Kevin Kühnert | |
|---|---|
 Kühnert in 2019 | |
| General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party | |
| In office 11 December 2021 – 7 October 2024 | |
| Leader | Saskia Esken Lars Klingbeil |
| Preceded by | Lars Klingbeil |
| Succeeded by | Matthias Miersch |
| Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic Party | |
| In office 6 December 2019 – 11 December 2021 | |
| Leader | Saskia Esken Norbert Walter-Borjans |
| Preceded by | Olaf Scholz |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Kutschaty |
| Chairman of theJusos | |
| In office 24 November 2017 – 8 January 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Johanna Uekermann |
| Succeeded by | Jessica Rosenthal |
| Member of theBundestag forBerlin-Tempelhof-Schöneberg | |
| In office 26 October 2021 – 25 March 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Jan-Marco Luczak |
| Succeeded by | Moritz Heuberger |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1989-07-01)1 July 1989 (age 36) |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
| Residence(s) | Berlin-Schöneberg, Germany |
| Education | Beethoven-Gymnasium |
| Alma mater | Free University of Berlin (no degree) |
| Website | Party website |
Kevin Kühnert (born 1 July 1989) is a German politician ofSocial Democratic Party (SPD) who served as member of theBundestag from 2021 to 2025, representingBerlin-Tempelhof-Schöneberg. He was General Secretary of the SPD from December 2021 to October 2024. From November 2017 to January 2021, Kühnert was the federal chairman of theJusos (the youth organization of the SPD), previously serving as deputy chairman.
Kühnert was born inWest Berlin. His father works as a tax clerk while his mother is employed in a job centre. He passed his final exam at the Beethoven-Gymnasium inLankwitz in 2008, where he also served as pupil's spokesman. He then completed avoluntary social year (German:Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr) in a Berlin-based organization for children and young people.
Kühnert initially worked over three years as a call center agent. Later, he started studying journalism and communication science at theFree University of Berlin, but failed to graduate. In 2016, he enrolled for a degree in political science at theUniversity of Hagen, but suspended studies after becoming Juso chairman. In 2014, he began working in theAbgeordnetenhaus of Berlin, first for Dilek Kolat, then Melanie Kühnemann.
Kühnert joined the SPD in 2005 and chaired the Jusos in Berlin from 2012 to 2015. Since 2015, he acted as deputy Jusos Federal Chairman and was responsible for tax policy, pension policy, structural policy, right-wing extremism, and migration policy, as well as social media work.
WhenJohanna Uekermann did not run as a candidate again, in November 2017, the Juso federal congress inSaarbrücken elected Kühnert as chairman, with 225 of 297 votes. In terms of local politics, Kühnert is active in the district ofTempelhof-Schöneberg as a member of the district council.
During the campaign for theSPD party member vote on the 2018 coalition agreement of Germany, Kühnert, along with the #NoGroKo (No Grand Coalition) initiative, promoted the No campaign.[1][2] At a SPD national convention in 2019, he was elected as one of the five deputies of the party's co-chairsSaskia Esken andNorbert Walter-Borjans, alongsideKlara Geywitz,Hubertus Heil,Serpil Midyatli andAnke Rehlinger.[3] He had previously endorsed Esken and Walter-Borjans in their successful bid for the leadership of the party in 2019.[4]
In an August 2020 interview withDer Tagesspiegel Kühnert announced that he would step down as chair of the Jusos, saying that the "time was right" for new leadership in advance of an anticipated2021 German federal election. After Kühnert resigned from the office early because of his candidacy for the Bundestag, Jessica Rosenthal was elected to succeed him on 8 January 2021, with 207 of 266 votes.[5]
On 16 December 2020, Kühnert was nominated as a direct candidate in the Berlin constituency of Tempelhof-Schöneberg in the 2021 federal election.[6]
In the negotiations to form a so-calledtraffic light coalition of the SPD, theGreen Party and theFDP following the2021 federal elections, Kühnert led his party's delegation in the working group on housing and construction; his co-chairs from the other parties wereChristian Kühn andDaniel Föst.[7]
In 2021 Kühnert was elected secretary general of the SPD. He was reelected at the party's congress in 2023 with 92% of the vote. On 7 October 2024 Kühnert stepped down as secretary general due to health issues,[8] and announced he would not run again for the Bundestag on 23 February 2025.[9]
In an interview with German newspaperDie Zeit in May 2019, Kühnert described himself as being ademocratic socialist,[11] promoting themunicipalization of large firms and the expropriation of owners from companies likeBMW and people who own more than one house or apartment. In his opinion, real democratic socialism has never been tried.[12][13][14]
In early 2022 – amid therun-up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine andanti-government protests in Kazakhstan – Kühnert argued that theNord Stream 2 pipeline to bring Russian gas to Germany should not be mixed up with political and human rights disputes with Russia.[15]
In May 2018, Kühnert was chosen as a "Next Generation Leader" byTime because of the resistance he launched against thegrand coalition that nearly managed to toppleChancellorAngela Merkel and led to a national debate about the future of the SPD and the future of German politics in general.[16] In August 2020 he was described as "a rising star on the left" in Germany byThe Guardian.[4]
In March 2018, Kühnert came out as gay in an interview with the magazineSiegessäule.[17][18][19][20][21][22] "I know that, especially in some villages, even in 2022, some people will still be kicked out by their parents if they reveal their sexual orientation... These young people need role models." he said in 2022, when he spoke about hissame-sex partner.[23]
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