Matthias Berninger (born 1971) is a former German politician and member ofThe Greens from 1993 until 2007.[1]
From 2001 to 2005, Berninger served as Parliamentary Secretary of State at theFederal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection under ministerRenate Künast in thesecond cabinet ofChancellorGerhard Schröder. After leaving the government, he was his parliamentary group's spokesperson on economic policy from 2005 until 2007.[citation needed]
Since 2019, Berninger has been serving as Executive Vice President of Public and Government Affairs and Head of Sustainability atBayer.[2] Berninger lives with his wife and children inWashington, D.C.
After graduating from theGoethe-Gymnasium Kassel in 1990, Berninger began studying chemistry and political science at theGesamthochschule Kassel, which he completed in 1994 with the first state examination for the teaching profession at secondary schools.[citation needed]
Since 1990, Berninger has been a member ofBündnis 90/Die Grünen. From 1993 to 1997 he was a member of the municipal council ofAhnatal and from 1993 to 1994 also in theKreistag of theLandkreis Kassel. From 2003 to 2007, Berninger was parliamentary representative for the Green Party for the State ofHesse in theBundestag.[3]
In the 1994Bundestag election, at the age of 23, Berninger became the youngest everMember of the German Bundestag. Here, from 1997 to 2001, he was the higher education policy spokesman for the parliamentary groupAlliance 90/The Greens. On 23 January 2001, Berninger was appointedParliamentary Secretary of State to the Federal Minister of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture led byChancellorGerhard Schröder. At the age of 29, he became the youngest parliamentary Secretary of State ever appointed.[4]
Berninger left his post ofParliamentary Secretary of State on 22 November 2005. He ran for the post of parliamentary secretary, but was defeated byVolker Beck on the first ballot by 17 votes to 34. From 2005 to 2007, he served as the economic policy spokesman for theBündnis 90/Die Grünen. Berninger ended his political career in February 2007.
Berninger was considered arealo and a pupil ofJoschka Fischer.[5] He was a member of thePizza Connection [de], a group of young deputies of theCDU andBündnis 90/Die Grünen, which was considered a forerunner of the Black-Green Coalition.[6] Berninger was considered anEconomic Liberal and representative of theNew Economy.[4]
In 2007, Berninger moved to Brussels as alobbyist to the U.S. food and confectionery corporationMars Incorporated as Director of Corporate Health and Nutrition, to improve the companies public image in Europe. In August 2008, he was promoted to Global Head of Public Policy, with responsibility for global health, nutrition and sustainability.[7][8][9]
On 1 January 2019, Berninger moved toBayer AG as head of the newly created Public Relations and Sustainability division, after the group acquired U.S. seed and pesticide manufacturerMonsanto for 59 billion euros.[10] As a result, Berninger, as chief lobbyist, must deal with questions about the pesticideglyphosate, the use of which is highly criticized by his formerBündnis 90/Die Grünen colleagues in Germany.[11][10] He commented on this in an interview with the news magazineDer Spiegel.[12]
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