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Anne Spiegel

{{small|(now Germany)}}"},"party":{"wt":"[[Alliance 90/The Greens]]"},"children":{"wt":"4"}},"i":0}}]}"> Anne Spiegel (born 15 December 1980) is a German politician of Alliance ...

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Anne Spiegel (born 15 December 1980) is a German politician of Alliance 90/The Greens. She served as Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in the cabinet of ChancellorOlaf Scholz since 8 December 2021; she announced her resignation on 11 April and was dismissed by the President on 25 April 2022[1]

In 2021, Spiegel served as Deputy Minister-President and Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Mobility, Energy and Forests in the state government of Rhineland-Palatinate. Previously, she was Minister for Family, Women, Youth, Integration and Consumer Protection in the second cabinet of Minister-PresidentMalu Dreyer from 2016 to 2021.[2][3] She was a prominent youth leader in Germany during the 2000s.

Spiegel was first elected to the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate in the 2011 state election, and re-elected in 2016. She was the lead candidate for the Greens in the 2021 Rhineland-Palatinate state election.

Early life and career

Spiegel has Italian ancestry; among others, her maternal grandmother is from Sicily.[3] Spiegel grew up in Speyer and Ludwigshafen, and attended the Albert Schweitzer elementary school, passing her Abitur in 2000 at the Heinrich-Böll-Gymnasium. She then studied politics, philosophy and psychology in Darmstadt, Mainz, Mannheim, and Salamanca until 2007. In spring 2007, she graduated as Master of Arts from the University of Mainz with a major in political science and minors in philosophy and psychology.[2]

Spiegel then worked as a language teacher at Berlitz in Mainz, Mannheim, and Heidelberg from 2008 to 2010.

Spiegel lives in Speyer with her husband, who is Scottish, and four children.

Political career

Early beginnings

Spiegel was a member of the board of the Green Youth of Rhineland-Palatinate from 1999 to 2002, including two years as board spokeswoman. She then served on the federal board of the Green Youth until 2004.[2]

En 2005, Spiegel se convirtió en la primera delegada juvenil alemana ante las Naciones Unidas . [ 4 ] En otoño de 2005 representó a los jóvenes de Alemania en la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas .

Carrera en la política estatal

En las elecciones estatales de Renania-Palatinado de 2006 , Spiegel fue el candidato de Los Verdes en la circunscripción de Ludwigshafen am Rhein II, y ocupó el séptimo lugar en la lista del partido. El partido no alcanzó el umbral electoral del 5% y no consiguió ningún escaño.

En las elecciones estatales de 2011, Spiegel fue la candidata de Los Verdes en la circunscripción de Speyer. Obtuvo el 17,1% de los votos, quedando tercera detrás de los candidatos de la CDU y el SPD . Ocupó el tercer lugar en la lista del partido y fue elegida cómodamente como una de las 18 diputadas de Los Verdes, convirtiéndose en subdirectora del grupo parlamentario del partido en el nuevo Landtag. [ 5 ] Se desempeñó como portavoz de política de mujeres, integración, migración y refugiados. De 2014 a 2016, Spiegel también fue concejala del ayuntamiento de Speyer. [ 2 ]

En las elecciones estatales de 2016, Spiegel fue nuevamente la candidata de Los Verdes en Speyer, obteniendo esta vez el 10,4% de los votos. Fue elegida nuevamente tercera en la lista del partido. Después de que Los Verdes entraran en un gobierno de coalición con el Partido Socialdemócrata y el Partido Democrático Libre , Spiegel se convirtió en Ministra de Familia, Mujer, Juventud, Integración y Protección del Consumidor en el segundo gabinete de Dreyer. [ 2 ] Renunció a su escaño en el Landtag para unirse al gabinete y fue sucedida por Pia Schellhammer . [ 6 ]

Como representante del Estado en el Bundesrat , Spiegel es miembro de la Comisión de Política Agrícola y Protección del Consumidor, la Comisión de Medio Ambiente, Conservación de la Naturaleza y Seguridad Nuclear, la Comisión de Asuntos Económicos y la Comisión de Transportes. También es miembro del Grupo de Amistad Franco-Alemana creado por el Bundesrat alemán y el Senado francés .

As State Minister for Families, Spiegel continued the work of her predecessor Irene Alt in advocating for marriage equality,[7] campaigning for a vote in the Bundestag on the issue. In November 2016, she wrote a protest letter from the Bundesrat to Norbert Lammert, then President of the Bundestag.[8] The initiative undertaken by Spiegel led to the introduction and passage of the Act introducing the right of marriage to persons of the same sex in June 2017.[9]

Spiegel became the first minister in Rhineland-Palatinate to take maternity leave, which she did in April 2018 to give birth to her fourth child.[10] Spiegel brought the baby to a meeting of the Federal Council in October 2018.[11]

In November 2018, Spiegel represented the German federal government at the Women MPs Conference on the subject of "100 years of women's suffrage" in London. There she also met then-Prime Minister of the United KingdomTheresa May. At the meeting, Spiegel urged her to prevent Brexit.[12]

In the 2021 state elections, Spiegel was nominated as lead candidate for the Greens.[13] The party won 9.3% of votes in the election, becoming the third-largest in the Landtag. The coalition government between the SPD, Greens, and FDP was subsequently renewed, and Spiegel became Deputy Minister-President and Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Mobility, Energy and Forests.

Career in federal politics

In the negotiations to form a so-called traffic light coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) following the 2021 federal elections, Spiegel was part of her party's delegation in the working group on climate protection and energy policy, co-chaired by Matthias Miersch, Oliver Krischer and Lukas Köhler.[14]

On 25 November 2021, she was nominated by the federal board of the Greens as Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in the Scholz cabinet.[15] She took office on 8 December.

Spiegel was nominated by her party as delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2022.[16]

During the flood in Rhineland-Palatinate in 2021, Spiegel was state environment minister. Shortly after the disaster, she was on a four week vacation in France. Spiegel had (falsely) stated that she had attended several cabinet meetings in Rhineland-Palatinate during her vacation. Up from March 2022, Spiegel was heavily criticized because internal documents revealed that she was more concerned with making her ministry look good than with assuming responsibility for the disaster.[17][18]

Spiegel resigned from her post on 11 April 2022. She stated: "Due to political pressure, I decided today to make the office of Federal Minister for Family Affairs available. I am doing this to avert damage to the office, which is facing major political challenges." She made no reference to her alleged mistakes in the statement.[18]

In October 2025, Anne Spiegel was nominated by Region Hannover president Steffen Krach (SPD) to head the Department for Social Affairs, Inclusion, Family and Youth (Dezernat II). If approved by the regional assembly, she is expected to assume office in May 2026.[19][20] The nomination marks Spiegel’s first return to public office since her 2022 resignation. Local media described the move as a cautious political comeback, while some commentators questioned the choice.[21][22]

Other activities

  • Franco-German Youth Office (FGYO), Ex-officio co-chair of the Board of Governors (2021–2022)[23]
  • German Foundation for Active Citizenship and Volunteering (DSEE), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Trustees (2021–2022)[24]
  • Total E-Quality initiative, Member of the Board of Trustees (2021–2022)[25]

Political positions

Within the Green Party, Spiegel is considered to be part of its left wing.[26]

Criticism

After a 15-year-old girl was stabbed to death by her Afghan-born ex-boyfriend in Kandel in 2017, Spiegel – in her capacity as state minister in charge of integration – faced such massive hostility and threats that she was given personal protection.[27]

In March 2022, text messages that Spiegel exchanged with her press spokesman while she was Rhineland-Palatinate's environment minister and that were available to the 18/1 investigative committee of the state parliament on the flood disaster in Rhineland-Palatinate became public. According to reports in the FAZ and other media, these text messages suggest that the state government did not react to the flood in time and that Spiegel, the environment minister at the time, was primarily concerned about her image.[28][29]

References

  1. ↑"www.bundespraesident.de: Der Bundespräsident / Terminkalender / Aushändigung der Entlassungsurkunde an Bundesministerin Anne Spiegel und Überreichung der Ernennungsurkunde an Elisabeth Paus".
  2. 12345"Spiegel Biography"(PDF). Ministry for Family, Women, Youth, Integration and Consumer Protection of Rhineland-Palatinate.
  3. 12"Minister with Sicilian roots". Allgemeine Zeitung (Mainz). 25 June 2016.
  4. ↑"Former youth delegates". Jugenddelegierte.de.
  5. ↑"Spiegel focuses on eliminating gender-based discrimination in the world of work". Zwd.info. 8 January 2019.
  6. ↑"Biography of retired deputy Anne Spiegel". Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate.
  7. ↑"Marriage for all". Deutschlandfunk. 21 March 2013.
  8. ↑"Turn the other cheek to lesbians and gays in Germany". Der Tagesspiegel. 7 November 2016.
  9. ↑"Marriage for everyone: Bundestag votes on bill that comes from Rhineland-Palatinate". Bürstädter Zeitung. 18 September 2019.
  10. ↑"Portrait: Integration Minister Anne Spiegel returns to state politics after maternity leave". Volksfreund.de. 13 July 2018.
  11. ↑"Family Minister Spiegel with baby at Federal Council meeting". Die Welt. 19 October 2018.
  12. ↑"Rhineland-Palatinate Minister Anne Spiegel at 10 Downing Street". Allgemeine Zeitung. 9 November 2018.
  13. ↑"Landtagswahl 2021 Grüne nominieren Anne Spiegel als Spitzenkandidatin". Südwestrundfunk. 18 October 2019.
  14. ↑Britt-Marie Lakämper (21 October 2021), SPD, Grüne, FDP: Diese Politiker verhandeln die Ampel-KoalitionWestdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.
  15. ↑Höhne, Valerie (4 December 2021). "Designierte Familienministerin: Anne Spiegel entscheidet sich für Spitzenbeamtin als Staatssekretärin". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  16. ↑Rheinland-Pfalz bereitet sich auf Bundespräsidentenwahl vorSüddeutsche Zeitung, 15 December 2021.
  17. ↑tagesschau.de. "Kommentar zu Spiegel: Flucht nach vorne ist nicht immer gut". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  18. 12"Familienministerin Anne Spiegel tritt zurück". Der Spiegel (in German). 11 April 2022. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  19. ↑"Anne Spiegel at Region Hannover – how the selection process unfolded". Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung. 8 October 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  20. ↑"Political comeback after flood affair? Anne Spiegel to become councillor in Hannover". Rundblick Niedersachsen. 8 October 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  21. ↑"Anne Spiegel – the surprising comeback of the "sad minister"". Stern Magazine. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  22. ↑"Anne Spiegel as councillor in Hannover – a mistake? HAZ editorial". Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  23. ↑Board of GovernorsFranco-German Youth Office (FGYO).
  24. ↑Board of Trusteees German Foundation for Active Citizenship and Volunteering (DSEE).
  25. ↑Board of Trustees Total E-Quality.
  26. ↑Hannelore Crolly (26 November 2021), Familienministerin Anne Spiegel: Die Grüne, die gleich nach Amtsantritt vor den Untersuchungsausschuss mussDie Welt.
  27. ↑Theresa Martus (26 November 2021), Anne Spiegel: Das ist die erste grüne Familienministerin Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.
  28. ↑Staib, Julian (8 March 2022). "Ahrtal-Katastrophe: Das Umweltministerium hätte vor der Flut warnen können". faz.net (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved 10 March 2022. Bereits um 18 Uhr am Katastrophentag wusste das Ministerium in Mainz, dass es an der Ahr ein Extremereignis gab. Am Folgetag war die Umweltministerin – und heutige Bundesfamilienministern – Anne Spiegel vor allem besorgt, ihr könnte Verantwortung angelastet werden.
  29. ↑Blanke, Philipp (9 March 2022). "Kritik an Bundesministerin wegen Chatprotokollen aus der Flutnacht". zeit.de (in German). ZEIT Online. Retrieved 10 March 2022. Am Morgen nach der Ahr-Flutkatastrophe waren Anne Spiegel und ihr Team offenbar eher um das eigene Image besorgt. Das legen veröffentlichte Chatverläufe nahe.
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