| Maria Klein-Schmeink | |
| Office: | Member of the Bundestag |
| Term Start: | 2017 |
| Birth Date: | 1958 1, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Hamminkeln, West Germany |
| Party: | Greens |
| Nationality: | German |
| Children: | 1 |
| Alma Mater: | University of Münster |
Maria Anna Klein-Schmeink (born 6 January 1958) is a German politician of Alliance 90/The Greens who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2009.[1]
Klein-Schmeink studied sociology at the University of Münster from 1977 to 1984 and graduated with a master's degree. While still a student, she began working as a volunteer for the Sozialpädagogisches Bildungswerk Münster (Sobi).
After completing her studies until 2002, Klein-Schmeink worked full-time in a leading position for the Sobi. From 1986 to 1988 she was involved in the establishment of the institution "cultur- und begegnungszentrum achtermannstraße" (c.u.b.a.). From 2002 until she moved to the German Bundestag in 2009, she worked as a legislative advisor to the Green Party's group in the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia.
In parliament, Klein-Schmeink is a member of the Committee on Health. Since 2014 she has been serving as her parliamentary group's spokesperson on health policy.[2] [3] In 2020, she succeeded Katja Dörner as one her parliamentary group's deputy chairs, under the leadership of co-chairs Katrin Göring-Eckardt and Anton Hofreiter.[4]
In addition to her committee assignments, Klein-Schmeink is part of the German-Austrian Parliamentary Friendship Group.[5]
In the negotiations to form a so-called traffic light coalition of the Social Democrats (SPD), the Green Party and the FDP following the 2021 federal elections, Klein-Schmeink led her party's delegation in the working group on health policy; her co-chairs from the other parties were Katja Pähle and Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus.[6]
In the negotiations to form a coalition government under the leadership of Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrik Wüst following the 2022 state elections, Klein-Schmeink was part of her party’s delegation.[7]
In March 2024, Klein-Schmeink announced that she would not stand in the 2025 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.[8]