement celebrating Israel's 75th Independence Day, noting that "the Jewish People could finally build a home in the Promised Land", adding that "You have literally made the desert bloom".[192]

In July 2023, she visited the Philippines and praised the improvement in human rights in the Philippines while meeting with Philippine President Bongbong Marcos.[193]

In October 2023, von der Leyen condemned "the military operation by Azerbaijan against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and reaffirmed the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia".[194]

During the Gaza war, von der Leyen condemned the Hamas attack on Israel, calling it "terrorism in its most despicable form" and saying "Israel has the right to defend itself against such heinous attacks".[195] She announced that humanitarian aid to Gaza would be tripled.[196]

In December 2023, she visited Egypt and discussed the "strategic partnership" between the EU and Egypt with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.[197]

#### Remarks at the Beyond Growth conference

[edit]

In May 2023 at the Beyond Growth conference in the European Parliament, von der Leyen criticised the current economic model's excessive focus on GDP figures, saying "a growth model centred on fossil fuels is simply obsolete" and "economic growth is not an end in itself". About an hour later, the European Commission presented its economic forecast which talked about GDP and inflation without presenting any other parameters.[198][199] Her remarks were part of a debate in the European Union on the possibility of not exceeding planetary boundaries in a GDP-based economy.[200]

#### Migrant crisis in Italy

[edit]

In 2022, the European Union recorded the highest number of unauthorised migrant arrivals since 2016.[201] Von der Leyen tried to strike a deal with Tunisia's authoritarian President Kais Saied, with a focus on stopping illegal migration from Tunisia to Italy. In September 2023, more than 120 boats carrying around 7,000 migrants from Africa arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa within 24 hours.[202] Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni declared that she wrote to von der Leyen "to ask her to come with me to Lampedusa to personally realize the gravity of the situation we face, and to immediately accelerate the implementation of the agreement with Tunisia by transferring the agreed resources".[203]

### 2024

[edit]

Von der Leyen with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in Kyiv, 24 February 2024 Von der Leyen with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Brussels, 2 October 2024

#### Second candidacy

[edit]

See also: von der Leyen Commission II

In March 2024 von der Leyen was once again confirmed as the EPP's candidate for the Presidency of the European Commission. Opinion polls deemed her re-election as President very likely.[204]

In April 2024, she praised the EU Asylum and Migration Pact as a "huge achievement for Europe".[205] Countries where migrants first arrive will newly be able to relocate a total of up to 30,000 migrants per year to other EU member states. The Pact will institute a "mandatory solidarity mechanism".[206] The Pact has been criticized by some right-wing politicians for not going far enough to prevent illegal immigration, such as missing provisions relating to migrant returns.[207]

On 27 June 2024, the European Council nominated von der Leyen for a second term as President of the European Commission. On 18 July 2024, she was re-elected for a further five-year term after a secret ballot among MEPs at the European Parliament, winning 401 votes in favour compared to 284 against with 22 blank or invalid ballot papers.[1][208]

In the fall of 2024, von der Leyen became an advocate for nuclear power, along with her party, CDU.[209]

Promoting the European Green Deal and the green transition remained a priority for the second von der Leyen Commission.[210]

### 2025

[edit]

Von der Leyen with U.S. Vice President JD Vance in Paris, 11 February 2025

On 26 February 2025, the Commission announced a collection of measures backed by 100 billion euros ($104.94 billion) to support EU-made clean manufacturing,[211] called the Clean Industrial Deal.[212]

On 4 March 2025, Von der Leyen announced the EU's €800 billion ($840 billion) defence investment plan "ReArm Europe".[213] She suggested that the European Union might need to ease its fiscal rules regarding national debt to facilitate increased defense spending by member states.[214]

In July 2025, von der Leyen survived a vote of no confidence, with 360 MEPs against and 175 in favour. EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and parts of ECR supported her, While PfE, ESN, The Left and parts of ECR opposed her.[215]

## Other activities

[edit]

President von der Leyen with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, New Delhi on 25 April 2022

Von der Leyen is a member of the German branch of the European Movement.[216] She is, or has been, also a member of several boards of trustees:

* Total E-Quality initiative, Member of the Board of Trustees[217]
* Mädchenchor Hannover, Member of the Board of Trustees[218]
* World Economic Forum (WEF), Member of the Board of Trustees (2016–2019)[219]
* World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa, Co-chair (2017)[220]
* Munich Security Conference, Member of the Advisory Council (2013–2019)[221]
* 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, Member of the Board of Trustees (2010–2011)[222]

## Political views

[edit]

### Childcare and parental leave

[edit]

Ursula von der Leyen assumed her office as Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in 2005. Amidst protest (particularly from the conservative wing of the CDU), she introduced the Child Advancement Act [de] (Kinderförderungsgesetz), which reserved 4.3 billion euros for the creation of childcare structures throughout Germany.[223]

Von der Leyen also introduced the German Elternzeit, a paid parental leave scheme. Following Scandinavian models, the scheme reserves two additional months for fathers who go on parental leave as well (Vätermonate in German). This part of the law, in particular, attracted protest from some German conservatives. Catholic Bishop Walter Mixa accused von der Leyen of turning women into "birthing machines". Meanwhile, Bavarian colleagues from von der Leyen's sister party, the CSU, complained that men did not need a "diaper-changing internship".[224] Von der Leyen successfully influenced public opinion of her reforms with a 3-million-euro PR campaign, which was criticised for using public funds for political advocacy and for employing embedded marketing techniques.[225]

### Blocking internet child pornography

[edit]

Demonstration on 17 April 2009 against internet censorship

Ursula von der Leyen advocated the initiation of a mandatory blockage of child pornography on the Internet through service providers via a block list maintained by the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (BKA), thus creating the necessary infrastructure for extensive censorship of websites deemed illegal by the BKA.[226]

These actions brought her the nickname "Zensursula", a portmanteau word blending the German word for censorship ("Zensur") and her given name ("Ursula").[227] The combination of a sensitive topic like child pornography and internet censorship is said to have caused a rising interest in the Pirate Party.[228]

In July 2009, she referred to the problems of struggling against paedophile pornography on the internet as the responsible persons often use servers located in Africa or India, where, she said, "child pornography is legal".[229][230] This claim was based on a 2006 study by the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children.[231] As child pornography is illegal in India, and the country has stricter rules about all pornography than Germany, she later expressed regret for citing an inaccurate study.[232]

Von der Leyen was in charge of the request to ban and rate the Rammstein album Liebe ist für alle da by the Federal Review Board for Media Harmful to Minors.[233]

### Women board quota

[edit]

In 2013, von der Leyen unsuccessfully campaigned for a statutory quota for female participation in the supervisory boards of companies in Germany, requiring company boards to be at least 20% female by 2018, rising to 40% by 2023.[234]

### German foreign policy

[edit]

Von der Leyen with U.S. President Donald Trump in January 2020

Von der Leyen is a proponent of a more assertive German foreign policy.[235][236] One striking example was the decision in September 2014 to send arms to Kurdish and Iraqi security forces. This decision broke a longstanding taboo on Germany's dispatching of weapons to a conflict zone.[114]

Von der Leyen and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the International Conference on Libya, 19 January 2020

On the deteriorating relationship between Europe and Russia during the annexation of Crimea, she argued that "the reliance on a functioning business relationship with Europe is much, much bigger in Russia" and that sanctions should prod the oligarchs and Russian business.[237] She also called for more significant NATO backing of the Baltic states during Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014.[238]

Von der Leyen has supported close security cooperation with Saudi Arabia.[239] German opposition parties criticised Germany's defence plan with Saudi Arabia, which has been waging war in Yemen and was condemned for massive human rights violations.[240][241] In 2016, von der Leyen caused controversy after she refused to wear a hijab while visiting Saudi Arabia. She said: "It annoys me when women are to be pushed into wearing the abaya."[242]

In 2017 von der Leyen noted that "healthy democratic resistance of the younger generation" in Poland must be supported.[243] In some Polish media, it was understood that she instigated opposition aimed to overthrow the allegedly anti-democratic and authoritarian PiS government; the statement was branded as scandalous.[244] The Polish Foreign Minister made sarcastic comments about "Prussian tone of the Ode to Joy".[245] The Polish Minister of Defence summoned the Germany military attache and demanded explanations.[246] The German embassy in Warsaw and spokesman for the German defence ministry in Berlin issued conciliatory statements.[247] The German media mostly ignored the incident; some acknowledged a "minor slip of the tongue"[248] on the part of von der Leyen, yet also noted that German-Polish relations were "severely damaged".[249]

Von der Leyen responded to Donald Trump's criticism of the Russian-backed Nord Stream 2—a pipeline for delivering natural gas from Russia to Germany—in an interview with the BBC: "We have an independent energy supply, we are an independent country, we are just diversifying."[250]

### European integration

[edit]

Manfred Weber, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and von der Leyen in April 2019

In a 2011 interview with Der Spiegel, von der Leyen expressed her preference for "a united states of Europe—run along the lines of the federal states of Switzerland, Germany or the USA" which would capitalise on Europe's size by agreeing on core issues relating to finance, tax and economic politics.[251]

With 2014 marking the centenary of the start of World War I, von der Leyen—in her capacity as defence minister—inaugurated a memorial for the Armistice Day in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire alongside French President François Hollande and North Rhine-Westphalia State Premier Hannelore Kraft, as well as British and Belgian officials.[252]

In 2015, von der Leyen argued that a form of EU army should be a long-term goal. She also said that she was convinced about the goal of a combined military force, just as she was convinced that "perhaps not my children, but then my grandchildren will experience a United States of Europe".[253] In March 2015, she and her counterparts from France and Poland, Jean-Yves Le Drian and Tomasz Siemoniak, revived a meeting format intended to promote cooperation between the three countries in crisis zones by holding their first meeting between the Weimar Triangle defence ministers since 2007.[254]

Von der Leyen with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, 3 November 2022

Following the 2016 European Union membership referendum in the United Kingdom, she argued that the UK had "paralysed" European efforts to integrate security policy and "consistently blocked everything with the label 'Europe' on it".[255] She has described Brexit as "a burst bubble of hollow promises".[256] In an interview with The Guardian days after her election to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as President of the European Commission, she stated that the withdrawal deal agreed between Theresa May and chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier would remain the basis of any future talks. She also stated that the EU should extend the Brexit deadline beyond 31 October 2019.[257] In November 2019, at Paris Peace Forum, von der Leyen said that there is need for stable and responsible leadership in Europe and that the bloc must increase foreign policy budget spending by one-third.[258]

On 7 September 2023, Ursula von der Leyen met the UAE President Mohammad bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi. The meeting included a discussion on the export of sanctioned goods through the Gulf state to Russia. She asked MbZ to be more cooperative and constructive in handling the issue. The EU expected the UAE to stop being a mediator supplying sanctioned goods to Russia. It had already sanctioned several Emirati entities that were alleged of directly supporting Russia's war.[259]

### Human rights in China

[edit]

See also: Persecution of Uyghurs in China and China–European Union relations

Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, China, 6 April 2023

Von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron raised the issue of human rights in China during their visit to China in April 2023, amid growing international criticism of China's repression of ethnic minorities, political dissidents, and civil society activists under the general secretaryship of Xi Jinping.[260] They expressed their concerns over the situation in Xinjiang, where the Chinese government has detained an estimated one million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in internment camps, subjected them to forced labour, surveillance, and abuse.[261] They also urged China to respect the autonomy and freedoms of Hong Kong.[262]

### Same-sex marriage

[edit]

When the Federal Constitutional Court ruled in favour of tax equality for same-sex couples in 2013, von der Leyen came forward in support of equal adoption rights, arguing, "I know of no study that says that children growing up in same-sex partnerships fare any differently than children who grow up in heterosexual marriages or partnerships."[263] In June 2017, von der Leyen voted against her parliamentary group's majority and in favour of Germany's introduction of same-sex marriage.[264]

### Israel–Palestine

[edit]

Von der Leyen with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Brussels, January 2023

On the 75th anniversary of Israel's independence, von der Leyen referred to Israel as a "vibrant democracy" in the Middle East that made "the desert bloom". These remarks were criticised as racist by the foreign ministry of the Palestinian Authority.[265][266] During the 2023 Gaza war, she was criticised by EU lawmakers and diplomats for supporting Israel and not calling for a ceasefire.[267] On 13 October 2023, she visited Israel to express solidarity with the country.[268] EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell criticized her for the pro-Israeli stance she took on the trip which, he said, "had a high geopolitical cost for Europe".[269][c]

In October 2023, 841 EU staff signed a letter to von der Leyen criticising her stance on the conflict. It stated the commission was giving "a free hand to the acceleration and the legitimacy of a war crime in the Gaza Strip" and warned that the EU was "losing all credibility and the position as a fair, equitable and humanist broker".[270] In 2025 Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, suggested von der Leyen be charged for complicity in Israeli war crimes.[271]

### Environment

[edit]

She promoted the European Green Deal.[272] She complained that, "Global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars, and their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies."[273]

## Honours

[edit]

### Foreign honours

[edit]

* Lithuania:
* Grand Cross of the Order for Merits to Lithuania (2 March 2017)[274]
* Commander's Grand Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (9 February 2025)
* Mali:
* Commander of the National Order of Mali (4 April 2016)[275]
* Ukraine:
* Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class (23 August 2022)[276]
* Order of Saint Panteleimon (25 January 2024)[277]

### Honorary degrees

[edit]

* 2023 – Honorary Doctorate, Université Toulouse Capitole[278]
* 2022 – Honorary Doctorate, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev[279]

### Other awards

[edit]

* 2019 – Forbes' list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women, position 4[280]
* 2020 – Forbes' list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women, position 4[280]
* 2020 – Global Citizen Prize for World Leader[281]
* 2022 – BBC 100 Women[282]
* 2022 – Global Goalkeeper Award, presented by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Goalkeepers program[283][284]
* 2022 – Forbes' list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women, position 1[10]
* 2023 – Forbes' list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women, position 1[11]
* 2024 – Forbes' list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women, position 1[12]

## Publications

[edit]

* Ursula von der Leyen, C-reaktives Protein als diagnostischer Parameter zur Erfassung eines Amnioninfektionssyndroms bei vorzeitigem Blasensprung und therapeutischem Entspannungsbad in der Geburtsvorbereitung, doctoral dissertation, Hannover Medical School, 1990[285]
* Ursula von der Leyen, Maria von Welser, Wir müssen unser Land für die Frauen verändern (in German). C. Bertelsmann Verlag, Munich, 2007. ISBN 978-3-570-00959-8.
* Ursula von der Leyen, Liz Mohn, Familie gewinnt (in German). Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh, 2007. ISBN 978-3-89204-927-2.

## See also

[edit]

* Heiko von der Leyen
* Susanne Albrecht
* Jürgen Ponto

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The process for electing the president of the European Commission is described in Article 17(7) of the Treaty on European Union.[8]
2. ^ The European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker criticised Von der Leyen's decision, saying: "I don't like the idea that the European way of life is opposed to migration. Accepting those that come from far away is part of the European way of life."[137] Philippe Lamberts, the president of the Greens–European Free Alliance at the European Parliament, said: "An all-white European Commission claiming to protect 'our European way of life' is a far cry from the idea of unity in diversity on which this union is built. Von der Leyen must present a better proposal".[138]
3. ^ "ha tenido un alto coste geopolítico para Europa"[269]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Ursula von der Leyen secures five more years in top EU job". BBC News. 18 July 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
2. ^ a b Arne Delfs (22 January 2014), "Merkel Succession Beckons After Von der Leyen's Defence Posting", Businessweek.
3. ^ a b Fallon, Michael (3 July 2019). "Yes, Ursula von der Leyen is an EU federalist, but she knows she can't afford to alienate Britain". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
4. ^ Barnes, Joe (4 July 2023). "Joe Biden pushes for Ursula von der Leyen to be Nato chief". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
5. ^ a b "First woman nominated to lead EU Commission". BBC. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
6. ^ a b Barigazzi, Jacopo; Herszenhorn, David M.; Bayer, Lili; de La Baume, Maïa; Momtaz, Rym (2 July 2019). "EU leaders pick Germany's von der Leyen to lead Commission". POLITICO. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
7. ^ a b "MEPs back von der Leyen as EU Commission head". BBC News. 16 July 2019.
8. ^ Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union - TITLE III: PROVISIONS ON THE INSTITUTIONS - Article 17
9. ^ "Statement by President von der Leyen on Russian accountability and the use of Russian frozen assets". European Commission. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
10. ^ a b "The World's Most Powerful Women 2022". Forbes. 6 December 2022. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
11. ^ a b "The World's Most Powerful Women 2023". Forbes. 5 December 2023. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
12. ^ a b "Forbes World's Most Powerful Women - Ranked 2024 List". Forbes.
13. ^ "EU-Parlament wählt von der Leyen erneut zur EU-Kommissionspräsidentin". Tagesschau (in German). 18 July 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
14. ^ "Ursula von der Leyen – Biografie WHO'S WHO". Who's Who: The People Lexicon.
15. ^ "Ursula von der Leyen" (in German). Wirtschaftswoche. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
16. ^ Scally, Derek (2 July 2019). "Ursula von der Leyen profile: Who is proposed new EU Commission president?". Dublin: The Irish Times. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
17. ^ Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur; Jens Joest (27 November 2019). "Wie christlich ist die EU-Kommission unter Ursula von der Leyen?" [How Christian is the EU Commission under Ursula von der Leyen?]. Kirche+Leben (Church+Life) (in German). Münster: Dialog Medien Publicity GmbH. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
18. ^ Valero, Carmen (4 July 2019). "Baronesa, con siete hijos y un castillo: así es Ursula von der Leyen, presidenta de la Comisión Europea". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 June 2021.
19. ^ "Reit-EM: Von der Leyen macht im Sattel eine gute Figur". RP ONLINE. 12 August 2015.
20. ^ "LSE alumna Ursula von der Leyen elected EU Commission head". London School of Economics and Political Science. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
21. ^ a b Mendick, Robert; Huggler, Justin (3 July 2019). "Ursula von der Leyen, nominee for EU top job, lived in London under alias to escape Baader-Meinhof gang". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 – via telegraph.co.uk.
22. ^ Crossland, David (15 December 2013). "'Heir to Angela Merkel' appointed Germany's first female defence minister". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
23. ^ "Dr. Ursula von der Leyen". Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands. 14 March 2013. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
24. ^ Magnis, Constantin (September 2013). "Röschen geht in die Verteidigung" [Rosie goes military]. Cicero (in German).
25. ^ Bittner, Jochen; Dausend, Peter (20 June 2016). ""Mehr gelebt als studiert"". Zeit Online (in German). Retrieved 21 June 2021.
26. ^ "Who is Germany's Ursula von der Leyen, the surprise candidate set to take the EU's top job?". thelocal.de. AFP. 3 July 2019.
27. ^ "Germany Appoints 1st Female Defense Minister", Defense News, 16 December 2013
28. ^ Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen. C-reaktives Protein als diagnostischer Parameter zur Erfassung eines Amnioninfektionssyndroms bei vorzeitigem Blasensprung und therapeutischem Entspannungsbad in der Geburtsvorbereitung. Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek (Thesis).
29. ^ Moulson, Geir (2 July 2019). "Von der Leyen: pro-EU fixture in Merkel's Cabinets". AP News.
30. ^ "Ursula von der Leyen" (PDF).
31. ^ "Who is Ursula von der Leyen, the New EU Commission President?". Time.
32. ^ Rahlf, Katharina (30 June 2009). Lorenz, Robert; Micus, Matthias (eds.). Ursula von der Leyen – Seiteneinsteigerin in zweiter Generation. Seiteneinsteiger: Unkonventionelle Politiker-Karrieren in der Parteiendemokratie (in German). Springer-Verlag. p. 278\. ISBN 978-3-531-91569-2.
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244. ^ Szef MON reaguje na skandaliczne słowa niemieckiej minister resortu obrony. Antoni Macierewicz domaga się "złożenia wyjaśnień", [in:] WPolityce service 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019; Skandaliczna wypowiedź niemieckiej minister obrony. Jest reakcja ministra Macierewicza, [in:] Niezalezna service 3 November 2017, Retrieved 3 July 2019; Polska reaguje na skandaliczną wypowiedź niemieckiej minister. Waszczykowski łagodnie, Macierewicz ostrzej...[permanent dead link], [in:] PrawdaObiektywna service 4 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019; Skandaliczna wypowiedź niemieckiej minister. Polska odpowiada – Waszczykowski łagodnie, Macierewicz ostro, [in:] NajwyższyCzas service 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019; Skandaliczna wypowiedź niemieckiej minister. Polska odpowiada – Waszczykowski łagodnie, Macierewicz ostro, [in:] Wolnosc24 service 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019
245. ^ He declared that von der Leyen tampered with Polish internal affairs, speculated about a German tendency to influence Polish domestic politics, and regretted reportedly increasingly patronizing German stand towards Poland. Szef MON wzywa attache obrony Niemiec. Lapsus językowy?, [in:] PolskieRadio service 4 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019; Waszczykowski: Pomruki pruskiego tonu w tonacji "Ody do radości", [in:] Fronda service, undated. Retrieved 3 July 2019
246. ^ Szef MON wzywa attache obrony Niemiec. Lapsus językowy?, [in:] PolskieRadio service 4 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019
247. ^ they claimed that German foreign policy was not forged on TV-shows, that von der Leyen's words were taken out of context and that the general tone of her statement was highly sympathetic towards Poland. Attache obrony Niemiec wezwany do MON. Ambasada "Mamy nadzieję, że to kończy sprawę", [in:] GazetaPrawna service 6 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019; Justyna Suchecka, Ambasada Niemiec odpowiada Macierewiczowi: Nie kształtujemy polityki w trakcie talk-show, [in:] GazetaWyborcza service 4 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019
248. ^ "kleinen Ausrutscher"
249. ^ mostly because allegedly hysterical and oversensitive stand of the populist Warsaw government, "Endlich haben wir die deutschen Politiker erwischt"[permanent dead link], [in:] Spiegel Online service 8 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019; similar tone in Gerhard Gnauck, Philip Kuhn, Von der Leyen löst Verstimmungen in Polen aus, [in:] Welt service 6 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019
250. ^ "Trump and Merkel exchange barbs in showdown over Russia's pipeline". Bloomberg. 11 July 2018.
251. ^ Helen Pidd (12 March 2014). "Ursula von der Leyen: Germany's next chancellor?". The Guardian.
252. ^ Natalie Muller (11 November 2014), Hollande, von der Leyen, Europe observe Armistice DayDeutsche Welle.
253. ^ "Juncker calls for collective EU army", Deutsche Welle, 8 March 2015.
254. ^ MoD Siemoniak: EU needs new security strategy Polskie Radio, 31 March 2015.
255. ^ Stefan Wagstyl (13 July 2016), Germany calls for more joint European military initiatives Financial Times.
256. ^ Crisp, James (2 July 2019). "EU picks Ursula von der Leyen – who called Brexit 'a burst bubble of hollow promises' – to be first woman to rule Brussels". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
257. ^ Oltermann, Philip (18 July 2019). "Ursula von der Leyen: hard Brexit would be massive blow for both sides". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
258. ^ "Next EU Commission chief wants to increase foreign spending". 660 News. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
259. ^ Nardelli, Alberto; Baschuk, Bryce (7 September 2023). "EU Chief Presses UAE President on Russia Sanctions Evasion". Bloomberg. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
260. ^ "China and Tibet". Human Rights Watch. 13 January 2023. Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
261. ^ "European Commission chief's comments on Uyghurs fall short of expectations". Radio Free Asia. 7 April 2023.
262. ^ "China 2022". Amnesty International. 10 February 2023. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
263. ^ Melanie Amann, Dietmar Hipp and Peter Müller (11 June 2013), Vater and Vater: Gay Adoption Debate Flusters Conservatives Der Spiegel.
264. ^ Carsten Wagner (30 June 2017), "Ehe für alle": Niedersachsen-CDU uneins in Berlin Norddeutscher Rundfunk.
265. ^ "EU's 'Israeli independence' message rebuked in Palestine". Al Jazeera. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
266. ^ Knell, Yolande (27 April 2023). "Palestinians condemn EU's von der Leyen for 'racist trope'". BBC News. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
267. ^ Von der Leyen accused of 'unacceptable bias' toward Israel. Politico. 14 October 2023.
268. ^ Malingre, Virginie (24 October 2023). "Von der Leyen fuels EU discontent after closely-watched Israel visit". Le Monde.
269. ^ a b Pérez, Claudi (25 February 2024). "Borrell: "Putin y Trump aún no han ganado, pero pueden ganar; Europa tiene que despertar"". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 April 2025.
270. ^ O’Leary, Naomi (20 October 2023). "EU staff members express fury over von der Leyen stance on Israel-Hamas conflict". The Irish Times. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
271. ^ Neslen, Arthur (3 May 2025). "EU President Should Be Investigated for Complicity in Israel's War Crimes, Says Top U.N. Expert on Palestine". The Intercept. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
272. ^ Taylor, Kira (13 September 2023). "Von der Leyen outlines 'next phase of European Green Deal', with heavy industry focus". Euractiv.
273. ^ "Von der Leyen flexes green business muscles before EU polls". Deutsche Welle. 13 September 2023.
274. ^ "Germany's defmin to get high Lithuanian state award". Delfi.
275. ^ "Coopération militaire Mali-Allemagne : Mme Ursula Von Der Leyen décorée". news.abamako.
276. ^ "Указ Президента України №595/2022". President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 10 September 2022.
277. ^ "Рішення Поважної Ради від 25.01.2024 р. про вручення Відзнаки "Орден Святого Пантелеймона" Президентці Європейської комісії Урсулі фон дер Ляєн". Order of St. Panteleimon (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 16 August 2024.
278. ^ "Ursula von der Leyen à Toulouse : qu'est-ce que le titre honoris causa que la Présidente de la Commission européenne a reçu". midilibre.fr (in French). 9 June 2023.
279. ^ "Ben-Gurion University of the Negev – Conferment Ceremony of an Honorary Doctoral Degree upon Dr. Ursula Von Der Leyen". in.bgu.ac.il. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
280. ^ a b "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
281. ^ Bryer, Tania (21 December 2020). "European Commission's Ursula von der Leyen wins Global Citizen prize after turbulent year". CNBC. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
282. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2022: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
283. ^ Beaty, Thalia (21 September 2022). "Gates Foundation prods UN, honors inspiration as Goalkeepers". AP News. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
284. ^ Pasquini, Maria (22 September 2022). "Bill and Melinda Gates Reunite for Foundation 1 Year After Divorce: We're 'Completely Committed to This'". Peoplemag. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
285. ^ DNB, Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek (Thesis) (in German). Portal.d-nb.de. Retrieved 1 December 2011.

## External links

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* Official website

Political offices

Preceded by

Renate Schmidt

|  Minister of Family Affairs and Youth
2005–2009  | Succeeded by

Kristina Schröder

Preceded by

Franz Josef Jung

|  Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
2009–2013  | Succeeded by

Andrea Nahles

Preceded by

Thomas de Maizière

|  Minister of Defence
2013–2019  | Succeeded by

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer

Preceded by

Günther Oettinger

|  German European Commissioner
2019–present  | Incumbent
Preceded by

Jean-Claude Juncker

|  President of the European Commission
2019–present
Academic offices
Preceded by

Petr Pavel

|  Invocation Speaker of the College of Europe
2024  | Most recent

Links to related articles

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First Merkel cabinet (2005–2009)

* Angela Merkel (CDU)
* Franz Müntefering/Olaf Scholz (since 22 November 2007; SPD)
* Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD)
* Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU)
* Brigitte Zypries (SPD)
* Peer Steinbrück (SPD)
* Michael Glos/Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (since 10 February 2009; CSU)
* Horst Seehofer/Ilse Aigner (since 31 October 2008; CSU)
* Franz Josef Jung (CDU)
* Ursula von der Leyen (CDU)
* Ulla Schmidt (SPD)
* Wolfgang Tiefensee (SPD)
* Sigmar Gabriel (SPD)
* Annette Schavan (CDU)
* Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul (SPD)
* Thomas de Maizière (CDU)

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Second Merkel cabinet (2009–2013)

* Guido WesterwelleV
* Philipp RöslerAV
* Angela Merkel
* Thomas de Maizière
* Hans-Peter FriedrichC
* Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger
* Wolfgang Schäuble
* Rainer Brüderle
* Franz Josef Jung
* Ursula von der LeyenB
* Ilse Aigner
* Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg
* Thomas de MaizièreC
* Ursula von der Leyen
* Kristina SchröderB
* Daniel BahrC
* Peter Ramsauer
* Norbert Röttgen
* Peter AltmaierD
* Annette SchavanE
* Dirk Niebel
* Ronald Pofalla
* Johanna Wanka

Bold: Chancellor; A: Served as Minister of Health 2009–2011 and then served as Minister of Economics and Technology and Vice-Chancellor (2011–present); B: Served from 2009; C: Served from 2011; D: Served from 2012; E: Served until 2013 V: Vice-Chancellor.

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Third Merkel cabinet (2013–2018)

* Angela Merkel (CDU)
* Sigmar Gabriel (SPD)
* Frank-Walter Steinmeier (until 27 January 2017, SPD)
* Brigitte Zypries (since 27 January 2017, SPD)
* Thomas de Maizière (CDU)
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* Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU)
* Andrea Nahles (SPD)
* Christian Schmidt (since 17 February 2014, CSU)
* Hans-Peter Friedrich (until 17 February 2014, CSU)
* Ursula von der Leyen (CDU)
* Manuela Schwesig (until 2 June 2017, SPD)
* Katarina Barley (since 2 June 2017, SPD)
* Hermann Gröhe (CDU)
* Alexander Dobrindt (CSU)
* Barbara Hendricks (SPD)
* Johanna Wanka (CDU)
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* Christine Lambrecht (since 27 June 2019, SPD)
* Peter Altmaier (CDU)
* Hubertus Heil (SPD)
* Julia Klöckner (CDU)
* Ursula von der Leyen (until 17 July 2019, CDU)
* Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (since 17 July 2019, CDU)
* Franziska Giffey (SPD)
* Jens Spahn (CDU)
* Andreas Scheuer (CSU)
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Defence ministers of Germany

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* Gustav Noske
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Nazi Germany (1933–45) |

* Werner von Blomberg (1933–1938)
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German Democratic Republic1 (1949–90) |

* Willi Stoph
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Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present) |

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1 East Germany

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Von der Leyen Commission I (2019–2024)

* Josep Borrell3
* Thierry Breton
* Helena Dalli
* Valdis Dombrovskis2
* Elisa Ferreira
* Mariya Gabriel5
* Paolo Gentiloni
* Johannes Hahn
* Phil Hogan
* Iliana Ivanova5
* Ylva Johansson
* Věra Jourová3
* Stella Kyriakidou
* Janez Lenarčič
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* Kadri Simson
* Virginijus Sinkevičius
* Dubravka Šuica3
* Frans Timmermans2
* Jutta Urpilainen
* Adina Vălean
* Olivér Várhelyi
* Margrethe Vestager2
* Ursula von der Leyen1
* Janusz Wojciechowski
* Mairead McGuinness4

1 = President 2 = Executive Vice President 3 = Vice President 4 = McGuinness replaced Hogan in October 2020 5 = Ivanova replaced Gabriel in September 2023

* v
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Von der Leyen Commission II (2024– )

* Maria Luís Albuquerque
* Magnus Brunner
* Valdis Dombrovskis
* Raffaele Fitto2
* Christophe Hansen
* Wopke Hoekstra
* Dan Jørgensen
* Costas Kadis
* Kaja Kallas3
* Marta Kos
* Andrius Kubilius
* Hadja Lahbib
* Michael McGrath
* Glenn Micallef
* Roxana Mînzatu2
* Teresa Ribera2
* Jessika Roswall
* Maroš Šefčovič
* Stéphane Séjourné2
* Piotr Serafin
* Jozef Síkela
* Dubravka Šuica
* Apostolos Tzitzikostas
* Olivér Várhelyi
* Henna Virkkunen2
* Ursula von der Leyen1
* Ekaterina Zaharieva

1 = President 2 = Executive Vice President 3 = Vice President

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Presidents of the European Commission

High Authority of the Coal and Steel Community
(1952–1967)

* Jean Monnet (Monnet Authority, 1952–55)
* René Mayer (Mayer Authority, 1955–58)
* Paul Finet (Finet Authority, 1958–59)
* Piero Malvestiti (Malvestiti Authority, 1959–63)
* Rinaldo Del Bo (Del Bo Authority, 1963–67)
* Acting: Albert Coppé (Coppé Authority, 1967)

Commission of the Atomic Energy Community
(1958–1967)

* Louis Armand (Armand Commission, 1958–59)
* Étienne Hirsch (Hirsch Commission, 1959–62)
* Pierre Chatenet (Chatenet Commission, 1962–67)

Commission of the Economic Community
(1958–1967)

* Walter Hallstein (Hallstein Commission, 1958–67)

Commission of the Communities
(1967–2009)

* Jean Rey (Rey Commission, 1967–70)
* Franco Maria Malfatti (Malfatti Commission, 1970–72)
* Sicco Mansholt (Mansholt Commission, 1972–73)
* François-Xavier Ortoli (Ortoli Commission, 1973–77)
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* Acting: Manuel Marín (Santer Commission, 1999)
* Romano Prodi (Prodi Commission, 1999–2004)
* José Manuel Barroso (Barroso Commission, 2004–09)

Commission (2009–present)

* José Manuel Barroso (Barroso Commission, 2009–14)
* Jean-Claude Juncker (Juncker Commission 2014–19)
* Ursula von der Leyen (Von der Leyen Commission, 2019–2024)
* Ursula von der Leyen (Von der Leyen Commission II, since 2024)

* Commission President
* President of the European Council
* Council Presidency
* President of the European Parliament

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European commissioners from Germany

* Walter Hallstein
* Hans von der Groeben
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* Alois Pfeiffer
* Peter Schmidhuber
* Martin Bangemann
* Monika Wulf-Mathies
* Michaele Schreyer
* Günter Verheugen
* Günther Oettinger
* Ursula von der Leyen

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European Council

* List of meetings
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* Montenegro (PT)
* Dan (RO)
* Fico (SK)
* Golob (SI)
* Sánchez (ES)
* Kristersson (SE)

* von der Leyen, President of the Commission (non-voting)

* Kallas (High Representative) (present non-member, non-voting)
* Metsola (President of the Parliament) (partially attending, non-member, non-voting)

European Union Portal

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Leaders of the Group of Seven

* Canada: Carney
* France: Macron
* Germany: Merz
* Italy: Meloni
* Japan: Ishiba
* United Kingdom: Starmer
* United States: Trump
* European Union: Costa / Von der Leyen

* v
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Leaders of the G20

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Heads of government of the G20

* Youssouf
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European People's Party

Parliamentary group

National parties|

| Member parties (EU)|

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|

Associated parties (non-EU)|

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Observer parties|

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Presidents|

* Manfred Weber (President)
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* Mariya Gabriel (Vice-President)
* Olgierd Geblewicz (Vice-President)
* Esteban González Pons (Vice-President)
* Johannes Hahn (Vice-President)
* Andrzej Halicki (Vice-President)
* Esther de Lange (Vice-President)
* David McAllister (Vice-President)
* Siegfried Mureșan (Vice-President)
* Petteri Orpo (Vice-President)
* Dubravka Šuica (Vice-President)
* Antonio Tajani (Vice-President)
* Paulo Rangel (Treasurer)
* Ursula von der Leyen (ex officio Vice-President)

European Parliament
Group Presidents|

* Manfred Weber (Chair)
* Arnaud Danjean (Vice-Chair)
* Esteban González Pons (Vice-Chair)
* Sandra Kalniete (Vice-Chair)
* Andrey Kovatchev (Vice-Chair)
* Esther de Lange (Vice-Chair)
* Vangelis Meimarakis (Vice-Chair)
* Siegfried Mureșan (Vice-Chair)
* Jan Olbrycht (Vice-Chair)
* Paulo Rangel (Vice-Chair)
* see European Parliament

European Commissioners (2024–2029)|

* Ursula von der Leyen (President)
* Maria Luís Albuquerque (Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union)
* Magnus Brunner (Internal Affairs and Migration)
* Valdis Dombrovskis (Economy and Productivity, Implementation and Simplification)
* Christophe Hansen (Agriculture and Food)
* Wopke Hoekstra (Net-Zero and Clean Growth)
* Andrius Kubilius (Defence and Space)
* Jessika Roswall (Environment, Water Resilience, and a Competitive Circular Economy)
* Piotr Serafin (Budget, Anti_Fraud and Public Administration)
* Dubravka Šuica (Mediterranean)
* Apostolos Tzitzikostas (Sustainable Transport and Tourism)
* Henna Virkkunen (Executive Vice-President for Digital and Frontier Technologies)
* Ekaterina Zaharieva (Startups, Research and Innovation
* see von der Leyen Commission II

Heads of government
at the European Council|

* Karl Nehammer (Austria)
* Andrej Plenković (Croatia)
* Petteri Orpo (Finland)
* Kyriakos Mitsotakis (Greece)
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* Evika Siliņa (Latvia)
* Luc Frieden (Luxembourg)
* Donald Tusk (Poland)
* Klaus Iohannis (Romania)
* Ulf Kristersson (Sweden)
* see European Council

European political foundation: Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies

* v
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* e

Members of the 17th Bundestag (2009–2013)

President: Norbert Lammert (CDU)

CDU/CSU|

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CDU and CSU

Speaker: Volker Kauder

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* Klöckner
* Knoerig
* Koeppen
* Kolbe
* Koschorrek
* Kossendey
* Kretschmer
* Krichbaum
* Krings
* Krogmann
* Kruse
* Kudla
* Kues
* Lach
* Lamers
* Lämmel
* Lammert
* Landgraf
* von der Leyen
* Liebing
* Lietz
* Linnemann
* Lips
* Luczak
* Luther
* Maag
* von der Marwitz
* Mattfeldt
* Meister
* Merkel
* Michalk
* Middelberg
* Mißfelder
* Monstadt
* Müller
* Murmann
* Neumann
* Noll
* Otte
* Paul
* Pawelski
* Petzold
* Pfeiffer
* Pfeiffer
* Philipp
* Pofalla
* Poland
* Polenz
* Pols
* Puttrich
* Rachel
* Rehberg
* Reiche
* Riebsamen
* Rief
* Riegert
* Riesenhuber
* Röring
* Röttgen
* Rüddel
* Schäfer
* Schäuble
* Schavan
* Schiewerling
* Schindler
* Schipanski
* Schirmbeck
* Schnieder
* Schockenhoff
* Schröder
* Schröder
* Schulte-Drüggelte
* Schummer
* Schuster
* Seif
* Selle
* Sendker
* Sensburg
* Siebert
* Spahn
* Stauche
* Steffel
* Steinbach
* von Stetten
* Stier
* Storjohann
* Strenz
* Strobl
* Strothmann
* Stübgen
* Tauber
* Tillmann
* Vaatz
* Vogel
* Vogelsang
* Voßhoff
* Wadephul
* Wanderwitz
* Wegner
* Weinberg
* Weiss
* Weiß
* Wellenreuther
* Wellmann
* Wichtel
* Widmann-Mauz
* Willsch
* Winkelmeier-Becker
* Zimmer
* Zylajew

* CSU:
* Aigner
* Aumer
* Bär
* Brandl
* Dobrindt
* Frankenhauser
* Friedrich
* Frieser
* Gauweiler
* Geis
* Glos
* Göppel
* Götzer
* zu Guttenberg
* Hahn
* Hasselfeldt
* Hinsken
* Holmeier
* Kalb
* Karl
* Koschyk
* Lange
* Lehmer
* Lehrieder
* Mayer
* Michelbach
* Mortler
* Müller
* Müller
* Nüßlein
* Obermeier
* Oswald
* Raab
* Ramsauer
* Ruck
* Rupprecht
* Scheuer
* Schmidt
* Silberhorn
* Singhammer
* Stracke
* Straubinger
* Uhl
* Wöhrl
* Zöller

SPD|

* v
* t
* e

SPD

Speaker: Frank-Walter Steinmeier

* Members:
* Arndt-Brauer
* Arnold
* Barchmann
* Barnett
* Bartels
* Barthel
* Bartol
* Bas
* Bätzing-Lichtenthäler
* Becker
* Beckmeyer
* Binding
* Bollmann
* Brandner
* Brase
* Brinkmann
* Bulmahn
* Bülow
* Burchardt
* Burkert
* Crone
* Danckert
* Dörmann
* Drobinski-Weiß
* Duin
* Edathy
* Egloff
* Ehrmand
* Erler
* Ernstberger
* Evers-Meyer
* Ferner
* Fograscher
* Franke
* Freitag
* Friedrich
* Gabriel
* Gerdes
* Gerster
* Gleicke
* Gloser
* Gottschalck
* Graf
* Griese
* Groneberg
* Groschek
* Groß
* Gunkel
* Hacker
* Hagedorn
* Hagemann
* Hartmann
* Heil
* Hellmich
* Hempelmann
* Hendricks
* Herzog
* Hiller-Ohm
* Hinz
* Hofmann
* Högl
* Humme
* Juratović
* Kaczmarek
* Kahrs
* Kastner
* Kelber
* Klingbeil
* Klose
* Klug
* Kofler
* Kolbe
* Körper
* Kramme
* Kressl
* Krüger-Leißner
* Kumpf
* Lambrecht
* Lange
* Lauterbach
* Lemme
* Lischka
* Lösekrug-Möller
* Lühmann
* Marks
* Mast
* Mattheis
* Merkel
* Meßmer
* Miersch
* Müntefering
* Mützenich
* Nahles
* Nietan
* Nink
* Oppermann
* Ortel
* Özoğuz
* Paula
* Pflug
* Poß
* Priesmeier
* Pronold
* Raabe
* Rawert
* Rebmann
* Reichenbach
* Reimann
* Rix
* Röspel
* Rossmann
* Roth
* Roth
* Rupprecht
* Sawade
* Schaaf
* Schäfer
* Scheelen
* Scheer
* Schieder
* Schieder
* Schmidt
* Schmidt
* Schneider
* Scholz
* Schreiner
* Schulz
* Schurer
* Schwabe
* Schwall-Düren
* Schwanholz
* Schwanitz
* Schwartze
* Schwarzelühr-Sutter
* Sieling
* Steffen
* Steinbrück
* Steinmeier
* Strässer
* Tack
* Thierse
* Thönnes
* Tiefensee
* Veit
* Vogt
* Volkmer
* Wicklein
* Wieczorek-Zeul
* Wiefelspütz
* Wolff
* Zapf
* Ziegler
* Zöllmer
* Zypries

FDP|

* v
* t
* e

FDP

Speaker: Birgit Homburger and Rainer Brüderle

* Members:
* Ackermann
* Ahrendt
* Aschenberg-Dugnus
* Bahr
* Bernschneider
* Blumenthal
* Bögel
* Bracht-Bendt
* Breil
* Brüderle
* Brunkhorst
* Burgbacher
* Buschmann
* Canel
* Daub
* Deutschmann
* Djir-Sarai
* Döring
* Drexler
* Dyckmans
* Ehrenberg
* Erdel
* van Essen
* Flach
* Fricke
* Friedhoff
* Geisen
* Gerhardt
* Goldmann
* Golombeck
* Gruß
* Günther
* Happach-Kasan
* Haustein
* Höferlin
* Hoff
* Homburger
* Hoyer
* Kamp
* Kauch
* Knopek
* Kober
* Kolb
* Königshaus
* Kopp
* Koppelin
* Körber
* Krestel
* Kurth
* Lanfermann
* Laurischk
* Leibrecht
* Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger
* Lindemann
* Lindner
* Lindner
* Link
* Lotter
* Luksic
* Meierhofer
* Meinhardt
* Molitor
* Mücke
* Müller
* Müller-Sönksen
* Neumann
* Niebel
* Otto
* Pieper
* Piltz
* von Polheim
* Ratjen-Damerau
* Reinemund
* Reinhold
* Röhlinger
* Ruppert
* Sänger
* Schäffler
* Schnurr
* Schulz
* Schuster
* Schweickert
* Simmling
* Skudelny
* Solms
* Spatz
* Stadler
* Staffeldt
* Stinner
* Thiele
* Thomae
* Todtenhausen
* Toncar
* Tören
* Vogel
* Volk
* Westerwelle
* Winterstein
* Wissing
* Wolff

LINKE|

* v
* t
* e

LINKE

Speaker: Gregor Gysi

* Members:
* Alpers
* Bartsch
* Behrens
* Binder
* Birkwald
* Bluhm
* Bockhahn
* Buchholz
* Bulling-Schröter
* Bunge
* Claus
* Dağdelen
* Dehm-Desoi
* Dittrich
* Dreibus
* Enkelmann
* Ernst
* Gehrcke-Reymann
* Gohlke
* Golze
* Groth
* Gysi
* Hänsel
* Hein
* Höger
* Höll
* Hunko
* Jelpke
* Jochimsen
* Kipping
* Koch
* Korte
* Krellmann
* Kunert
* Lafontaine
* Lay
* Leidig
* Lenkert
* Leutert
* Liebich
* Lötzer
* Lötzsch
* Lutze
* Maurer
* Menzner
* Möhring
* Möller
* Movassat
* Naumann
* Nord
* Pau
* Petermann
* Pitterle
* Ploetz
* Remmers
* Schäfer
* Schlecht
* Schui
* Seifert
* Senger-Schäfer
* Sharma
* Sitte
* Stüber
* Süßmair
* Tackmann
* Tempel
* Troost
* Ulrich
* van Aken
* Vogler
* Voß
* Wagenknecht
* Wawzyniak
* Weinberg
* Werner
* Wunderlich
* Zimmermann

GRÜNE|

* v
* t
* e

GRUENE

Speaker: Renate Künast and Jürgen Trittin

* Members:
* Andreae
* Beck
* Beck
* Behm
* Bender
* Bonde
* Deligöz
* Dörner
* Ebner
* Fell
* Gambke
* Gehring
* Göring-Eckardt
* Haßelmann
* Herlitzius
* Hermann
* Hinz
* Höfken-Deipenbrock
* Hofreiter
* Höhn
* Hönlinger
* Hoppe
* Kekeritz
* Keul
* Kieckbusch
* Kilic
* Kindler
* Klein-Schmeink
* Koczy
* Koenigs
* Kotting-Uhl
* Krischer
* Krumwiede
* Kuhn
* Kühn
* Künast
* Kurth
* Kurth
* Lazar
* Lindner
* Maisch
* Malczak
* Montag
* Müller
* Müller-Gemmeke
* Nestle
* Nouripour
* Ostendorff
* Ott
* Paus
* Pothmer
* Rößner
* Roth
* Sager
* Sarrazin
* Scharfenberg
* Scheel
* Schick
* Schmidt
* Schneider
* Seiler
* Steiner
* Strengmann-Kuhn
* Ströbele
* Terpe
* Tressel
* Trittin
* von Cramon-Taubadel
* von Notz
* Wagner
* Wagner
* Walter-Rosenheimer
* Wieland
* Wilms
* Winkler

OTHER|

* v
* t
* e

Independent

* Members:
* Nešković

List of members of the 17th Bundestag

* v
* t
* e

Members of the 18th Bundestag (2013–2017)

President: Norbert Lammert (CDU)

CDU/CSU|

* v
* t
* e

CDU and CSU

Speaker: Volker Kauder

* CDU:
* Albani
* Altmaier
* Bareiß
* Barthle
* Baumann
* Beermann
* Behrens
* Bellmann
* Benning
* Berghegger
* Bergner
* Bertram
* Beyer
* Bilger
* Binninger
* Bleser
* Böhmer
* Bosbach
* Brackmann
* Brähmig
* Brand
* Brandt
* Brauksiepe
* Braun
* Brehmer
* Brinkhaus
* Caesar
* Connemann
* Dinges-Dierig
* Donth
* Dörflinger
* Dött
* Eckenbach
* Färber
* Feiler
* Feist
* Ferlemann
* Fischbach
* Fischer
* Fischer
* Flachsbarth
* Flosbach
* Frei
* Fuchs
* Fuchtel
* Funk
* Gädechens
* Gebhart
* Gerig
* Gienger
* Giousouf
* Grindel
* Groden-Kranich
* Gröhe
* Gröhler
* Grosse-Brömer
* Grotelüschen
* Grübel
* Grund
* Grundmann
* Grütters
* Gundelach
* Güntzler
* Gutting
* Haase
* Hajek
* Harbarth
* Hardt
* Hauer
* Hauptmann
* Heck
* Heider
* Heiderich
* Heil
* Heinrich
* Helfrich
* Heller
* Hellmuth
* Henke
* Hennrich
* Herdan
* Heveling
* Hintze
* Hinz
* Hirte
* Hirte
* Hochbaum
* Hoffmann
* Holzenkamp
* Hoppenstedt
* Horb
* Höschel
* Hornhues
* Huber
* Hübinger
* Hüppe
* Jarzombek
* Jepsen
* Jörrißen
* Jung
* Jung
* Jung
* Jüttner
* Kammer
* Kampeter
* Kanitz
* Karliczek
* Kaster
* Kauder
* Kaufmann
* Kemmer
* Kiesewetter
* Kippels
* Klein
* Klimke
* Knoerig
* Koeppen
* Koob
* Körber
* Kovac
* Kretschmer
* Krichbaum
* Krings
* Kruse
* Kudla
* Kühne
* Lach
* Lagosky
* Lamers
* Lämmel
* Lammert
* Landgraf
* Leikert
* Lengsfeld
* Leyen
* Lezius
* Liebing
* Lietz
* Linnemann
* Lips
* Lorenz
* Lücking-Michel
* Luczak
* Maag
* Magwas
* Mahlberg
* Maizière
* Manderla
* Marschall
* Marwitz
* Mattfeldt
* Meister
* Merkel
* Metzler
* Michalk
* Middelberg
* Mißfelder
* Monstadt
* Möring
* Mosblech
* Motschmann
* C. Müller
* Murmann
* Nick
* Noll
* Nowak
* Oellers
* Ostermann
* Otte
* Pahlmann
* Pantel
* Patzelt
* Pätzold
* Petzold
* Pfeiffer
* Pfeiffer
* Pofalla
* Pols
* Rachel
* Radomski
* Rehberg
* Reiche
* Riebsamen
* Rief
* Riesenhuber
* Ripsam
* Röring
* Rösel
* Röttgen
* Rüddel
* Schäfer
* Schäuble
* Schavan
* Schiewerling
* Schimke
* Schindler
* Schipanski
* Schmelzle
* Schmidt
* Schnieder
* Schockenhoff
* Schön
* Schröder
* Schröder
* Schulte-Drüggelte
* Schulze
* Schummer
* Schuster
* Schwarzer
* Seif
* Selle
* Sendker
* Sensburg
* Siebert
* Sorge
* Spahn
* Stauche
* Steffel
* Stegemann
* Stein
* Steineke
* Steiniger
* Stetten
* Stier
* Stockhofe
* Storjohann
* Strenz
* Stritzl
* Strobl
* Strothmann
* Stübgen
* Sütterlin-Waack
* Tauber
* Tillmann
* Timmermann-Fechter
* Uhl
* Vaatz
* Veith
* Viesehon
* Vietz
* Vogel
* Volmering
* Voßbeck-Kayser
* Vries
* Wadephul
* Wanderwitz
* Wange
* Warken
* Wegner
* Weiler
* Weinberg
* Weiß
* Weiss
* Wellenreuther
* Wellmann
* Wendt
* Westermayer
* Whittaker
* Wichtel
* Widmann-Mauz
* Wiese
* Willsch
* Winkelmeier-Becker
* Wittke
* Woltmann
* Zertik
* Zimmer

* CSU:
* Albsteiger
* Auernhammer
* Bär
* Brandl
* Dobrindt
* Durz
* Eberl
* Fabritius
* Freudenstein
* Friedrich
* Frieser
* Gauweiler
* Göppel
* Hahn
* Hasselfeldt
* Hoffmann
* Holmeier
* Irlstorfer
* Kalb
* Karl
* Koschyk
* Lange
* Lanzinger
* Launert
* Lehrieder
* Lenz
* Lerchenfeld
* Lindholz
* Ludwig
* Mayer
* Meier
* Michelbach
* Mortler
* G. Müller
* S. Müller
* Nüßlein
* Obermeier
* Oßner
* Radwan
* Rainer
* Ramsauer
* Rupprecht
* Scheuer
* Schmidt
* Silberhorn
* Singhammer
* Stefinger
* Stracke
* Straubinger
* Strebl
* Uhl
* Ullrich
* Weisgerber
* Wöhrl
* Zech
* Zeulner
* Zollner

SPD|

* v
* t
* e

SPD

Speaker: Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Thomas Oppermann

* Members:
* Annen
* Arndt-Brauer
* Arnold
* Baehrens
* Bahr
* Bähr-Losse
* Barchmann
* Barley
* Barnett
* Bartels
* Barthel
* Bartke
* Bartol
* Bas
* Bätzing-Lichtenthäler
* Becker
* Beckmeyer
* Binding
* Blienert
* Brase
* Brunner
* Bulmahn
* Bülow
* Burkert
* Castellucci
* Coße
* Crone
* Daldrup
* De Ridder
* Diaby
* Dittmar
* Dörmann
* Drobinski-Weiß
* Edathy
* Ehrmann
* Engelmeier-Heite
* Erler
* Ernstberger
* Esken
* Evers-Meyer
* Fechner
* Felgentreu
* Ferner
* Finckh-Krämer
* Flisek
* Fograscher
* Franke
* Freese
* Freitag
* Gabriel
* Gerdes
* Gerster
* Gleicke
* Glöckner
* Gottschalck
* Griese
* Groneberg
* Groß
* Grötsch
* Gunkel
* Hagedorn
* Hagl-Kehl
* Hakverdi
* Hampel
* Hartmann
* Hartmann
* Heidenblut
* Heil
* Heinrich
* Held
* Hellmich
* Hendricks
* Henn
* Herzog
* Hiller-Ohm
* Hinz
* Hitschler
* Högl
* Ilgen
* Jantz
* Jost
* Junge
* Juratovic
* Jurk
* Kaczmarek
* Kahrs
* Kampmann
* Kapschack
* Katzmarek
* Kelber
* Kermer
* Kiziltepe
* Klare
* Klingbeil
* Kofler
* Kolbe
* Kömpel
* Kramme
* Krüger
* Krüger-Leißner
* Kühn-Mengel
* Lambrecht
* Lange
* Lauterbach
* Lemme
* Lischka
* Lösekrug-Möller
* Lotze
* Lühmann
* Malecha-Nissen
* Marks
* Mast
* Mattheis
* Miersch
* Mindrup
* Mittag
* Müller
* Müller
* Müntefering
* Mützenich
* Nahles
* Nietan
* Nissen
* Oppermann
* Özdemir
* Özoğuz
* Paschke
* Petry
* Pflugradt
* Pilger
* Poschmann
* Poß
* Post
* Post
* Priesmeier
* Pronold
* Raabe
* Raatz
* Rabanus
* Rawert
* Rebmann
* Reichenbach
* Reimann
* Rimkus
* Rix
* Rode-Bosse
* Rohde
* Rosemann
* Röspel
* Rossmann
* Roth
* Rüthrich
* Rützel
* Ryglewski
* Saathoff
* Sawade
* Schabedoth
* Schäfer
* Scheer
* Schieder
* Schiefner
* Schlegel
* Schmidt
* Schmidt
* Schmidt
* Schneider
* Scho-Antwerpes
* Schulte
* Schulz
* Schurer
* Schwabe
* Schwartze
* Schwarz
* Schwarzelühr-Sutter
* Sieling
* Spiering
* Spinrath
* Stadler
* Stamm-Fibich
* Steffen
* Steinbrück
* Steinmeier
* Strässer
* Tack
* Tausend
* Thews
* Thissen
* Thönnes
* Tiefensee
* Träger
* Veit
* Vogt
* Vöpel
* Weber
* Westphal
* Wicklein
* Wiese
* Wolff
* Yüksel
* Ziegler
* Zierke
* Zimmermann
* Zöllmer
* Zypries

LINKE|

* v
* t
* e

LINKE

Speaker: Gregor Gysi, Dietmar Bartsch, Sahra Wagenknecht

* Members:
* Aken
* Alpers
* Bartsch
* Behrens
* Binder
* Birkwald
* Bluhm
* Buchholz
* Bulling-Schröter
* Claus
* Dağdelen
* Dehm
* Ernst
* Gehrcke
* Gohlke
* Golze
* Groth
* Gysi
* Hahn
* Hänsel
* Hein
* Höger
* Hunko
* Hupach
* Jelpke
* Karawanskij
* Kassner
* Kipping
* Korte
* Krellmann
* Kunert
* Lay
* Leidig
* Lenkert
* Leutert
* Liebich
* Lötzsch
* Lutze
* Menz
* Möhring
* Movassat
* Müller
* Neu
* Nord
* Pau
* Petzold
* Pitterle
* Renner
* Schlecht
* Sitte
* Steinke
* Tackmann
* Tank
* Tempel
* Troost
* Ulrich
* Vogler
* Wagenknecht
* Wawzyniak
* Weinberg
* Werner
* Wöllert
* Wunderlich
* Zdebel
* Zimmermann
* Zimmermann

GRÜNE|

* v
* t
* e

GRUENE

Speaker: Katrin Göring-Eckardt, Anton Hofreiter

* Members:
* Amtsberg
* Andreae
* Baerbock
* Beck
* Beck
* Brantner
* Brugger
* Deligöz
* Dörner
* Dröge
* Ebner
* Gambke
* Gastel
* Gehring
* Göring-Eckardt
* Hajduk
* Haßelmann
* Hinz
* Hofreiter
* Höhn
* Janecek
* Kekeritz
* Keul
* Kindler
* Klein-Schmeink
* Koenigs
* Kotting-Uhl
* Krischer
* Kühn
* Kühn
* Künast
* Kurth
* Lazar
* Lemke
* Lindner
* Maisch
* Meiwald
* Mihalic
* Müller-Gemmeke
* Mutlu
* Notz
* Nouripour
* Ostendorff
* Özdemir
* Paus
* Pothmer
* Rößner
* Roth
* Rüffer
* Sarrazin
* Scharfenberg
* Schauws
* Schick
* Schmidt
* Schulz-Asche
* Strengmann-Kuhn
* Ströbele
* Terpe
* Tressel
* Trittin
* Verlinden
* Wagner
* Walter-Rosenheimer
* Wilms

OTHER|

* v
* t
* e

Independent

* Members:
* Steinbach

* List of members of the 18th Bundestag

* v
* t
* e

Recipients of the Charlemagne Prize

1950–1975|

* 1950 Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi
* 1951 Hendrik Brugmans
* 1952 Alcide De Gasperi
* 1953 Jean Monnet
* 1954 Konrad Adenauer
* 1955
* 1956 Winston Churchill
* 1957 Paul-Henri Spaak
* 1958 Robert Schuman
* 1959 George C. Marshall
* 1960 Joseph Bech
* 1961 Walter Hallstein
* 1962
* 1963 Edward Heath
* 1964 Antonio Segni
* 1965
* 1966 Jens Otto Krag
* 1967 Joseph Luns
* 1968
* 1969 European Commission
* 1970 François Seydoux de Clausonne
* 1971
* 1972 Roy Jenkins
* 1973 Salvador de Madariaga
* 1974
* 1975

1976–2000|

* 1976 Leo Tindemans
* 1977 Walter Scheel
* 1978 Konstantinos Karamanlis
* 1979 Emilio Colombo
* 1980
* 1981 Simone Veil
* 1982 King Juan Carlos I
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986 People of Luxembourg
* 1987 Henry Kissinger
* 1988 François Mitterrand / Helmut Kohl
* 1989 Brother Roger
* 1990 Gyula Horn
* 1991 Václav Havel
* 1992 Jacques Delors
* 1993 Felipe González
* 1994 Gro Harlem Brundtland
* 1995 Franz Vranitzky
* 1996 Queen Beatrix
* 1997 Roman Herzog
* 1998 Bronisław Geremek
* 1999 Tony Blair
* 2000 Bill Clinton

2001–present|

* 2001 György Konrád
* 2002 Euro
* 2003 Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
* 2004 Pat Cox / Pope John Paul II1
* 2005 Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
* 2006 Jean-Claude Juncker
* 2007 Javier Solana
* 2008 Angela Merkel
* 2009 Andrea Riccardi
* 2010 Donald Tusk
* 2011 Jean-Claude Trichet
* 2012 Wolfgang Schäuble
* 2013 Dalia Grybauskaitė
* 2014 Herman Van Rompuy
* 2015 Martin Schulz
* 2016 Pope Francis
* 2017 Timothy Garton Ash
* 2018 Emmanuel Macron
* 2019 António Guterres
* 2020 Klaus Iohannis
* 2022 Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Maria Kalesnikava, Veronika Tsepkalo
* 2023 Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian people
* 2024 Pinchas Goldschmidt and the Jewish communities in Europe
* 2025 Ursula von der Leyen

1 Received extraordinary prize.

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Norway
* Latvia
* Poland
* Vatican
* Catalonia

People|

* Deutsche Biographie
* DDB

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

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