Katarina Barley
Katarina Barley Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In office 14 March 2018 – 27 June 2019 | |||||||||
| Chancellor | Angela Merkel | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Heiko Maas | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Christine Lambrecht | ||||||||
| Minister of Labour and Social Affairs | |||||||||
Acting | |||||||||
| In office 28 September 2017 – 14 March 2018 | |||||||||
| Chancellor | Angela Merkel | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Andrea Nahles | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Hubertus Heil | ||||||||
| Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth | |||||||||
| In office 2 June 2017 – 14 March 2018 | |||||||||
| Chancellor | Angela Merkel | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Manuela Schwesig | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Franziska Giffey | ||||||||
| General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party | |||||||||
| In office 11 December 2015 – 2 June 2017 | |||||||||
| Leader | Sigmar Gabriel Martin Schulz | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Yasmin Fahimi | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Hubertus Heil | ||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | 19 November 1968 Cologne, West Germany (now Germany) | ||||||||
| Citizenship |
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| Political party | SPD (since 1994) | ||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||
| Education | University of Marburg Paris-Sud University University of Münster | ||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||
| Website | Official website | ||||||||
Katarina Barley (born 19 November 1968) is a German politician and lawyer who has been a
A member of the
Background
Barley grew up in Cologne; her father was an English-born journalist who worked with the English-language service of Germany's international broadcaster, the Deutsche Welle, and her mother was a German physician.[4] From birth she only held British citizenship and acquired German citizenship some years later.[5] She is fluent in German, English and French.[6]
Her father (born 1935) was originally from Lincolnshire.[7][8] She has said her father grew up in a working-class family on a very small and simple farm that lacked electricity, and that he was awarded a scholarship to attend university after being discovered as a talented pupil by his teacher; however after being turned down by the University of Cambridge, he decided as a matter of principle to turn his back on British universities and move to West Germany to attend university instead; he first moved to Hanover and later to West Berlin, where he found society to be more egalitarian and progressive. In Germany he met Barley's mother and was employed as a journalist with Deutsche Welle's English service in Cologne after graduating. Her mother (born 1940) belonged to an upper-middle-class family from eastern Germany and was the daughter of an engineer in the automotive industry; her family fled the Red Army in 1945 and came as refugees from Stalinism to western Germany.[7] Barley has said that she had a happy childhood, but that she grew up with a strong sense of social justice, influenced by her parents' experiences. Although neither of her parents were born in that part of Europe, she identifies culturally as a Rhinelander.[5][9]
Education and early career
Barley studied at the
She was called to the bar in 1998 and worked as a lawyer with the major Hamburg corporate law firm Wessing & Berenberg-Gossler (now Taylor Wessing, following the merger with a British law firm) until 1999. She then worked as a legal adviser for the state government of Rhineland-Palatinate until 2001, when she became an assistant to constitutional judge Renate Jaeger in Karlsruhe.[10] She worked in Luxembourg as a German representative to the Maison de la Grande Région/Haus der Großregion, a cooperation forum for Luxembourg and neighbouring German, French and Belgian regions, from 2005 to 2006.
From 2007 to 2008 she was a judge of the Trier district court and at the Wittlich local court. From 2008 to 2013 she was an adviser on bioethics to the Rhineland-Palatinate State Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection. She left this position when she was elected to Parliament in 2013.[11]
Political career
Barley joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 1994.[8]
In her parliamentary work, Barley represented the constituency of Trier for the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
Barley served as a member of the parliament's
In 2014, Barley briefly served as a member of the Committee on the Affairs of the European Union. In addition to her committee assignments, she is a member of the German-British Parliamentary Friendship Group.
Within the SPD parliamentary group, Barley belonged to the Parliamentary Left, a left-wing movement.[12]
Secretary-General of the SPD, 2015–2017
In 2015, Barley was proposed by party chairman Sigmar Gabriel to succeed Yasmin Fahimi in the role of general secretary of the SPD, one of the party's most senior positions.[13] From March 2017, she served under the leadership of Martin Schulz and managed the launch of the party's campaign for the national elections.
Federal Minister, 2017–2019
In May 2017, Schulz announced that Barley would succeed Manuela Schwesig as Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth for the remainder of the legislative term until the elections.[14] She was appointed on 2 June. She additionally became acting Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs on 28 September 2017, when Andrea Nahles stepped down to become the parliamentary leader of the SPD.[15]
On 9 March 2018, Barley was named by Andrea Nahles and Olaf Scholz to succeed Heiko Maas as Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection in the fourth coalition government under the leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel, sworn in on 14 March 2018.[16]
Member of the European Parliament, 2019–present
In October 2018, the SPD announced that Barley would be the party's lead candidate for the 2019 European elections.[17]
Since becoming a
In addition to her committee assignments, Barley is a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights.[21]
Political positions
European integration
Barley is a member of the
China
In a joint letter initiated by Norbert Röttgen and Anthony Gonzalez ahead of the 47th G7 summit in 2021, Barley joined some 70 legislators from Europe and the US in calling upon their leaders to take a tough stance on China and to "avoid becoming dependent" on the country for technology including artificial intelligence and 5G.[24]
Hungary
Barley had repeatedly criticized the Hungarian prime minister
Putin's Russia as partner
Barley gave a few exclusive interviews to Russia Today German, Vladimir Putin's propaganda channel, legitimizing RT as a journalistic media outlet. In one of the Russia Today interviews from April 2019 she said: "We maintain a close relationship with Russia," and "Russia has always been our partner and will remain so."[32][33]
Other activities
- Workers' Samaritan Foundation Germany (ASB), President (since 2022)[34]
- Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Member of the Political Advisory Board (since 2020)[35]
- Academy of European Law (ERA), Member of the Governing Board (since 2019)[36]
- German Council on Foreign Relations(DGAP), Member of the Presidium (since 2019)
- Jacques Delors Centre at Hertie School, Member of the Advisory Board[37]
- Magnus Hirschfeld Foundation, Ex-Officio Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees (2018–2019)[38]
- ZDF, Member of the Television Board (since 2016), Member of the Program Committee[39]
- European Youth Parliament – Germany, Member of the Board of Trustees[40]
- Institute for European Politics (IEP), Member of the Board of Trustees
- Wilhelm Dröscher Prize, Member of the Board of Trustees
- Stiftung Lesen, Member of the Board of Trustees[41]
- Trier University of Applied Sciences, Member of the Board of Trustees[42]
- German United Services Trade Union (ver.di), Member
- German Forum for Crime Prevention (DFK), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Trustees (2018–2019)[43]
- German Association for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW), Member of the Political Advisory Board (2016–2017)
Personal life
Barley's former husband Antonio, a lawyer, is a dual Spanish and Dutch citizen with a Spanish father and a Dutch mother; they met when they both studied in Paris and have two sons.[44][8][45][9] Since 2018, Barley has been in a relationship with Marco van den Berg,[46] they married in 2020.[47]
References
- ^ Seibert, Evi (2 June 2017). "Passt schon" [It's okay]. Tagesschau (online) (in German). Hamburg. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ^ "Katarina Barley: Bundesministerin für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend / Bundesministerin für Arbeit und Soziales" [... Federal Minister for Family, Old People, Women and Young People / Federal Minister for Work and Social Affairs] (in German). Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung, Berlin. Retrieved 10 March 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Germany disappointed by May's Brexit plan, suggests second referendum". Reuters. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ Ravensburg, Munzinger-Archiv GmbH. "Katarina Barley - Munzinger Biographie". www.munzinger.de. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- ^ a b Europa ist unsere Zukunft, The European
- ^ Barley zum Brexit: Jetzt ist nichts mehr wie vorher, Berliner Morgenpost
- ^ a b "Katarina Barley". 17 February 2017.
- ^ a b c Krupa, Matthias; Phạm, Khuê (21 November 2017). "Brexit: Und was, wenn es keinen Deal gibt?". Die Zeit.
- ^ a b Özcan Mutlu (ed.), Politik ohne Grenzen. Migrationsgeschichten aus dem Bundestag. B&S Siebenhaar Verlag
- ^ Tobias Buck and Guy Chazan (14 March 2018), Germany’s new government: who’s who in Angela Merkel’s cabinet Financial Times.
- ^ "Deutscher Bundestag - Barley, Katarina". Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- ^ Members Parlamentarische Linke.
- ^ Gabriels Kandidatin: Katarina Barley soll neue SPD-Generalsekretärin werden, in: spiegel.de (1. November 2015).
- ^ German governor is ill, prompting change to Merkel's Cabinet Yahoo!, 30 May 2017.
- ^ "Katarina Barley". Startseite. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- Deutscher Bundestag. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ Judith Mischke (16 October 2018), German justice minister to lead SPD list in EU election Politico Europe.
- ^ The new European Parliament Vice-Presidents European Parliament, press release of 3 July 2019.
- ^ Democracy, Rule of Law & Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group, 2019–2024 European Parliament.
- ^ Members of the delegation to the Conference on the Future of Europe European Parliament.
- ^ Members European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights
- ^ Europa-Union-Parlamentariergruppe im Deutschen Bundestag, Landesverband Rheinland-Pfalz, Katharina Barley
- ^ Barley will Grenzkontrollen zu Österreich beenden, Die Welt, 21 October 2018
- ^ Stuart Lau (January 25, 2021), G7 lawmakers tell leaders to ‘stand up’ to China Politico Europe.
- ^ ""Man muss Orban bei anderen Themen packen"". Deutschlandfunk. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ "Vizepräsidentin des EU-Parlaments nennt Orban "Diktator" – und sorgt für Aufregung im Netz". Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ a b ""Die Lage in Polen und Ungarn ist besonders ernst"". Deutschlandfunk. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
Wir müssen ihn [Orbán] aushungern finanziell. Er braucht auch das Geld. Und wenn wir sagen, dann kriegst du auch kein Geld, dann wird er am Ende an der ein oder anderen Stelle, denke ich, auch einlenken müssen.
[We have to starve him [Orbán] financially. He needs the money. And if we say, you won't get any money, then in the end, I think, he will have to give in at one point or another.] - ^ "Newsblog zum Coronavirus +++ Diskussion um Einschränkungen für Nicht-Geimpfte +++".
- ^ "EP VP comments on Poland, Hungary were "shameful": PM aide".
- ^ "Premier o słowach Barley: Dyplomatyczny skandal. Niemcy powinni pamiętać głód i ludobójstwo". 3 October 2020.
- ^ "Skandaliczne słowa Barley. Dworczyk: Szczególnie w ustach niemieckiego polityka". 2 October 2020.
- Spiegel Ausland.
- ^ The Disinformation Station Germany Fears Influence of Russian Propaganda Channel
- ^ Katarina Barley zur Präsidentin des Arbeiter-Samariter-Bundes gewählt Workers' Samaritan Foundation Germany (ASB), press release of 10 September 2022.
- ^ Bernd Westphal und Anke Rehlinger koordinieren neu konstituierten Politischen Beirat des SPD-Wirtschaftsforums Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, press release of 1 July 2020.
- ^ Governing Board Academy of European Law (ERA).
- ^ Advisory Board Jacques Delors Centre at Hertie School.
- ^ Board of Trustees Magnus Hirschfeld Foundation.
- ^ Members of the Program Committee ZDF.
- ^ Board of Trustees European Youth Parliament – Germany.
- ^ Board of Trustees Stiftung Lesen.
- ^ Board of Trustees Archived 7 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine Trier University of Applied Sciences.
- ^ Board of Trustees German Forum for Crime Prevention (DFK).
- ^ Sturm, Daniel Friedrich (16 February 2016). "Katarina Barley: Was Gabriels neue SPD-Generalin vorhat". Die Welt – via www.welt.de.
- ^ "Der SPD fehlte der Schwung. Das ist jetzt anders". www.bz-berlin.de. 19 February 2017.
- ^ Marek Fritzen (27 July 2018), Love, Love, Love: Was Katarina Barley und Marco van den Berg verbindet Trierischer Volksfreund.
- ^ "Nachrichten für Trier, Eifel, Mosel & Luxemburg".
External links
Media related to Katarina Barley at Wikimedia Commons
