Frank Schwabe | |
|---|---|
 Schwabe in 2014 | |
| Member of theBundestag | |
| Assumed office 2005 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1970-11-12)12 November 1970 (age 55) |
| Political party | SPD |
| Alma mater | University of Essen |
Frank Schwabe (born 12 November 1970) is a German politician of theSocial Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as a member of theBundestag from the state ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia since 2005.[1]
In addition to his parliamentary work, Schwabe has been serving as aParliamentary State Secretary at theFederal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection in thegovernment ofChancellorFriedrich Merz since 2025.[2] From 2022 to 2025, he was the Commissioner for Global Freedom of Religion at theFederal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in thegovernment ofChancellorOlaf Scholz.[3]
Schwabe first became a member of the Bundestag after the2005 German federal election, representing theRecklinghausen I district.[4]
In parliament, Schwabe has served on the Committee on Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (2005–2021),[5][6] theCommittee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid (2014–2025), the Committee on Foreign Affairs (2021–2025) and the Subcommittee on International Climate and Energy Policy (2022–2025).[7] He also served as his parliamentary group's spokesperson on human rights and humanitarian aid.
Within the SPD parliamentary group, Schwabe belongs to theParliamentary Left, a left-wing movement.[8]
In addition to his committee assignments, Schwabe was member of the German delegation to theParliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) from 2014 to 2025.[9] In the Assembly, he served on the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy; the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by theMember States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee); the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities, and Institutional Affairs; the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights; and the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons. In 2018, he was elected chairman of theSocialists, Democrats and Greens Group. From 2010, he also served as the Assembly'srapporteur on human rights and the rule of law in theNorth Caucasus. In 2025, he authored a report on anti-corruption mesaures.[10]
In the negotiations to form a so-calledtraffic light coalition of the SPD, theGreen Party and theFree Democrats (FDP) following the2021 German elections, Schwabe was part of his party's delegation in the working group on migration and integration, co-chaired byBoris Pistorius,Luise Amtsberg andJoachim Stamp.[11] In the negotiations to form aGrand Coalition under the leadership ofFriedrich Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU together with the BavarianCSU) and the SPD following the2025 German elections, he was part of the SPD delegation in the working group on foreign affairs, defense, development cooperation and human rights, led byJohann Wadephul,Florian Hahn andSvenja Schulze.[12]
