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Matthias Miersch | |
|---|---|
 Miersch in 2025 | |
| Leader of theSocial Democratic Party in theBundestag | |
| Assumed office 7 May 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Lars Klingbeil |
| General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party | |
Acting | |
| In office 8 October 2024 – May 2025 | |
| Leader | Saskia Esken Lars Klingbeil |
| Preceded by | Kevin Kühnert |
| Succeeded by | Tim Klüssendorf |
| Member of theBundestag forHannover-Land II | |
| Assumed office 18 October 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Horst Schild |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1968-12-19)19 December 1968 (age 56) |
| Political party | SPD (since 1990) |
| Alma mater | Leibniz University Hannover |
| Occupation | Criminal defense lawyer Politician |
Matthias Miersch (born 19 December 1968) is a Germancriminal defense lawyer andpolitician of theSocial Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving asMember of the Bundestag since the2005 German federal election, representing theHannover-Land II district. Since 2025, he has been chairing his party's parliamentary group.[1]
From 2013 to 2025, was a member of the party's executive board under successive chairpersonsSigmar Gabriel (2013–2017),Martin Schulz (2017–2018),Andrea Nahles (2018–2019),Norbert Walter-Borjans (2019–2021),Saskia Esken (2019–2024) andLars Klingbeil (2021–2024). On 8 October 2024 Miersch was appointed as provisional secretary general of the Social Democratic Party. After theScholz cabinet collapsed on 7 November 2024, he led the party's campaign for the2025 German federal election.
Born inHannover, Miersch studied law at theLeibniz University Hannover and theGerman University of Administrative Sciences Speyer. From 1988 until 1995, he volunteered for theSt. John Accident Assistance.
Miersch has been amember of the German Bundestag since the2005 national election. In parliament, he initially focused on environmental policy[2] and served on the Committee on the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (2005–2017) as well as on the Committee on Legal Affairs (2005–2009).
In addition, Miersch was a member of the Parliamentary Advisory Board for Sustainable Development[3] (2006-2009) and the Parliamentary Commission on the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (2014-2016).[4] In 2014, he joined the parliamentary body in charge of appointing judges to the Highest Courts of Justice, namely theFederal Court of Justice (BGH), theFederal Administrative Court (BVerwG), theFederal Fiscal Court (BFH), theFederal Labour Court (BAG), and theFederal Social Court (BSG).
In the negotiations to form aGrand Coalition of the Christian Democrats (CDU together with the BavarianCSU) and the SPD following the2013 federal elections, Miersch was part of the SPD delegation in the working group on the environment and agriculture, led byKatherina Reiche andUte Vogt. TheThird Merkel cabinet governed until 2017, and also theFourth Merkel cabinet was a Grand Coalition.From 2014 to 2016, Miersch was one of the members of the country's temporary National Commission on the Disposal of Radioactive Waste, chaired by Ursula Heinen-Esser andMichael Müller.[5]
Within his parliamentary group, Miersch belongs to theParliamentary Left, a left-wing movement.[6] He served as spokesperson on environmental policy between 2009 and 2013. In 2015, he was elected to the parliamentary group's executive board under the leadership of chairmanThomas Oppermann. Since 2017, he has been the group's deputy chairman, under successive chairsAndrea Nahles (2017-2019) andRolf Mützenich (since 2019).
In 2019, Miersch succeededStefan Schostok as chairman of the SPD in Hannover.[7]
In the negotiations to form a so-calledtraffic light coalition of the SPD, the Green Party and the FDP following the2021 federal elections, Miersch led his party's delegation in the working group on environmental policy; his co-chairs from the other parties wereOliver Krischer andLukas Köhler.[8]
Miersch is openlyhomosexual and married to his partner.[13]
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