Katrin Lompscher Explained

Katrin Lompscher
Office:Senator for Urban Development and Housing of Berlin
Term Start:8 December 2016
Term End:2 August 2020
1Blankname:Governing Mayor
1Namedata:Michael Müller
Predecessor:Andreas Geisel
Office1:Senator for Health, Environment and Consumer Protection of Berlin
Term Start1:23 November 2006
Term End1:24 November 2011
Predecessor1:Heidi Knake-Werner
Successor1:Mario Czaja
1Namedata1:Klaus Wowereit
Office3:Member of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin
Term Start3:18 September 2011
Term End3:31 January 2017
Constituency3:DIE LINKE List
Birth Date:7 April 1962
Birth Place:East Berlin, East Germany
Party:The Left
Profession:Politician

Katrin Lompscher (born 7 April 1962) is a German politician who served as Senator for Urban Development and Housing in Berlin in the Senate of Governing Mayor Michael Müller from 2016 to 2020. A member of The Left, she previously served as Senator for Health, Environment and Consumer Protection from 2006 to 2011 in the third Senate of Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit, and as a member of the Abgeordnetenhaus (House of Representatives) of Berlin from 2011 until her resignation in 2017.

Life

Born in East Berlin, German Democratic Republic, Lompscher grew up in a three child household. In 1981, she completed vocational training and began her career as a construction worker. Lompscher graduated from Bauhaus University, Weimar in 1986 with a degree in civil engineering. After giving birth to her son, she worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Urban Design and Architecture at the Bauakademie in Berlin.[1]

Political career

In 1981, Lompscher joined the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, but held no political office in the party.[2] After German reunification, Lompscher became a member of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), and remained a member of the party until its merger with the Electoral Alternative for Labor and Social Justice (WASG) to become The Left. From 1996 to 2000, Lompscher served as a research fellow for the PDS Group in the Abgeordnetenhaus. Lompscher was a district councilor for urban development in Lichtenberg from December 2001 to October 2006. In this position Lompscher helped implement the environmental zone in Berlin, a creation of the Senate of Berlin in an attempt to reduce pollution. After the foundation of the Berlin State Association of The Left, she served as its deputy chairperson.

From 2006 to 2011, Lompscher served as Senator for Health, Environment and Consumer Protection in Berlin. Following the 2011 Berlin state election, Lompscher was elected to the Abgeordnetenhaus. While in the body, Lompscher served as Deputy Leader of Die Linke’s parliamentary group and as its spokesperson for Urban Development, Building and Housing.

After the 2016 state election, the Social Democratic Party (SPD)-led grand coalition government with the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) no longer had the numbers in the Abgeordnetenhaus to continue. As such, Governing Mayor Michael Müller of the SPD formed a red-red-green coalition consisting of the SPD, The Left, and Alliance 90/The Greens. On 8 December 2016, Lompscher returned to the Senate as Senator for Urban Development and Housing. On 31 January 2017 she resigned from the Abgeordnetenhaus and was replaced by fellow party member Philipp Bertram.

Political positions

Lompscher, a self-described “pleasure smoker”, is an advocate for non-smoker protection, but has spoken out against what she calls a “militant smoking ban”.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Katrin Lompscher.
  2. https://www.welt.de/regionales/berlin/article2227570/Katrin-Lompscher.html Welt.de vom 2. Juni 2008
  3. http://www.aerzteblatt.de/archiv/53739 Katrin Lompscher: Die Flexible aus dem Osten.