Susanne Hennig-Wellsow

Susanne Hennig-Wellsow (born Susanne Hennig on 13 October 1977) is a German politician and member of the Landtag of Thuringia since 2004.[1] She has served as leader of the Thuringia branch of The Left since November 2013,[2] and leader of the party's parliamentary group since December 2014.

Susanne Hennig-Wellsow
Hennig-Wellsow in 2019.
Leader of The Left in Thuringia
Assumed office
17 November 2013
DeputySteffen Dittes
Heike Werner
Preceded byKnut Korschewsky
Leader of The Left in the Landtag of Thuringia
Assumed office
10 December 2014
DeputyRonald Hande
Katja Mitteldorf
Preceded byBodo Ramelow
Member of the Landtag of Thuringia
Assumed office
30 August 2009
Preceded byMichael Panse
ConstituencyErfurt II
Majority10,014 (32.7%)
In office
13 June 2004 – 30 August 2009
ConstituencyList
Personal details
Born
Susanne Hennig

(1977-10-13) 13 October 1977
Demmin, East Germany
Political partyThe Left (2007–present)
PDS (before 2007)
Children1
ResidenceErfurt, Thuringia
Alma materUniversity of Erfurt

Early life and education

Hennig-Wellsow was born Susanne Hennig in Demmin in 1977, then a town in East Germany. Her father did military service in the National People's Army and subsequently worked as a truck driver and police officer. Her mother was a registrar and worked in the Ministry of the Interior from the mid-1990s. Hennig graduated from Erfurt sports high school in 1996. From 1984 to 1999 she was a competitive athlete in speed skating. In 1996 Hennig began studying educational science at the University of Erfurt, which she completed in 2001 as a graduate teacher. Hennig-Wellsow is married, has one child and lives in Erfurt.[1]

Political career

In 2001, Hennig began working for the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) parliamentary group as a research assistant for education and the media. In the 2004 state election, she was elected to the Landtag on the PDS party list.[1] Hennig became a member of The Left after the PDS merged into the new party in 2007.

In the 2009 state election, Hennig was re-elected to the Landtag, this time as member for the Erfurt II constituency; she defeated incumbent CDU deputy Michael Panse to win the seat. In November 2011, Hennig became deputy leader of the Thuringia branch of The Left.[3]

At the Left party conference in Suhl held from 16 to 17 November 2013, Hennig was elected leader of the party.[2] She won 76 of 134 delegate votes (56.7%) against two other candidates.

Hennig-Wellsow was re-elected in Erfurt II in the 2014 state election, winning 31.0% of votes. After Bodo Ramelow was elected Minister-President in December, Hennig-Wellsow succeeded him as leader of the Left parliamentary group.

At a party conference in Gotha in November 2015, Hennig-Wellsow was re-elected as party leader with 75.4% of votes. Her re-election was met with controversy, as it is unusual within The Left for the leadership of both the party and parliamentary group to be held by the same person. An amendment to prevent this practice was proposed but defeated, and Hennig-Wellsow retained both positions.[4] Hennig-Wellsow was re-elected once again in 2017 with 85% of votes.[5]

Hennig-Wellsow was re-elected in the 2019 state election with an increased majority of 32.7%.[6] Two weeks later in November, she was re-elected as party leader.[7]

Hennig-Wellsow attracted nationwide attention during the February 2020 Thuringian government crisis. After Thomas Kemmerich was elected Minister-President with the support of Alternative for Germany (AfD), the leaders of the state parliamentary groups were invited to congratulate him and present him with a bouquet of flowers. As the leader of the largest group, Hennig-Wellsow was the first in line: however, she refused to shake his hand, instead dropping the bouquet at his feet and walking away in protest.[8] The incident was widely reported nationally and internationally;[9][10] RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland described it as "a moment for the history books".[11]

In September 2020, Hennig-Wellsow announced her candidacy for co-chair of the federal Left party. This followed the announcement that incumbent Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger would not seek re-election at the party congress in October/November. She also welcomed the candidacy of Janine Wissler, and expressed her hope for the election of an all-female co-leadership.[12]

References
  1. "Über mich". Susannehennig.de.
  2. "Suhl November 2013". The Left Thuringia.
  3. "Sömmerda November 2011". The Left Thuringia.
  4. "Hennig-Wellsow zur Landesvoritzenden wiedergewählt". Welt.de. 15 November 2015.
  5. "Hennig-Wellsow bleibt Linken-Voritzende in Thüringen". Welt.de. 25 November 2017.
  6. "Wahlen in Thüringen".
  7. "Erfurt Dezember 2019". The Left Thuringia.
  8. "German leftist leader throws flowers at feet of liberal politician who worked with far-right". The Independent. 6 February 2020.
  9. "Post-war 'taboo broken' as far right becomes German state kingmaker". Sydney Morning Herald. 6 February 2020.
  10. "Germany's Far Right Puts First Crack in Establishment's Defenses". Bloomberg News. 8 February 2020.
  11. "Die ist dei Frau, die Kemmerich die Blumen vor die Füße warf". RND.de. 7 February 2020.
  12. "My candidacy, my vision: #Embolden". Susanne Hennig. 4 September 2020.
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