Ursula von der Leyen Short biography
Ursula von der Leyen (born 8 October 1958) is a German physician and politician serving as the 13th President of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding successive positions in Angela Merkel's cabinet, most recently as Federal Minister of Defence. Von der Leyen is a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its EU affiliated group, the European People's Party (EPP).
Von der Leyen was born in Brussels, Belgium, where her father was a senior official in the European Commission. She studied economics and medicine at the University of Göttingen and the Hannover Medical School, respectively. After graduating, she worked as a physician and professor of medicine. She entered politics in 1990, joining the CDU. She was elected to the Parliament of Lower Saxony in 2003 and served as a minister in the state government from 2003 to 2005.
In 2005, von der Leyen was appointed Federal Minister of Family Affairs and Youth in the cabinet of Angela Merkel. She held this position until 2009, when she was appointed Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. In 2013, she was appointed Federal Minister of Defence, becoming the first woman to hold the post. As Minister of Defence, von der Leyen oversaw the Bundeswehr's withdrawal from Afghanistan and the deployment of German troops to Mali. She also initiated a number of reforms to the Bundeswehr, including increasing the number of female soldiers and modernising the military's equipment.
In 2019, von der Leyen was nominated by the European Council as the candidate for President of the European Commission. She was elected by the European Parliament on 16 July 2019, and took office on 1 December 2019. As President of the European Commission, von der Leyen has overseen the EU's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the energy crisis. She has also been a strong advocate for climate action and the rule of law.
