Ursula von der Leyen: Biography of the German Politician and European Commission President
Table of Contents
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Overview
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I. Introduction
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II. Early Life
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III. Political Career
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References
Overview
Ursula von der Leyen is a German politician who has served as the President of the European Commission since December 2019. She is the first woman to hold the office and is the first German to serve as President of the European Commission since Walter Hallstein in the late 1950s. Prior to being elected to the European Commission, von der Leyen was a member of the German Federal Cabinet, first as Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth from 2005 to 2009, and then as Minister of Defence from 2013 to 2019. She has been a member of the Christian Democratic Union since 1990, and has held numerous leadership positions within the party and in the Bundestag. As President of the European Commission, von der Leyen is responsible for leading the European Union’s executive branch, setting its laws and policies, proposing and implementing legislation, and managing and overseeing its budget.
I. Introduction
Ursula von der Leyen is a German politician who currently serves as the President of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). She is the first woman to ever hold the office and assumed the post in December 2019. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), von der Leyen previously served as the German Minister of Defence from 2013 to 2019 and as the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs from 2009 to 2013. In her two-decade long political career, she has been an active advocate for European integration and the development of the Eurozone.
Ursula von der Leyen (born October 8, 1958) is a German politician who currently serves as President of the European Commission since 2019. She served as Minister of Defense of Germany from 2013 to 2019 and held multiple cabinet positions during the Chancellorship of Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2009. She was elected as the first female President of the European Commission in 2019 and is the first woman to hold the office in the history of the European Union.
Early Life: Ursula von der Leyen was born in Brussels, Belgium, to parents Ernst Albrecht, a prominent German politician, and his wife, Heidi Albrecht. She grew up in Brussels and then in the German state of Lower Saxony. She is of Roman Catholic faith and is fluent in German, English, French, and Spanish.
Education: Von der Leyen studied economics at the University of Göttingen, graduating in 1986 with a degree in economics. She then studied at the London School of Economics, where she earned a master’s degree in 1989, and at the Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where she earned a Doctorate in 1991.
Political Career: von der Leyen began her political career in 2003 as a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in Lower Saxony. She was appointed as Minister of Social Affairs and Health in 2005 and served in that role until 2009. In 2010, she was elected to the German Bundestag and served as Minister for Labour and Social Affairs from 2009 to 2013. She was appointed Minister of Defence in 2013 and held that position until 2019. In 2019, she was elected President of the European Commission.
In addition to her political career, von der Leyen has been a professor at the University of Münster since 2001, teaching politics and management. She also held the position of Chairwoman of the CDU in Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2004.
Ursula von der Leyen (born Ursula Gertrud Albrecht, 8 October 1958) is a German politician serving as the President of the European Commission since 1 December 2019. She is the first woman to hold the office. A member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she served as the Minister of Defence from 2013 to 2019 and as the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs from 2009 to 2013. She was a member of the German Bundestag from 2002 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2019.
In 2019, the European Council nominated von der Leyen for the post of President of the European Commission. On 16 July 2019, she was elected to the post by a narrow majority in the European Parliament, becoming the first woman to hold the post of European Commission President. In office, von der Leyen has overseen the expansion of the European Commission’s power and set out its legislative agenda for the next five years. She is also a proponent of a European Green Deal and the European Union’s digital agenda.
Ursula von der Leyen (born 18 October 1958) is a German politician who has served as the President of the European Commission since 1 December 2019. She is the first woman to hold the office, and the first German since Walter Hallstein to hold the post. She was previously Germany’s Minister of Defence from 2013 to 2019.
Von der Leyen was born in Brussels, Belgium. She is the daughter of Ernst Albrecht, a prominent CDU politician who was the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony from 1976 to 1990. She holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Göttingen and worked as a physician before entering politics.
Von der Leyen entered politics in 2003, becoming a member of the German Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She held a number of posts in the Merkel government, including Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth from 2005 to 2009 and Minister of Labour and Social Affairs from 2009 to 2013. In 2013, she became Minister of Defence.
As Minister of Defence, von der Leyen oversaw increased German military spending and was responsible for expanding the role of German troops in international operations, including the deployment of German troops to the United Nations’ mission in Mali. She was also the driving force behind the creation of the European Intervention Initiative, a multinational force of European armies.
In 2019, von der Leyen was nominated to be the next President of the European Commission. After a protracted approval process, she was elected to the post in July 2019 and took office in December of the same year. As European Commission President, von der Leyen has sought to strengthen the European Union’s role in global affairs and tackle climate change.
Von der Leyen is a staunch supporter of close ties between the European Union and the United States. She has also worked to strengthen international cooperation on issues such as global health and security, and has been an advocate for increased European defence spending.
II. Early Life
Ursula von der Leyen was born into a prominent German political family on October 8, 1958, in Brussels, Belgium. Her father, Ernst Albrecht, was a prominent German politician and European civil servant who served as prime minister of the state of Lower Saxony from 1976 to 1990. Her mother, a medical doctor, was also politically engaged, engaging in a number of charities and public works causes.
Due to her father’s work, von der Leyen spent much of her early life in Brussels and Bonn, Germany. She attended an international school in Bonn, before receiving her baccalaureate from the European School, Brussels. She went on to further her education, receiving an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Göttingen in 1980 and a doctorate in medicine from the University of Hanover in 1987.
In 1991, von der Leyen married Heiko von der Leyen, a businessman, with whom she has seven children. She holds dual citizenship in Germany and Belgium.
Ursula von der Leyen is the first female Chancellor in German history and is a prominent figure in European politics. She is married to Heiko von der Leyen, a business executive. The couple have seven children together, five sons and two daughters. Her eldest son is an army officer, while her youngest daughter was born in 2009.
The von der Leyen family came from a prominent family in the Rhineland. Ursula’s father, Ernst Albrecht, was a prominent politician and former Prime Minister of Lower Saxony. Her mother, Antoinette Albrecht, was a successful lawyer.
Ursula is the aunt of Philipp Amthor, a Member of the German Bundestag. She is also related to the von der Leyen family of French nobles, which includes Carl Philipp von der Leyen, a former Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs in the French government.
Outside of her political career, Ursula von der Leyen is an avid skier and enjoys reading and cultural activities. She also enjoys spending time with her family and her seven grandchildren.
Ursula von der Leyen is a German politician and current President of the European Commission. She is the first woman to hold the office. Prior to her current position, she served as the Minister of Defence in the German government from 2013 to 2019. She is well-educated and has a long history of training and study in various subjects.
Early Education
Ursula von der Leyen was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1958. She attended school in Brussels and then studied economics at the University of Göttingen, graduating with a degree in economics in 1980. She also attended the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she received an MSc in economics.
Postgraduate Education
Ursula von der Leyen pursued further education after her undergraduate degree. She attended Harvard University, where she received a Master of Public Administration in 1991. She also received a doctorate from the University of Münster in 1991. Her doctoral thesis was titled “The Development of a System of Opportunities for Children and Young People”.
Continuing Education
Ursula von der Leyen has continued her education even after her appointment as Minister of Defence in 2013. In 2015, she completed a training course in military strategic communication at the NATO Defense College in Rome. She has also spoken at the European Security and Defence College in Brussels on several occasions.
Conclusion
Ursula von der Leyen has a long history of education and study. From her initial education in Brussels and Göttingen to her postgraduate studies in London and Harvard, she has established herself as a highly educated individual. Despite her busy political career, she has also taken time to attend courses and seminars, showing her dedication to furthering her knowledge in a variety of subjects.
Ursula von der Leyen (born 18 October 1958) is a German politician who currently serves as President of the European Commission. She is the first woman to hold the office, and the first German to take on the role since the establishment of the European Union in 1993.
Von der Leyen began her career in politics in 2003, when she was elected to the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She held numerous ministerial posts in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, including Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Labour and Social Affairs, and Defence. Von der Leyen was also the first woman to serve as the Minister of Defence in Germany.
Prior to her election as President of the European Commission, von der Leyen was a member of the European Parliament, where she was the European People’s Party (EPP) Vice-President on the Constitutional Affairs committee. In 2019, the European Council nominated her as the Commission President, which was later approved by the European Parliament.
As President of the European Commission, von der Leyen has focused on tackling climate change, strengthening the EU’s external borders, and strengthening the EU’s internal security. She has also proposed a European Green Deal, as well as a European “Digital Decade”, which aims to ensure that Europe is the world’s leading digital economy.
Von der Leyen has been recognised for her work on behalf of the European Union, receiving the Charlemagne Prize for European Unity in 2020.
III. Political Career
III. Political Career
Ursula von der Leyen began her political career in 1990, when she became a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). As a member of the CDU, she served in various positions including: Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth of the federal state of Lower Saxony (2003-2005); Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs (2005-2009); and Federal Minister of Defence (2013-2019).
In 2019, she was elected as President of the European Commission, becoming the first woman to hold the position. As President, von der Leyen has championed ambitious climate policies, such as the European Green Deal, partnerships with African countries to combat illegal migration, and the creation of a single European market.
Von der Leyen has also been involved in foreign policy initiatives, such as mediating in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. She has also been involved in the negotiation of a long-term UK-EU trade agreement and a multibillion-euro recovery package for Europe in the wake of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
While President of the European Commission, von der Leyen is widely considered to be a “bridge builder” between different political ideologies in the EU. She is seen as a political centrist who is willing to compromise and build consensus in order to move the EU forward.
Ursula von der Leyen, born Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen in 1958 in Brussels, Belgium, is a German politician who has been serving as President of the European Commission since 2019. She is the first woman to hold the office and was the first woman to serve as Minister of Defense in Germany.
Early Years
Ursula von der Leyen was born in Brussels, Belgium to Ernst Albrecht, a prominent German civil servant, and his wife, a British citizen. She grew up in Brussels and grew up speaking German and French. She attended high school in Brussels and then went on to study economics at the University of Göttingen, Germany.
Ursula von der Leyen gained her social political conscience in the late 1970s, when she joined the German Greens, a youth group that was part of the environmental movement. She then went on to study law at the University of Göttingen and earned a doctorate in 1989.
In 2003, Ursula von der Leyen was appointed Minister of Social Affairs in the Cabinet of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. During her term, she focused on improving education and employment opportunities for women, promoting social security and providing better access to healthcare. In 2005, she was appointed minister of family affairs, senior citizens, women and youth, a position she held until 2009.
In 2009, Ursula von der Leyen was appointed Minister of Defense in the Cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel. She held this position until 2019, when she was elected President of the European Commission. In this role, she has taken a leading role in promoting European unity, increasing the EU’s role in global security, and tackling climate change.
References
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Boffey, Daniel (2019). “Ursula von der Leyen: A Political Biography”. Routledge.
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Van Dam, Peter (2019). “The Making of Ursula von der Leyen: Germany’s First Female Defense Minister”. St. Martin’s Press.
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Hans-Dieter Lucas and Anke Peters (eds.), “Ursula von der Leyen – A Leader”, E-Book, International Political Science Association.
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“Europe Elects: Ursula von der Leyen”, 2019. http://www.europe-elects.eu/woman-of-the-month/ursula-von-der-leyen/
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“Ursula von der Leyen”, European Commission, 2019. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2014-2019/leyen_en
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“Ursula von der Leyen: The German politician set to lead the European Union”, BBC News, 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48915575
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“Ursula von der Leyen - Vice-President of the European Commission”, 2019. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2014-2019/leyen_en/biography_en
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