Sönke Rix | |
|---|---|
 Rix in 2014 | |
| Member of theBundestag | |
| In office 2005–2025 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1975-12-03)3 December 1975 (age 50) |
| Party | SPD |
Sönke Rix (born 3 December 1975) is a former German politician of theSocial Democratic Party (SPD) who served as a member of theBundestag from the state ofSchleswig-Holstein from 2005 to 2025.[1]
Rix first became a member of the Bundestag in the2005 German federal election.[2] Throughout his time in parliament, he was part of the Committee on Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.[3] From 2014 to 2019, he served as his parliamentary group’s spokesperson on family, senior citizens, women and youth.
Within the SPD parliamentary group, Rix belonged to theParliamentary Left, a left-wing movement.[4]
In the negotiations to form afourthcoalition government under the leadership ofChancellorAngela Merkel following the2017 federal elections, Rix was part of the working group on families, women, seniors and youth, led byAnnette Widmann-Mauz,Angelika Niebler andKatarina Barley.
From 2019, Rix served as deputy chairman of the SPD in Schleswig-Holstein. Ahead of the2021 elections, he was elected to lead the SPD's campaign in Schleswig-Holstein.[5]
In the negotiations to form a so-calledtraffic light coalition of the SPD, the Green Party and theFree Democratic Party (FDP) following the2021 German elections, Rix was again part of his party's delegation in the working group on children, youth and families, this time co-chaired bySerpil Midyatli,Katrin Göring-Eckardt andStephan Thomae.[6] From December 2021, he served as one of his parliamentary group's deputy chairs, under the leadership of chairmanRolf Mützenich.[7]
In March 2024, Rix announced that he would not stand in the2025 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.[8]
In November 2025, Rix was announced to be the next president of theFederal Agency for Civic Education (BPB), succeedingThomas Krüger. The official appointment was expected soon.[9]
In 2022 Rix stated that the fight against extremism has to be a fight against the right in the first place. He later claimed on social media that his party, the SPD, had the fight againstFascism in her DNA for 160 years.[10]
In 2016 he praised Innkeepers in his constituency for not allowing theAlternative for Germany into their establishments.[10]
