Submission statement: In an age in which anti-immigrant sentiment is rising in popularity again, I wanted to post this article. Cem Özdemir’s life is an example of how much immigration can benefit both the individual and the state.
After state elections in Baden-Württemberg in March, Cem Özdemir has been elected minister president of the southwestern German state.
Beginning with Italy in 1955, Germany signed several bilateral recruitment agreements to attract foreign workers. In 1961, an agreement with Turkey was signed. Cem Özdemir’s father, Abdullah Özdemir, came to Germany in 1963, and his mother, Nihal, in 1964. Their son was born in Urach, Baden-Württemberg, in 1965. As a 16-year-old, Özdemir joined the Green Party, and in 1994, he was elected to the Bundestag, the German parliament. Özdemir, along with the SPD member Leyla Onur, was the first member of the Bundestag of Turkish descent. After a stint in the European Parliament from 2004-2009, Özdemir returned to the Bundestag in 2013.
After the 2021 federal election, he became Food and Agriculture Minister in the so-called traffic light coalition of the SPD, Greens, and FDP. In 2024, while still a federal minister, the Green Party of Baden-Württemberg selected Cem Özdemir as their candidate for the 2026 state election; because of this, Özdemir did not run in the 2025 federal elections. In March of this year, Özdemir led the Greens to a narrow victory of 0.5% over the conservative CDU in the state election, winning 30.2% of the vote. After negotiations, the Greens and the CDU agreed to form a coalition, and today Cem Özdemir was elected minister president of Baden-Württemberg. He is the second minister president with an immigrant background (the Scottish-German politician and former minister president of Lower Saxony, David McAllister, being the first) and the first minister president of Turkish descent.
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Submission statement: In an age in which anti-immigrant sentiment is rising in popularity again, I wanted to post this article. Cem Özdemir’s life is an example of how much immigration can benefit both the individual and the state.
After state elections in Baden-Württemberg in March, Cem Özdemir has been elected minister president of the southwestern German state.
Beginning with Italy in 1955, Germany signed several bilateral recruitment agreements to attract foreign workers. In 1961, an agreement with Turkey was signed. Cem Özdemir’s father, Abdullah Özdemir, came to Germany in 1963, and his mother, Nihal, in 1964. Their son was born in Urach, Baden-Württemberg, in 1965. As a 16-year-old, Özdemir joined the Green Party, and in 1994, he was elected to the Bundestag, the German parliament. Özdemir, along with the SPD member Leyla Onur, was the first member of the Bundestag of Turkish descent. After a stint in the European Parliament from 2004-2009, Özdemir returned to the Bundestag in 2013.
After the 2021 federal election, he became Food and Agriculture Minister in the so-called traffic light coalition of the SPD, Greens, and FDP. In 2024, while still a federal minister, the Green Party of Baden-Württemberg selected Cem Özdemir as their candidate for the 2026 state election; because of this, Özdemir did not run in the 2025 federal elections. In March of this year, Özdemir led the Greens to a narrow victory of 0.5% over the conservative CDU in the state election, winning 30.2% of the vote. After negotiations, the Greens and the CDU agreed to form a coalition, and today Cem Özdemir was elected minister president of Baden-Württemberg. He is the second minister president with an immigrant background (the Scottish-German politician and former minister president of Lower Saxony, David McAllister, being the first) and the first minister president of Turkish descent.
https://preview.redd.it/8qd7j0iryx0h1.png?width=1268&format=png&auto=webp&s=1ebc094d53e2aafe9b25c507a863324b5e7d3eb9
Credit: Lucas Bender
A symbol of hope 😀
Wow
I still don’t understand why the UK and the Netherlands have more racially diverse politics than countries like Germany or France