Marie-Luise "Malu" Dreyer (born 6 February 1961) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the 8th minister-president of Rhineland-Palatinate from 2013 to 2024. She is the first woman to hold this office. She served a one-year-term as president of the Federal Council from 1 November 2016 – 31 October 2017, which made her deputy to the president of Germany while in office. She was the second female president of the Federal Council and the sixth woman holding one of the five highest federal offices in Germany. On 19 June 2024 she announced her resignation from the office of minister-president with effect from 10 July.
Early life and education Dreyer was born the second of three children of a principal and a teacher. Following a year as an exchange student at Claremont High School in California in 1977, and her final Abitur exams at the Käthe-Kollwitz-Gymnasium Neustadt in 1980, Dreyer started her English studies and Roman Catholic theology at the University of Mainz. The following year she switched majors to jurisprudence and graduated with the first Staatsexamen in 1987 and the second Staatsexamen three years later with an excellent academic record.
Career From 1989, Dreyer worked at the University of Mainz as a research assistant to Professor Hans-Joachim Pflug. In 1991 she received her appointment as a probationary judge, and later as a prosecutor in Bad Kreuznach.
SPD politician since 1995 Dreyer joined the SPD in 1995 and was mayor of the city of Bad Kreuznach from 1995 to 1997. From 1997 she was head of department for social affairs, youth and housing in the state capital of Mainz. Having served as State Minister of Social Affairs, Labor, Health and Demography since 2002, she was the designated successor of incumbent Minister-president Kurt Beck, who announced his upcoming resignation from the post on 28 September 2012. She was officially elected on 16 January 2013.
As one of Rhineland-Palatinate's representatives at the Bundesrat, Dreyer serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and on the Committee on European Union Affairs.
In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the SPD following the 2013 federal elections, Dreyer was part of the SPD delegation in the working group on cultural and media affairs, led by Michael Kretschmer and Klaus Wowereit.
In the 2016 state elections, Dreyer managed to convert her high personal approval ratings into a 36.2% win against her opponent Julia Klöckner,What Germany's state election results mean for its politics The Economist blog, 14 March 2016. improving her party's 2011 result by half a percentage point.Philip Oltermann (14 March 2016), German elections: the candidates who backed Merkel's refugee stance – and won The Guardian. In electing Dreyer, the electorate voted to keep the SPD in office for their sixth consecutive term.Kate Brady (13 March 2016), Rhineland-Palatinate plays it safe, re-electing SPD for sixth consecutive term Deutsche Welle.
During her second term in office, Dreyer's government decided to sell the state's 82.5 percent stake in the loss-making Frankfurt–Hahn Airport in western Germany to Chinese conglomerate HNA Group.Victoria Bryan (1 March 2017), German region decides to sell Hahn airport to China's HNA Reuters.
In late 2017, SPD members elected Dreyer to the party's national leadership for the first time as a vice chair.Emily Schultheis (5 January 2018), 8 key players in Germany's coalition talks Politico Europe. In the negotiations to form a fourth coalition government under Merkel following the 2017 federal elections, she led the working group on health policy, alongside Hermann Gröhe and Georg Nüßlein.
Dreyer was nominated by her party as delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2022.17th Federal Convention, 13 February 2022, List of Members Bundestag.
Political positions Following the 2017 national elections, Dreyer warned against another grand coalition and favoured a minority government.
Other activities ZDF, chairwoman of the Board of Directors, since 2017Board of Directors ZDF. Max Planck Society, member of the SenateSenate, as of April 6, 2020 Max Planck Society. Central Committee of German Catholics, memberMembers Central Committee of German Catholics. Deutsches Museum, member of the Board of TrusteesBoard of TrusteesDeutsches Museum. Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), memberMembers Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES). Fritz Walter Foundation, member of the Advisory BoardAdvisory Board Fritz Walter Foundation. Stiftung Mainzer Herz, member of the Board of Trustees Stiftung Rheinland-Pfalz für Kultur, chairwoman of the Board of Trustees European Foundation for the Speyer Cathedral, member of the Board of Trustees
Honours 2023 Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Personal life Since 2004, Dreyer has been married to , a fellow SPD politician and a former mayor of Trier, who had been widowed three years earlier.
She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1994."Malu Dreyer zum 50.: Mit Leib und Seele Sozialpolitikerin". Rhein-Zeitung, retrieved 28 September 2012. This inhibits her physical movement. She made her illness public in 2006, and, when travelling she now always takes her "Rolli" (wheelchair) along, for covering longer distances.
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