Cem Özdemir
Encyclopedia
Cem Özdemir is a German
politician. He is co-chairman of the German political party Alliance '90/The Greens
, together with Claudia Roth
. He was a Member of Parliament of the German Bundestag
between 1994 and 2002 and of the European Parliament
between 2004 and 2009.
Cem Özdemir is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy
.
family from Turkey
; in 1983 he acquired German citizenship. After graduating from a German Hauptschule and a Realschule Özdemir completed an apprenticeship, becoming an early childhood educator. After qualifying for advanced technical college entrance he studied social pedagogy at the Evangelical Technical College (Evangelische Fachhochschule für Sozialwesen) in Reutlingen, Germany. After completing his studies in 1987, Cem Özdemir worked as an educator and a freelance journalist.
Özdemir is a secular Muslim and is married to the Argentinean journalist Pia Maria Castro. Castro and Özdemir have two children, Mia Rasha and Vito Yunus.
In 2003 Cem Özdemir joined the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Washington, DC and Brussels as a Transatlantic Fellow. During his fellowship he gave various speeches and brown bag lectures at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, on the issue of Turkey and Europe.
On June 2, 2008, Özdemir announced his candidacy for the chairmanship of his party. Özdemir's rival candidate was Volker Ratzman, leader of the Green parliamentary group in the Berlin House of Representatives, who eventually withdrew his candidacy on September 4, 2008 for personal reasons.
In the run-up to the party chairmanship elections, Özdemir also ran for a promising party list position for the Bundestag elections 2009 at the federal state party conference of Baden-Württemberg. In two separate runs he lost to his respective direct opponents. Nevertheless, Özdemir adhered to his candidacy for the party chairmanship.
Since November 15, 2008, Cem Özdemir is one of two chairmen of Alliance '90/The Greens. He received 79.2 percent of the delegate votes.
In 2002, he was accused of violation of parliamentary regulations for retaining "Miles-and-More" airline miles accrued during official travel as a member of the Bundestag for personal use. He subsequently resigned as spokesman for domestic affairs and as a member of the Bundestag.
In 2009, Özdemir was not elected to the Bundestag. As a candidate in the constituency of South Stuttgart he reached 29.9%, but lost to Stefan Kaufmann, the candidate of the CDU.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
politician. He is co-chairman of the German political party Alliance '90/The Greens
Alliance '90/The Greens
Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...
, together with Claudia Roth
Claudia Roth
Claudia Benedikta Roth is a German Green Party politician and one of the two current party chairs, together with Cem Özdemir.- Biography :...
. He was a Member of Parliament of the German Bundestag
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
between 1994 and 2002 and of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
between 2004 and 2009.
Cem Özdemir is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy
Institute for Cultural Diplomacy
The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy is an international, not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Berlin. Founded in 1999 by Mark Donfried, its activities focus on promoting and developing the field of cultural diplomacy by conducting research, initiatives and programs, holding...
.
Life and work
Cem Özdemir is the son of a Circassian gastarbeiterGastarbeiter
Gastarbeiter is German for "guest worker." It refers to migrant workers who had moved to West Germany mainly in the 1960s and 70s, seeking work as part of a formal guest worker programme...
family from Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
; in 1983 he acquired German citizenship. After graduating from a German Hauptschule and a Realschule Özdemir completed an apprenticeship, becoming an early childhood educator. After qualifying for advanced technical college entrance he studied social pedagogy at the Evangelical Technical College (Evangelische Fachhochschule für Sozialwesen) in Reutlingen, Germany. After completing his studies in 1987, Cem Özdemir worked as an educator and a freelance journalist.
Özdemir is a secular Muslim and is married to the Argentinean journalist Pia Maria Castro. Castro and Özdemir have two children, Mia Rasha and Vito Yunus.
In 2003 Cem Özdemir joined the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Washington, DC and Brussels as a Transatlantic Fellow. During his fellowship he gave various speeches and brown bag lectures at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, on the issue of Turkey and Europe.
Party
Özdemir is a member of the Green Party since 1981, originally in the district chapter of Luwdigsburg. Between 1989 and 1994 he was a member in the State Executive (Landesvorstand) of the Green Party in Baden-Württemberg. During that time he was one of the founding members of „Immi-Grün – Bündnis der neuen InländerInnen“, an alliance of "InländerInnen", as opposed to the German word "Ausländer".On June 2, 2008, Özdemir announced his candidacy for the chairmanship of his party. Özdemir's rival candidate was Volker Ratzman, leader of the Green parliamentary group in the Berlin House of Representatives, who eventually withdrew his candidacy on September 4, 2008 for personal reasons.
In the run-up to the party chairmanship elections, Özdemir also ran for a promising party list position for the Bundestag elections 2009 at the federal state party conference of Baden-Württemberg. In two separate runs he lost to his respective direct opponents. Nevertheless, Özdemir adhered to his candidacy for the party chairmanship.
Since November 15, 2008, Cem Özdemir is one of two chairmen of Alliance '90/The Greens. He received 79.2 percent of the delegate votes.
Bundestag
From 1994 until 2002, Özdemir was a member of the German Bundestag. From 1998 until 2002, he was the Green Party's Parliamentary Spokesman on Domestic Affairs.In 2002, he was accused of violation of parliamentary regulations for retaining "Miles-and-More" airline miles accrued during official travel as a member of the Bundestag for personal use. He subsequently resigned as spokesman for domestic affairs and as a member of the Bundestag.
In 2009, Özdemir was not elected to the Bundestag. As a candidate in the constituency of South Stuttgart he reached 29.9%, but lost to Stefan Kaufmann, the candidate of the CDU.