Sahra Wagenknecht

Sahra Wagenknecht
MdB
Sahra Wagenknecht MdB
	Wagenknecht in 2023
Leader of; Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 8 January 2024 Serving with Amira Mohamed Ali
General Secretary	Christian Leye
Deputy	Shervin Haghsheno
Preceded by	Position established
Leader of Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht; in the Bundestag
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 11 December 2023
Whip	Jessica Tatti
Deputy	Klaus Ernst
Preceded by	Position established
Leader of the Opposition
	In office; 12 October 2015 – 24 October 2017 Serving with Dietmar Bartsch
Preceded by	Gregor Gysi
Leader of The Left in the Bundestag
	In office; 12 October 2015 – 12 November 2019 Serving with Dietmar Bartsch
Whip	Jan Korte
Deputy	Sevim Dağdelen; Caren Lay
Preceded by	Gregor Gysi
Succeeded by	Amira Mohamed Ali
Preceded by
Parliamentary constituencies
Member of the Bundestag; for North Rhine-Westphalia
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 27 October 2009
Preceded by	multi-member district
Constituency	The Left List
Member of the European Parliament; for Germany
	In office; 20 July 2004 – 14 July 2009
Preceded by	multi-member district
Succeeded by	multi-member district
Constituency	Party of Democratic Socialism List
Personal details
Born	Sarah Wagenknecht; 16 July 1969 (age 54); Jena, Bezirk Gera, East Germany (now Thuringia, Germany)
Political party	Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (2023–)
Other political; affiliations	The Left (2007–2023); Party of Democratic; Socialism (1989–2007); Socialist Unity Party (1989);
Spouses	Ralph-Thomas Niemeyer (m. 1997; div. 2013); Oskar Lafontaine (m. 2014);
Residence	Merzig-Silwingen
Education	University of Groningen; TU Chemnitz
Occupation	Politician; publicist; author;
Website	sahra-wagenknecht.de

Sahra Wagenknecht (born Sarah Wagenknecht; German: [ˌzaːʁa ˈvaːɡŋ̍ˌknɛçt]; 16 July 1969) is a German politician, economist, author, and publicist.^[1] Since 2009 she has been a member of the Bundestag, where until 2023 she represented The Left. From 2015 to 2019, she served as that party's parliamentary co-chair. With a small team of allies, she left the party on 23 October 2023 to found her own party in 2024, Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht, to contest elections onwards.^[2]

Wagenknecht became a prominent member of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) from the early 1990s. After the foundation of The Left, she became a leading member of one of the party's most left-wing factions as leader of the Communist Platform. She has been a controversial figure throughout her career due to her hardline and populist stances, statements about East Germany, immigration and refugees (which moved away from traditional antiracism), and her political movement Aufstehen.^[3]^[4]^[5] From 2020 onward Wagenknecht was less active in parliament, but often interviewed by German media. She is not a member of any parliamentary committee.^[6]

Since 2021 she had openly considered forming her own party, due to growing and enduring conflicts within the Left Party and at the end of September 2023 she formed the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance political party, better known as BSW (Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht), in the start of 2024.

^ Deutschland, RedaktionsNetzwerk (21 March 2023). "Sahra Wagenknecht: 750.000 Euro Nebeneinkünfte 2022 durch Buchhonorar und Vorträge". www.rnd.de (in German). Retrieved 9 January 2024.
^ Henley, Jon (23 October 2023). "German firebrand politician quits far-left Die Linke to set up her own party". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
^ "German Left's Wagenknecht to stand down". Deutsche Welle. 11 March 2019. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
^ "Germany's political outliers who embarrass their parties". Deutsche Welle. 6 July 2021. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
^ "Sahra Wagenknecht: the uncompromising face of the Left party". Deutsche Welle. 25 August 2017. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
^ "Linksfraktion im Bundestag: Aus eins wird drei?". www.fr.de (in German). 19 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.

[:0-1] Deutschland, RedaktionsNetzwerk (21 March 2023). "Sahra Wagenknecht: 750.000 Euro Nebeneinkünfte 2022 durch Buchhonorar und Vorträge". www.rnd.de (in German). Retrieved 9 January 2024.

[2] Henley, Jon (23 October 2023). "German firebrand politician quits far-left Die Linke to set up her own party". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.

[3] "German Left's Wagenknecht to stand down". Deutsche Welle. 11 March 2019. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.

[4] "Germany's political outliers who embarrass their parties". Deutsche Welle. 6 July 2021. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.

[5] "Sahra Wagenknecht: the uncompromising face of the Left party". Deutsche Welle. 25 August 2017. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.

[6] "Linksfraktion im Bundestag: Aus eins wird drei?". www.fr.de (in German). 19 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.

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