Stefan Seidler is a Danish-German politician of the South Schleswig Voters' Association (SSW), the party representing the interests of the Danish and Frisian minority populations in Germany. He was elected to the Bundestag from Schleswig-Holstein in the 2021 German federal election. His election represented the first time the SSW won a seat since 1949. The SSW last contested a federal election in the 1961 West German election.[1]
Stefan Seidler | |
|---|---|
 Seidler in 2021 | |
| Member of the Bundestag for Schleswig-Holstein | |
| Assumed office 26 October 2021 | |
| Constituency | List |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 December 1979 Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany |
| Political party | South Schleswig Voters' Association |
| Other political affiliations | Danish Social Liberal Party |
| Alma mater | Aarhus University |
| Website | stefan-seidler |
Early life and education
editSeidler was born in 1979 in Flensburg, West Germany, as the son of a Danish-born teacher and a timber salesman from Flensburg.[2] After completing his secondary education at Duborg-Skolen, he studied at Aarhus University in Aarhus, Denmark, where he obtained a master's degree in political science[3] and a diploma in political communication.[4] He is a member of the Danish Association of Lawyers and Economists.[3]
Political career
editSeidler has been politically active in both Denmark and Germany. In Aarhus, he was deputy chairman of Radikal Ungdom, the youth wing of the Danish Social Liberal Party, and later was that party's candidate for both the Danish Parliament and the European Parliament.[5] He was a member of Flensburg's city council, worked as a political consultant in Southern Denmark, and in 2014, became Schleswig-Holstein's coordinator of relations with the Danish government.[3]
In 2021, he contested the constituency of Flensburg – Schleswig, located at the German-Danish border, for the SSW. He was defeated by Robert Habeck from Alliance 90/The Greens, but won a seat on the party's state list.[6]
Personal life
editSeidler is married and has two daughters.[3]
References
edit- ^ "Danska minoriteten kan ta plats i tyska parlamentet". DN.SE (in Swedish). 2021-09-25. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
- ^ "Stefan Seidler". stefan-seidler.info (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-09-27.
- ^ a b c d "Stefan Seidler". www.ssw.de (in German). Retrieved 2021-09-27.
- ^ "Vejlenser valgt til det tyske parlament - den nyvalgte Stefan Seidler bor i Grønnedalen". vafo.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-09-27.
- ^ "Tidligere Duborg-student er politisk bindeled mellem Slesvig-Holsten og Danmark | Dansk Skoleforening for Sydslesvig e.V." www.skoleforeningen.org. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
- ^ "Danish minority gets representation in German parliament". The Local. 27 September 2021.