Annalena Baerbock German politician and statesman Date of Birth: 15.12.1980 Country: Germany

1. Early Life and Education
2. Political Activism and Early Career
3. Entry into Politics
4. Member of Parliament (since 2013)
5. Co-Chair of the Green Party (2018-present)
6. Chancellor Candidate (2021)
7. Foreign Minister (since 2021)
8. Personal Life

Early Life and Education

Anna Lena Baerbock was born into an engineer and social worker family on December 15, 1980, in Pattensen, Germany. Her maternal grandparents had immigrated from Upper Silesia to Germany in 1958. Baerbock spent her childhood on a farm outside Hannover and attended Humboldtschule Hannover.

Political Activism and Early Career

During the 1980s, Baerbock joined her parents in anti-nuclear and anti-arms race protests. She also spent a year as an exchange student in Florida and competed successfully in trampoline at the German national level.

After graduating high school, Baerbock pursued studies in political science and public law at the University of Hamburg (2000-2004) and earned an LLM in international public law from the London School of Economics (2005). She interned at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) and began a PhD on natural disasters and humanitarian aid at the Free University of Berlin, which she ultimately left unfinished.

Entry into Politics

Baerbock joined the German Green Party in 2005. In 2008, she was elected to the state executive board for Brandenburg and became chair of the board the following year. She contributed to the party's European policy as a representative for the Federal Working Group on Europe and member of the Executive Council of the European Green Party.

Member of Parliament (since 2013)

In 2013, Baerbock was elected to the Bundestag as a member of the Green Party in Brandenburg. She served on the Committee for Economic Affairs and Energy, the Committee for European Affairs, and was her parliamentary group's spokesperson on climate policy. She participated in UN Climate Change Conferences in Warsaw, Lima, Paris, and Marrakesh.

Co-Chair of the Green Party (2018-present)

On January 27, 2018, Baerbock was elected one of two co-chairs of the federal Green Party alongside Robert Habeck. She was re-elected in 2019 with 97.1%, the highest result for a party chair.

Chancellor Candidate (2021)

In 2021, Baerbock was chosen as the Green Party's candidate for Chancellor in the federal election. She became the second woman after Angela Merkel to run for the highest office in Germany and the youngest candidate ever.

Foreign Minister (since 2021)

After the Bundestag election, Baerbock was nominated as Foreign Minister in the government of Olaf Scholz and took office on December 8, 2021.

Personal Life

Baerbock is married to political consultant Daniel Holefleisch, with whom she has two daughters born in 2011 and 2015. They reside in Potsdam, Brandenburg.