The latest German elections have brought all kinds of changes to the German political scene. Not only does it feature the departure of Angela Merkel after 16 years in power, but it also showed major progress to leftist parties including many new members of immigrant backgrounds.
While it remains unclear which political party will be able to form a government coalition first, the 2021 Bundestag elections have reflected several changes in the German society, including the win of four members of Middle Eastern backgrounds.
Centre-left Social Democrats claim narrow win in German election https://t.co/sh95FvZjwQ
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) September 27, 2021
1. Rasha Nasr
Born in Dresden to a Syrian immigrant family, Rasha graduated from the TU Dresden with a BA in political science and philosophy before being active in the Social Democratic Party.
The 28-year old civil engineer lived in the Iraqi-Kurdish city of Zakho before his family moved to Plauen, Vogtland where he grew up. He is a member of the Green party.
Representing the winning Social Democratic Party of Germany, Reem comes from Iraqi-Kurdish origins. She was born in Moscow in 1990 and studied political science at the Free University of Berlin. She is also a boxing enthusiast who played with Box Girls Berlin for many years.
4. Lamya Kaddor
Is Italy Becoming More Welcoming of Immigrants? 20-Year Old Egyptian-Italian Enters Local ElectionsThe 43-year old German scholar of Islamic studies was born near the city of Münster to Syrian parents. She has been a teacher of Islamic education in several schools and has published the first German Qur'an translation for children and adults. Lamya won her seat representing the Green party.
In recent years, Germany has welcomed millions of refugees amid growing criticism by the right-wing parties. However, this has resulted in new generations of immigrants where the younger ones have achieved different levels of integration.
Written by Riham Darwish
