“Germany's Political Landscape in an Election Year

The Indianapolis Eric M. Warburg Chapter of the American Council on Germany and the Independent Colleges of Indiana are sponsoring a breakfast and discussion with four members of the German Bundestag with additional support from the Indianapolis/Cologne Sister City Committee and the Max Kade German-American Center.

Participants and their political parties are Dr. Maria Flachsbarth (CDU/CSU), Dagmar Freitag, (SPD), Bartholomäus Kalb (CDU/CSU), and Volker Schneider (DIE LINKE).

The presentation, titled “Germany's Political Landscape in an Election Year”, will be held from 8:15-9:30 a.m. 31 March in the Independent Colleges of Indiana offices,
3135 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis.

This event is free of charge, but seating is limited. To attend, please advise Linda, 317:236-6090, ext. 221.

Dr. Flachsbarth has been a Member of the German Bundestag since 2002. She has also served as Chairwoman of the Hanover district branch of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2007, and as Deputy Chairwoman of the Lower Saxony Land branch of the CDU since 2006. She served as chairwoman of the Handover land county branch of the CDU from 2002 to 2007, after serving as head of the press office at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover. She joined the Young Union (youth sector of the CDU/CSU) in 1980 and has been a member of the CDU since 1991.

Ms. Freitag is the sports spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group and has been a Member of the German Bundestag since 1994. She also serves as commentator for the SPD in the Council of Elders Commission on the internal affairs of the Bundestag, and as Vice President of the German Athletics Association. She has been a Member of the SPD Sports Council for the federal state North Rhine-Westphalia since 2000, Member of the SPD Executive Board for the federal state North Rhine-Westphalia since 2001, and Member of the Executive Board of both the SPD and the Bundestag group for North Rhine-Westphalia since 2005. She is also a substitute member of the Bundestag Finance Committee and the Bundestag Internal Affairs Committee.

Mr. Kalb has been a Member of the German Bundestag since 1987. He has served as leader of the CSU group on the Deggendorf county council, Deputy Mayor of Künzing, and as a member of the Bavarian Parliament. Mr. Kalb was awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit in 1995 and the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1998.

Mr. Schneider has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2005. He has served as a professor of vocational education in the BFW Saar GmbH, and as CEO of the German Federal Association for Social Work (DBSH). Mr. Schneider was a founding member of the Party of Labor and Social Justice – the Election Alternative (WASG) in 2005, and is also a Member of the German Association for Social Work Association.