German politician
Anke Hennig (born 7 October 1964 in Osnabrück) is a German politician for the SPD and has been a member of the Bundestag, the federal diet since 2021.
Life
Hennig was born in 1964 in the West German city of Osnabrück and was elected to the Bundestag in 2021.[1] After graduating from the Völker public school in Osnabrück, Hennig first worked as a taxi driver in Bramsche. In 1989 she worked as an office assistant in Hamburg. Two years later she moved back to Bramsche and worked as an office assistant in a building materials store and a car rental company. Between 2002 and 2006 she worked again as a taxi driver. Then in 2007 she went to Australia with her two children and worked there in a German discount store until 2008. After returning to Bramsche again, she worked in child day care and qualified as a child day care worker.[2] Until 2021, she worked at a primary school in Bramsche, where she was responsible for homework supervision and afternoon activities.[1][3]
Anke Hennig is the daughter of the former SPD member of the Lower Saxony state parliament Helga Lewandowsky.[4] She is married and has three children, two daughters and a foster son.[3][5]
Politics
Anke Hennig joined the SPD in 1986.[6] In 2011 she was elected to the local council of Achmer, a district of Bramsche.[7] Since 2015 she has also been a member of the Bramsche town council. There she is chair of the Social Affairs and Sports Committee and a member of the School and Culture Committee.[8] In 2018 she became local mayor in Achmer.[3][9]
In the 2021 federal election, she ran for her party as a direct candidate in the Osnabrück-Land constituency[10] and in 18th place on the Lower Saxony state list. In the constituency she lost to the CDU candidate André Berghegger, but entered the German Bundestag via the state list.[11][12] In the 20th German Bundestag, she is a member of the Committee for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and a deputy member of the Committee for Food and Agriculture and the Committee for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid. She is also deputy chair of the German-Pacific Parliamentary Group and a deputy member of the Council of Elders Commission for Matters concerning Members of Parliament's Staff.[13]
In the SPD parliamentary group, Hennig has been deputy spokesperson of the working group on family, seniors, women and youth since 25 January 2022[14] and deputy spokesperson of the working group on queer policy since 14 February 2022.[15][16]
