Birgit Honé Explained

Honorific-Suffix:MdL MdBR
Office1:Minister of Federal and European Affairs and Regional Development
Term Start1:22 November 2017
Term End1:8 November 2022
Predecessor1:Wolfgang Senff
Successor1:Wiebke Osigus
Office2:Member of the European Committee of the Regions
Term Start2:15 November 2013
Party:Social Democratic Party
Birth Date:8 November 1960
Birth Place:Bad Schwartau, West Germany
Residence:Sehnde
Children:1

Birgit Honé (born 8 November 1960) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as Minister of Federal and European Affairs and Regional Development in the state government of Minister-President Stephan Weil of Lower Saxony from 2017 to 2022.[1] In this capacity, was also a member of the German Bundesrat.[2]

Career in the public sector

From 1999 to 2002, Honé worked at the State Chancellery. Appointed by Minister-President Sigmar Gabriel, she later served as district president of Lüneburg from 2002 until 2004.

From 2004 to 2013, Honé served as a member of the Senate of the Lower Saxony State Audit Office.[3] In this capacity, she was responsible for auditing the annual budgets of the State Ministry of the Interior (2004–2013), the State Ministry of the Environment (2004–2010), the State Ministry of Agriculture (2004–2010) and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (2004–2013).

Political career

Ahead of the 2013 state elections, Stephan Weil included Honé in his shadow cabinet for the Social Democrats’ campaign to unseat incumbent Minister President David McAllister.[4]

As one of the state's representatives at the Bundesrat from 2017 to 2022, Honé was a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on European Affairs. She was also a member of the German-French Friendship Group set up by the German Bundesrat and the French Senate. In addition, she was a member of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR).

Honé was nominated by her party as delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2022.[5]

Also in 2022, Honé was part of the Hannover SPD's three-member arbitration committee that decided that former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder had not violated any party rules by maintaining close ties to the Russian government and would be allowed to remain a party member.[6] [7]

Other activities

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ministerin Birgit Honé . Niedersachsen . 22 October 2021 . de.
  2. Web site: Birgit Honé . Bundesrat . 22 October 2021 . de . 22 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211022215130/https://www.bundesrat.de/SharedDocs/personen/DE/laender/ni/hone-birgit.html . dead .
  3. https://www.haz.de/Nachrichten/Politik/Niedersachsen/Hone-wird-Schatten-Ministerin-bei-Weil Honé wird Schatten-Ministerin bei Weil
  4. https://www.haz.de/Nachrichten/Politik/Niedersachsen/Hone-wird-Schatten-Ministerin-bei-Weil Honé wird Schatten-Ministerin bei Weil
  5. https://www.landtag-niedersachsen.de/drucksachen/drucksachen_18_12500/10001-10500/18-10450.pdf Drucksache 18/10450: Niedersächsische Mitglieder der 17. Bundesversammlung am 13. Februar 2022
  6. Nadine Conti (14 July 2022), Parteiordnungsverfahren gegen Ex-Kanzler: Schröder bleibt wohl Genosse Die Tageszeitung.
  7. Andreas Rinke (2 March 2023), German ex-leader Schroeder to remain member of Scholz's SPD despite Russia ties Reuters.
  8. https://www.spd-wirtschaftsforum.de/das-wirtschaftsforum/politischer-beirat/ Political Advisory Board
  9. https://www.stiftung-evz.de/eng/the-foundation/board-of-trustees.html Board of Trustees