Ska Keller

Ska Keller
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
Assumed office
1 July 2009
Constituency Germany
Personal details
Born Franziska Maria Keller
(1981-11-22) 22 November 1981
Guben, Germany
Political party  German:
Alliance '90/The Greens
 EU:
The Greens–European Free Alliance
Spouse(s) Markus Drake
Children 0
Alma mater Free University of Berlin
Website www.ska-keller.de

Franziska Maria "Ska" Keller (German: [ˈskaː ˈkɛlɐ]; born 22 November 1981) is a German politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Germany. She is a member of the Alliance '90/The Greens, part of the European Green Party.[1]

She is co-president of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament as well as spokesperson on trade and migration. Ska Keller was the European Greens' frontrunner during the European elections 2014. She is currently serving her second term in office, while she was first elected into the European Parliament at the age of 27 in 2009.

Education

Keller studied Islamic studies, Turkish and Jewish Studies at Free University of Berlin and at Sabancı Üniversitesi in Istanbul. She speaks, besides her native tongue German, also fluent English, French and Spanish, as well as some Turkish and Arabic.[2][3]

Political career

Early beginnings

Since 2001 Keller has been a member of the Green Youth. From 2005 to 2007 she was spokesperson of the Federation of Young European Greens. In 2002 she joined the German Greens. She worked on a statewide referendum against new coal mines in Brandenburg.

Member of the European Parliament, 2009–present

During her first term between 2009 and 2012, Keller served on the Committee on Development. Since 2012, she has been a member of the Committee on International Trade. In addition to her committee assignments, Keller is also member of the Parliament’s delegation with the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee. In this capacity, she focuses on the issues of migration and the EU's relations with Turkey. Since 2015, she has been the Parliament's rapporteur on the temporary emergency relocation scheme of the EU.[4]

From 2009 to 2011, Keller also served as member of the European Parliament’s High-Level Contact Group for Relations with the Turkish Cypriot Community in the Northern Part of the Island (CYTR).[5]

In January 2014 Keller won the Green Primary, a pan-European open primary, together with José Bové, making her one of the "leading candidates" for the European Green Party.[6]. On 15 September 2018 it was announced she is once more seeking nomination as one of the European Greens two lead candidates, this time for the 2019 European Parliament elections[7].

Keller is known for her commitment to fighting corruption in the European Union.[8] In February 2018, she participated in protests against corruption in Bulgaria.[9]

Other activities

  • Institut Solidarische Moderne (ISM), Member (since 2010)[10]

Personal life

Keller is married to Finnish activist Markus Drake.

She abbreviated her first name from Franziska to Ska by omitting the first part ('Franzi-'). She said she doesn't like being called 'Franzi'.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Franziska KELLER". Europa. European Parliament. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  2. ↑ ZEIT ONLINE GmbH, Hamburg, Germany (1 February 2014). "Grüne Ska Keller: Jung, freundlich, gefährlich". ZEIT ONLINE.
  3. ↑ „Das steht eigentlich nur auf dem Papier, dass ich das spreche", in: „Ska Keller: 'Es geht darum, Europa zu verändern“, Interview mit DLR Kultur, 1. März 2014
  4. ↑ Nikolaj Nielsen (July 17, 2015), Spain causing concern on EU migrant relocation EUobserver.
  5. ↑ The no-contact group European Voice, July 7, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Keller and Bové to campaign as Greens' duo". Euractiv.com. January 29, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  7. ↑ European Greens - Support phase Leading Candidates
  8. ↑ "Ska Keller's extraordinary Bulgarian experience reverberates in Brussels". Euractiv.com. February 12, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Green leader Ska Keller to join Sofia protests". bulgarianpresidency.eu. February 6, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  10. ↑ Members Institut Solidarische Moderne (ISM).
  11. ↑ "Ska Keller heißt eigentlich Franziska, nur mochte sie nicht Franzi genannt werden.": Jung, gebildet, ehrgeizig - Berufspolitiker, faz.net, Aug 23, 2009
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