Katja Wolf Explained

Katja Wolf
Birth Name:Katja Hofer
Birth Date:7 March 1976
Birth Place:Erfurt, East Germany
Party:BSW (2024–present)
Children:2
Alma Mater:University of Erfurt
Occupation:Social workerPolitician
Office1:Member of the Landtag of Thuringia
Termstart1:1 September 2024
Otherparty:PDS (1999–2007)
The Left (2007–2024)
Office3:Mayor of Eisenach
Term Start3:1 July 2012
Term End3:30 June 2024
Predecessor3:Matthias Doht
Successor3:Christoph Ihling
Termstart2:1 October 1999
Termend2:30 June 2012

Katja Wolf (born 7 March 1976) is a German politician (BSW, formely The Left). She was member of Landtag of Thuringia from 1999 to 2012 for The Left. Between 2012 and 2024, she served as the mayor of Eisenach in Thuringia. She switched in 2024 to the newly founded BSW, is state chairmen of BSW Thuringia, got elected in the 2024 Thuringian state election and will be the parliamentary group leader in the Thuringian state parliament.

Biography

After completing her Abitur in 1994 at the Heinrich-Hertz-Gymnasium in Erfurt, Wolf studied social work at the University of Applied Sciences Erfurt and graduated with a diploma in 1999. From January to August 1999 she worked as a researcher for the Landtag of Thuringia. In the 1999 Thuringian state election, she was elected at an age of 23 to the Thuringian state parliament for The Left Thuringia. Wolf became chair of the Equal Opportunities Committee (Gleichstellungsausschuss) and environmental policy spokesperson for the parliamentary group.[1] She has been a member of the Eisenach city council since 2004.

In the 2009 Thuringian state election, Wolf won the direct mandate in the constituency of Wartburgkreis II - Eisenach. For the Left, she was chairwoman of the Equal Opportunities Committee and environmental policy spokesperson for the parliamentary group.

For the 2012 Thuringian municipal elections, Wolf stood as a candidate for mayor of the city of Eisenach. On 6 May 2012, she was elected mayor with 51.6% of the vote.[2] On 15 June 2015, a recall petition filed by the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) in city council also attracted considerable attention beyond the region when 16 out of 34 city councillors voted in favour of the motion in secret ballot, although the NPD had only three seats.[3]

She is the lead candidate for Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht in the 2024 Thuringian state election. She was elected, and the party got 15 seats and third place after the AfD and CDU. Wolf negotiated for the BSW Thuringia with the CDU and SPD about a coalition in Thuringia. At the end of October 2024, the three parties presented a paper that recognized the parties' different positions on foreign policy. The Federal Executive Board led by Sahra Wagenkencht consequently opposed the decision to start coalition negotiations.[4] [5]

Wolf has no religious affiliation. Wolf is married and has two children.

Positions

According to her own statements, Wolf joined the BSW in order to weaken the AfD. After the 2024 election, she announced that the BSW Thuringia wanted to talk to all parties except the AfD about a pure coalition.[6]

Links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2024-08-18 . Die Abtrünnige: In ihrer Ex-Partei schauen sie Katja Wolf nicht mehr in die Augen . 2024-09-28 . www.t-online.de . de.
  2. Web site: Gründer- und Innovationszentrum: Wartburgstadt Eisenach . www.gis-eisenach.de . 6 May 2012.
  3. Web site: Abwahlantrag sorgt bundesweit für Aufsehen . Paul-Philipp Braun . EisenachOnline . 2015-06-16 . 2015-06-16 . de.
  4. Web site: Palzer . Kerstin . "Palastrevolution" im Bündnis Wagenknecht . 2024-10-31 . tagesschau.de . de.
  5. Web site: 2024-10-29 . In Thüringen setzt sich Katja Wolf gegen Sahra Wagenknecht durch . 2024-10-31 . FAZ.NET . de.
  6. Web site: deutschlandfunk.de . 2024-09-02 . Katja Wolf: "Thüringen braucht einen politischen Neustart" . 2024-09-28 . Deutschlandfunk . de.