Albrecht was born and raised inBrussels, Belgium, to German parents. Her father,Ernst Albrecht, was one of the firstEuropean civil servants. She was brought up bilingually in German and French, and moved to Germany in 1971 when her father became involved in German politics. She graduated from the London School of Economics in 1978, and in 1987, she acquired her medical license from Hanover Medical School. After marrying fellow physicianHeiko von der Leyen, she lived for four years in the United States with her family in the 1990s. After returning to Germany she became involved in local politics in theHanover region in the late 1990s, and she served as a cabinet minister in the state government ofLower Saxony from 2003 to 2005.
In 2005, von der Leyen joined the federal cabinet, first asMinister for Family Affairs and Youth from 2005 to 2009, then asMinister for Labour and Social Affairs from 2009 to 2013, and finally as Minister of Defence from 2013 to 2019, the first woman to serve as German defence minister.[2] When she left office she was the only minister to have served continuously in Merkel's cabinet since Merkel became chancellor. She served as a deputy leader of the CDU from 2010 to 2019, and was regarded as a leading contender to succeed Merkel as thechancellor of Germany and as the favourite to become thesecretary general of NATO afterJens Stoltenberg. British defence secretaryMichael Fallon described her in 2019 as "a star presence" in the NATO community and "the doyenne of NATO ministers for over five years".[3] In 2023, she was again regarded as the favourite to take the role.[4]
Von der Leyen was born in 1958 inIxelles, Brussels, Belgium, where she lived until she was 13 years old. In the family, she has been known since childhood as Röschen, a diminutive ofRose.[14]
In 1971, she relocated toSehnde in theHanover region after her father had become CEO of the food companyBahlsen and involved in state politics in Lower Saxony.[16] Her father served asMinister President of Lower Saxony (state prime minister) from 1976 to 1990, being re-elected in state parliament elections in 1978, 1982 and 1986.[17] In 1980 he ran for theCDU nomination for theGerman chancellorship, backed by CDU chairmanHelmut Kohl, but narrowly missed the candidacy to fellow conservativeFranz Josef Strauß[18] (who then lost the general election to a coalition led by the sitting chancellorHelmut Schmidt[19]); in the 1990 state elections Ernst Albrecht lost his office toGerhard Schröder, who later became German chancellor.[18]
Most of her ancestors were from the former states ofHanover andBremen in today's northwestern Germany; she has one American great-grandmother of primarily British descent, with more distant French and Italian ancestors, and some ancestors from what is nowEstonia, then part of formerRussian Empire. TheAlbrecht family was among thehübsche ("courtly" or "genteel") families of theElectorate andKingdom of Hanover—a state that was in apersonal union with the United Kingdom—and her ancestors had been doctors, jurists and civil servants since the 17th century. Her great-great-grandfatherGeorge Alexander Albrecht moved to Bremen in the 19th century, where he became a wealthy cotton merchant, part of theHanseatic elite and theConsul of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1895. In 1864, he married Baroness Louise Dorothea Betty vonKnoop (1844–1889), known asLullu, a daughter ofBaron Johann Ludwig von Knoop, one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the 19th centuryRussian Empire.[20]
In 1986, she married physicianHeiko von der Leyen, a member of thevon der Leyen family that made a fortune as silk merchants. Her husband became a professor of medicine and the CEO of a medical engineering company. She met him at a university choir inGöttingen.[26] They have seven children, born between 1987 and 1999.[27] Von der Leyen isLutheran.[28][29]
Ursula von der Leyen is a native speaker of German and French, and speaks English fluently, having lived for a combined five years in the United Kingdom and the United States.[30] She lives with her family on a farm inBurgdorf near Hanover where they keep horses.[31] She is a keenequestrian and has been involved in competitive horseriding.[32]
Von der Leyen moved to theHanover Region in 1971 when her father entered politics to becomeminister-president of the state ofLower Saxony in 1976. In 1977, she started studying economics at theUniversity of Göttingen. At the height of the fear ofcommunist terrorism in West Germany, she fled to London in 1978 after her family was told that theRed Army Faction (RAF) was planning tokidnap her due to her being the daughter of a prominent politician. She spent more than a year in hiding in London, where she lived with protection fromScotland Yard under the name Rose Ladson to avoid detection and enrolled at theLondon School of Economics.[33][34][35][36] A German diminutive of Rose, Röschen, had been her nickname since childhood,[37] while Ladson was the name of her American great-grandmother's family, originally fromNorthamptonshire. She said that she "lived more than she studied",[38] and that London was "the epitome of modernity: freedom, the joy of life, trying everything" which "gave me an inner freedom that I have kept till today".[34] She returned to Germany in 1979 but lived with a security detail at her side for several years.[39]
In 1980, she switched to studying medicine and enrolled at theHannover Medical School, where she graduated in 1987 and acquired her medical licence, specialising inwomen's health.[40] From 1988 to 1992, she worked as an assistant physician at the Women's Clinic of the Hannover Medical School. Upon completing her doctoral studies, she defended the thesis[41] and graduated as aDoctor of Medicine in 1991. Following the birth of twins, she was a housewife inStanford, California, from 1992 to 1996, while her husband was a faculty member ofStanford University, returning to Germany in 1996.[42]
In 2015, researchers collaborating at theVroniPlag Wiki reviewed von der Leyen's 1991doctoral dissertation and alleged that 43.5% of the thesis pages containedplagiarism and in 23 cases citations were used that did not verify claims for which they were given.[47][48] Multiple notable German academics such asGerhard Dannemann [de] andVolker Rieble [de] publicly accused von der Leyen of intended plagiarism.[49] The Hannover Medical School conducted an investigation and concluded in March 2016 that while the thesis contains plagiarism, no intention to deceive could be proven.[50][51]
The university decided not to revoke von der Leyen's medical degree.[50] Critics questioned the independence of the commission that reviewed the thesis as von der Leyen personally knew its director from joint work for an alumni association.[51] Various media outlets also criticised that the decision was nontransparent, not according to established rules, and failed to secure high academic standards.[51][52][53]
Ursula von der Leyen joined theCDU in 1990, and became active in local politics in Lower Saxony in 1996, shortly after she had returned to Germany after living in California. She was a member of the committee on social policy of CDU in Lower Saxony from 1996, and also became active in the association of medical doctors in the CDU party.[54]
Ursula von der Leyen was elected to theParliament of Lower Saxony in the2003 state election for Lehrte, the same constituency then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder represented from 1986 to 1998. From 2003 to 2005 she was a minister in the state government of Lower Saxony, serving in the cabinet ofChristian Wulff, with responsibility for social affairs, women, family, and health.[55]
In 2003, von der Leyen was part of a group assigned by the then-opposition leader and CDU chairwomanAngela Merkel to draft alternative proposals for social welfare reform in response to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's "Agenda 2010". The so-called Herzog Commission, named after its chairman, the former German PresidentRoman Herzog, recommended a comprehensive package of reform proposals including, among other things, decoupling health and nursing care premiums from people's earnings and levying a monthly lump sum across the board instead.[56]
2005 campaign poster featuring von der Leyen
Ahead of the2005 federal elections, Angela Merkel chose Ursula von der Leyen to cover the family and social security portfolio in hershadow cabinet.[57][58] In the negotiations to form a government following the election, von der Leyen led theCDU/CSU delegation in the working group on families; her co-chair from theSPD wasRenate Schmidt.[59]
In 2005, Ursula von der Leyen was appointedFederal Minister of Family Affairs and Youth in the cabinet ofAngela Merkel. On the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel, von der Leyen participated in the first joint cabinet meeting of the governments of Germany and Israel in Jerusalem in March 2008.[60]
At thefederal election of 2009, von der Leyen was elected to theBundestag, Germany's Parliament, representing the 42nd electoral district ofHanover, alongsideEdelgard Bulmahn of the Social Democrats. In the negotiations to form acoalition government following the elections, she led the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on health policy; her co-chair from theFDP wasPhilipp Rösler. She was reappointed as family minister,[61] but on 30 November 2009 succeededFranz Josef Jung as Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.[62]
Ursula von der Leyen at a horse show inHagen inOsnabrück, Germany, in 2013
During her time in office, von der Leyen cultivated the image of being the social conscience of the CDU[63] and helped Merkel to move the CDU into the political centre-ground.[64] In speaking out for increasing the number of childcare nurseries, for the introduction of a women's quota for listed companies' main boards, forgay marriage and a nationwideminimum wage, von der Leyen made enemies among the more traditionalist party members and won admirers on the left.[65]
Von der Leyen also lobbied for lowering the barriers to immigration for some foreign workers, in order to fight shortages of skilled workers in Germany.[66] In 2013, she concluded an agreement with theGovernment of the Philippines that was aimed at helping Filipino health care professionals to gain employment in Germany. A vital provision of the agreement is that the Filipino workers are to be employed on the same terms and conditions as their German counterparts.[67]
Von der Leyen was initially considered the front-runner to be nominated by the rulingCDU/CSU parties for election asPresident of Germany in the2010 presidential election,[68] butChristian Wulff was eventually chosen as the parties' candidate. The news media later reported that Wulff's nomination came as a blow to Merkel, whose choice of Leyen had been blocked by the two parties' more conservative state premiers.[69]
In November 2010, von der Leyen was elected (with 85% of the votes) as one of four deputies of CDU chairwoman Merkel, serving alongsideVolker Bouffier,Norbert Röttgen andAnnette Schavan. Later that month, she told theBild am Sonntag newspaper that the CDU should consider establishing a formal voting process for choosing future candidates for Chancellor.[70] In 2012, she was re-elected (with 69% of the votes) as one of Merkel's deputies as CDU chairwoman, this time serving alongside Bouffier,Julia Klöckner,Armin Laschet andThomas Strobl.[71]
In the negotiations to form a government following the2013 federal elections, von der Leyen led the CDU/CSU delegation in the labour policy working group, withAndrea Nahles of the SPD as her co-chair.[72]
In December 2013, Ursula von der Leyen was appointed by Merkel as Germany's first femaledefence minister.[65] By placing a significant party figure such as von der Leyen at the head of theDefence Ministry, Merkel was widely seen as reinvigorating the scandal-ridden ministry's morale and prestige.[73] Until her 2019 appointment as the president of the European Commission, she was the only minister to remain with Merkel since she became chancellor in 2005.[2]
In December 2014, von der Leyen had her fingerprint cloned by a German hacker who was able to use the commercially available VeriFinger product fromNeurotechnology UAB to replicate her fingerprint using photographs taken with a "standard photo camera".[74][75]
Former BritishSecretary of State for DefenceMichael Fallon noted in 2019 that she had been "a star presence" in theNATO community and "the doyenne of NATO ministers for over five years".[3] She has faced domestic criticism for her leadership style, reliance on outside consultants, and continued gaps in military readiness.[78]
Chuck Hagel and Ursula von der Leyen at the September 2014 NATO summit inNewport, Wales
Within her first year in office, von der Leyen visited theBundeswehr troops stationed inAfghanistan three times and oversaw the gradual withdrawal of German soldiers from the country asNATO was winding down its 13-yearcombat missionISAF.[79] In September 2015, she signalled that she was open to delaying the withdrawal of 850 German soldiers from Afghanistan beyond 2016 after theTaliban's surprise seizure of the northern city ofKunduz. German forces used to be based in Kunduz as part ofNATO-ledISAF and remain stationed in the north of the country.[80] She later opposed thetroop withdrawal from Afghanistan.[81]
In the summer of 2014, she was instrumental in Germany's decision to resupply the KurdishPeshmerga fighters with lethal assistance.[82] Following criticism from German officials of Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan's escalation of theKurdish–Turkish conflict in August 2015, von der Leyen decided to let Germany's three-yearPatriot missile batteries mission to southern Turkey lapse in January 2016 instead of seeking parliamentary approval to extend it. That same month, she participated in the first joint cabinet meeting of the governments of Germany andTurkey in Berlin.[83] By April 2016, under von der Leyen's leadership, theGerman Federal Armed Forces announced they would commit 65 million Euro to establish a permanent presence atIncirlik Air Base, as part of Germany's commitment to themilitary intervention against ISIL.[84][85][86]
At theMunich Security Conference in February 2015, von der Leyen publicly defended the German refusal to supply Ukraine with weapons. Stressing that it was necessary to remain united in Europe over Ukraine, she argued that negotiations with Russia, unlike with theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant jihadists, were possible.Angela Merkel saw Ukraine and Russia as a chance to prove that in the 21st century, developed nations should solve disputes at the negotiating table, not with weapons, she said. She also noted that Russia has an almost infinite supply of weapons it could send to Ukraine. She questioned whether any effort by the West could match that or, more importantly, achieve the outcome sought by Ukraine and its supporters.[87] On the contrary, von der Leyen said that giving the Ukrainians arms to help them defend themselves could have unintended and fateful consequences. "Weapons deliveries would be a fire accelerant", von der Leyen told theSüddeutsche Zeitung daily. She agreed withNATOSACEUR GeneralPhilip Breedlove that "it could give the Kremlin the excuse to openly intervene in this conflict".[88]
AfterHungary used a water cannon and tear gas to drive asylum seekers back from theHungarian-Serbian border in September 2015, during theEuropean migrant crisis, von der Leyen publicly criticised the government of Prime MinisterViktor Orbán and called the measures "not acceptable and [...] against the European rules that we have".[89]
Under von der Leyen's leadership, the German parliament approved government plans in early 2016 to send up to 650 soldiers toMali, boosting its presence in the U.N.peacekeeping missionMINUSMA in the West African country.[90]
In June 2014, von der Leyen introduced a €100 million plan to make theBundeswehr more attractive to recruits, including by offering crèches for soldiers' children, limiting postings to match school term dates, and considerable rises in hardship allowances for difficult postings.[91][92]
In August 2014 in a debate over funding priorities, von der Leyen categorised as "vital to national interests" only sensor and cryptotechnology and left all other funding items as secondary. Economy MinisterSigmar Gabriel was unhappy with her and said that "this will have significant consequences for national defence procurement and European cooperation" as the key focus of the debate would determine where funding will be allocated. She admitted that "Germany would at present be unable to meet NATO requirements". For example, at this time the majority of theGerman Air Force was grounded, with 42 of its 109Eurofighter Typhoons and 38 of 89Tornado fighters ready for deployment. An external report had been commissioned and, with cost overruns rising into the billions of euros, all nine of the Bundeswehr's major projects had been delayed by between 30 and 360 months. This occurred one year into her tenure at Defense.[93]
In 2015, as a result of severe NATO–Russian tensions in Europe, Germany announced an increase in defence spending. In May 2015, the German government approved an increase in defence spending, at the time 1.3% of GDP, by 6.2% over the following five years, allowing the Ministry of Defense to modernise the army fully.[94] Plans were also announced to expand the tank fleet to a potential number of 328, order 131 moreBoxer armoured personnel carriers, increase the submarine fleet, and to develop a new fighter jet to replace theTornado.[95][96][97] Germany considered increasing the size of the army,[98] and in May 2016 von der Leyen announced it would spend €130 billion on new equipment by 2030 and add nearly 7,000 soldiers by 2023 in the first German military expansion since the end of the Cold War.[99][100] In February 2017, she announced that the number of Bundeswehr professional soldiers would increase from 178,000 to 198,000 by 2024.[101]
In April 2017, after Bundeswehr officials failed to properly investigate persistent reports of brutal hazing rituals, sexual humiliation, and bullying in military training, von der Leyen fired the army's training commander, Major GeneralWalter Spindler.[102]
As a consequence of improved Dutch–German cooperation, since 2014 two of the threeRoyal Netherlands Army Brigades are under German Command. In 2014, the11th Airmobile Brigade was integrated into the German Division of fast forces (DSK). The German414 Tank Battalion was integrated into the Dutch43rd Mechanized Brigade. In turn, the Dutch43rd Mechanized Brigade will be assigned to the1stPanzer Division of the German army, with the integration starting at the beginning of 2016, and the unit becoming operational at the end of 2019.[103] In February 2016 it was announced that theSeebatallion of the German Navy would start to operate underRoyal Dutch Navy command.[104] The Dutch-German military cooperation was seen in 2016 by von der Leyen and Dutch Minister of DefenceJeanine Hennis-Plasschaert as an example for setting up a European defence union.[104]
A further proposal by von der Leyen, to allow non-GermanEU nationals to join theBundeswehr, was met in July 2016 by strong opposition, even from her own party.[105]
According to a policy dictated by von der Leyen in February 2017, the Bundeswehr is to play a greater role as an "anchor army" for smallerNATO states, by improving coordination between its divisions and smaller members'Brigades.[106]
Ursula von der Leyen with US Secretary of DefenseAshton Carter (2015 in Berlin)
In October 2014, von der Leyen pledged to get a grip on Germany's military equipment budget after publishing aKPMG report on repeated failures in controlling suppliers, costs and delivery deadlines, e.g., with theAirbus A400M Atlas transport plane,Eurofighter Typhoon jet and theBoxer armoured fighting vehicle.[108]
In January 2015, von der Leyen publicly criticised Airbus over delays in the delivery of A400M military transport planes, complaining that the company had a serious problem with product quality.[109] Under her leadership, the ministry agreed to accept 13 million euros in compensation for delays in deliveries of both the second and third A400M aircraft. In 2016, she asked for an additional 12.7 million euros in damages for delays in the delivery of a fourth plane.[110] Also in 2015, von der Leyen choseMBDA, jointly owned byAirbus, Britain'sBAE Systems, and Italy'sLeonardo S.p.A., to build theMedium Extended Air Defense System, but set strict milestones for it to retain the contract.[111]
During her May 2015 visit to India, von der Leyen expressed support for a project initiated by the Indian government to build six small GermanTKMS diesel-electric submarines for a total cost of $11 billion.[112][113]
In 2019, she also promoted the German government's decisions on arms exports toSaudi Arabia andTurkey.[114][115]
Since 2018 an investigative committee organised by Germany's Federal Audit Office has been looking into how contracts worth tens of millions of euros were awarded to external consultancy firms.[116][117][78] The auditing office has found several irregularities in how the contracts were awarded. During the investigation, two of von der Leyen's phones were confiscated, but data from both phones have been deleted before being returned to the defence ministry.[118] In turn, opposition lawmakerTobias Linder has filed a criminal complaint against von der Leyen suspecting deliberate destruction of evidence relevant for the case.[119][120]
Von der Leyen was elected as a member of the CDU executive board in December 2014 and received 70.5% of the votes. As in her reelections in 2016 (72.4%) and 2018 (57.47%), this was the weakest of all results.[121][122][123][124]
As a cabinet member, von der Leyen was, for several years, regarded as one of the leading contenders to succeedMerkel asChancellor.[63][64][125][126][127][128] In 2010 she was Merkel's preferred candidate forPresident of Germany, but her nomination was blocked by the conservative wing of the CDU/CSU.[129] From 2018 until her nomination as European Commission president she was described as the favourite to succeedJens Stoltenberg asSecretary General of NATO.[130][131][132]Die Welt reported that von der Leyen "is highly respected in the alliance" and that "all the [NATO] defence ministers listen when she speaks".[133]
On 2 July 2019, von der Leyen was proposed by theEuropean Council as their candidate for the office ofPresident of the European Commission.[5][6] On 16 July, her nomination was approved by the European Parliament with 383 to 327 votes.[7] Germany abstained from the vote to nominate her. An article inThe Guardian said that the reason for Germany's refusal to support her nomination in the European Council was that von der Leyen was considered divisive in her home country.[134] She is the first woman to hold the office[135] and the first German since the commission's first president,Walter Hallstein.[136]
When she lived in Brussels, her little sister Benita-Eva died of cancer at the age of eleven and she remembered "the enormous helplessness of my parents" in view of the cancer. This inspired her to make cancer a focus ofher commission.[137]
At the press conference announcing her nomination, European Council President Donald Tusk noted von der Leyen's intention to retain Commission First-Vice-PresidentFrans Timmermans during her administration. Timmermans has previously been one of the "lead candidates" (German:Spitzenkandidat) for the commission's presidency. As a candidate, she published a document entitled "My agenda for Europe",[138] and was fêted for her commitment to "gender equality and gender mainstreaming" by at least one observer who sought to advance the "professional development of women in the field of international peace and security".[139]
Following her nomination as a candidate for Commission president, the Commission provided her with a salary, office, and staff in Brussels to facilitate negotiations between the EU institutions as to her election. These arrangements were extended, to enable a smooth transition, during her period as president-elect, until the new College of Commissioners was confirmed by the European Parliament and took office in November.[140] In light of her new role, von der Leyen resigned her seat in the German Bundestag on 31 July 2019.[141]
Von der Leyen with her proposed College of Commissioners on 19 November 2019
Von der Leyen unveiled the new proposed EU Commission's structure (whom she deemed to be a "geopolitical" one)[145] on 10 September 2019, renaming a number of posts of the College of Commissioners to make them sound less formal and more goal-oriented, including the controversial portfolio for "Protecting our European Way of Life",[146][147] a vice-presidency responsible for the coordination of migration, security, employment and education policies.[148][149] The later portfolio's name drew heavy criticism, as it was considered to carry a xenophobic message linking the protection of the "European Way of Life" to migration policies.[b][146] The proposed structure for the college also saw the "unexpected" promotion of EPP'sValdis Dombrovskis to a role of executive vice-president, up to a number of three executive vice-presidencies, equalling the roles entrusted to Timmermans andMargrethe Vestager.[145]
As part of her efforts to be elected President of the EU Commission, von der Leyen made remarks in favour of EU parliamentarians being given the right to initiate legislation,[152] but reversed course shortly after assuming office.[153]
Controversy and investigation over award of contracts by German defence ministry
At the time of von der Leyen's nomination as president of the Commission, an investigative committee of theGerman parliament was investigating how, during her time as minister of defence of Germany, lucrative contracts from her ministry were awarded to outside consultants without proper oversight, and whether a network of informal personal connections facilitated those deals.[154]
In December 2019, German parliamentarians accused theGerman Defence Ministry of torpedoing the investigation into alleged wrongdoing in its consultant contracts by deleting data from the official phone of von der Leyen from the time she was Minister of Defence after it was declared evidence in the investigation, and by arguing that the deletion of the phone data was "for security reasons".[155]
In March 2020, von der Leyen's Commission turned down the idea of suspending theSchengen Agreement in order to introduce border controls around Italy, at that time the centre of theCOVID-19 pandemic in Europe,[156][157][158] The decision drew criticism from some European politicians.[159][160] After some EU member states announced closure of their national borders to foreign nationals due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, she said: "Certain controls may be justified, but general travel bans are not seen as being the most effective by the World Health Organization. Moreover, they have a strong social and economic impact, they disrupt people's lives and business across the borders."[161] She condemned the U.S. decision to restrict travel from the coronavirus-affected Europe to the United States.[162]
Finnish Prime MinisterSanna Marin and von der Leyen meeting inHelsinki on 4 October 2021Von der Leyen with U.S. PresidentJoe Biden, 2021 G20 summit inRome, 31 October 2021
French-U.S. andFrench-Australia relations suffered a period of tension in September 2021 due to fallout from theAUKUS defence pact between the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Australia. The security pact is directed at counteringChinese power in theIndo-Pacific region.[166] As part of the agreement, the U.S. agreed to providenuclear-powered submarines to Australia. After entering into AUKUS, the Australian government cancelled an agreement that it had made with France for theprovision of French conventionally powered submarines. Von der Leyen called the way France was treated "unacceptable" and demanded an explanation.[167] The EU also demanded an apology from Australia.[168]
Due to a combination of unfavourable conditions, which involved soaring demand of natural gas, its diminished supply from Russia and Norway to the European markets, and less power generation byrenewable energy sources such as wind, water and solar energy, Europe faced steepincreases in energy prices in 2021.[169] Some critics blamed a record-breaking surge in energy prices on the European Commission'sGreen Deal, which aims to make the EUclimate neutral by 2050.[170][171][172] She said: "Europe today is too reliant on gas and too dependent on gas imports. The answer has to do with diversifying our suppliers ... and, crucially, with speeding up the transition to clean energy."[173]
During the2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, von der Leyen condemned "arbitrary attacks byHamas against Israel" adding that "civilians on both sides must be protected".[174]
In December 2021 von der Leyen expressed concern that one-third of the European population were not vaccinated: "EU nations should open a debate around making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory because too many people still refuse to get shots voluntarily."[175]
This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2024)
During the COVID-19 pandemic when European countries were scrambling for vaccines,Pfizer was able to close a deal worth €35 billion to provide 900 million doses of thePfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine with an additional 900 million doses available for purchase.[176] The deal was initially well-received, although a later low-range estimate according toPolitico suggested that over 100 million doses worth approximately €4 billion were discarded, raising concerns aboutvaccine equity.[177][178]
In April 2021,The New York Times reported that von der Leyen had exchanged electronic correspondence with Pfizer CEOAlbert Bourla negotiating terms of sale of the COVID-19 vaccine to the European Union.[179]Emily O'Reilly, theEuropean Ombudsman, accused von der Leyen of "maladministration" for failure to disclose that correspondence upon a FOI request, and for claiming that the messages had disappeared, and for further claiming that the vaccine line item of the EU's budget was confidential.[180][181]
Von der Leyen was first reported to have taken a personal role in negotiating the vaccine deal. Health CommissionerStella Kyriakides later informed theEuropean Parliament that von der Leyen played no (formal) role and "was not involved in the negotiations on the Covid vaccine contract". The last COVID-19 vaccines will according to the contract with Pfizer be delivered in 2027.[182][183]
The incident has been reported as "Pfizergate". In 2024 theEuropean Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) took over the investigation from Belgian authorities. The original complaint, from a Belgian lobbyist, cited "interference in public functions, destruction of SMS, corruption and conflict of interest".[177]
In early May 2024, a few days before the hearing in Liège was supposed to take place, Baldan's lawyer, Diane Protat, visited the EPPO's offices in Brussels and Luxembourg to request a copy of its case file, but was she told that there was no such file and security was called on her. A few days later, it was reported that Hungary and Poland had joined the lawsuit.[184] By the end of the month, the plaintiff asked "theEuropean People's Party to withdraw the candidacy of Ms von der Leyen for the post of President of the European Commission" as well as "prohibiting anyone from presenting the candidature of Mrs von der Leyen to the post of President of the European Commission or any other post within the European institutions as long as she is the subject of criminal proceedings".[185]
After the start of theRussian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Ukraine should become amember of the European Union, theUkrainian people belong to theEuropean family, but there is a long way to go and thewar must end.[186] On 8 April 2022 in the midst of the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Von der Leyen travelled toKyiv (which had seen open hostilities only days earlier) to lend her support to the beleagueredVolodymyr Zelenskyy and his countrymen. She visited the site of theBucha massacre, tweeted: "Those responsible for the atrocities will be brought to justice. Your fight is our fight." and vowed she would work toward that country's accession to the EU. "Our goal is to present Ukraine's application to the council this summer." She was accompanied byJosep Borrell, who expressed "confidence that EU states would soon agree to his proposal to provide Ukraine with an additional €500 million to support the armed forces in their fight against the Russian army".[187][188][189][190][191] On 4 May 2022, she announced the European Union would seek to ban allimports of Russian crude oil and petroleum products.[192] She stated: "We must become independent from Russian oil, coal and gas."[193]
Von der Leyen with German ChancellorOlaf Scholz and other G7 leaders at the48th G7 summit in Germany, 26 June 2022
At a 2022Europe Day event to celebrate the conclusion of theConference on the Future of Europe,[194] von der Leyen stated her agreement with the report[195] prepared by panels of randomly selected EU citizens, that the Union needed to move away from unanimous voting in the Council when it comes to foreign policy decisions.[196] In a JunePolitico interview, she expressed that her views had been shaped by the slow pace of the Union in adopting sanctions against Belarus and Russia due to unanimity requirements.[197] She has said the Union should not completely move away from unanimity.[197]
Von der Leyen with Azerbaijani PresidentIlham Aliyev, 18 July 2022
On 18 July 2022 von der Leyen calledAzerbaijan a reliable partner for energy supply,[199] later signing an agreement with Azerbaijan government intended to diversify gas supplies in the context of the ongoingRussian-Ukraine war 2022.[200] This sparked controversy whenAzerbaijan attacked its neighbour Armenia just a few months later, and Azeri soldiers committed various documented atrocities including rapes and the murder of prisoners of war. Human rights activists claim that an EU president cannot condemn one dictator while embracing another, which was also expressed in the EU parliament byMartin Sonneborn.[201][202][203][204]
Von der Leyen with Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan, 2023 NATO summit inVilnius, 12 July 2023Von der Leyen with President of BrazilLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva, inBrussels, 17 July 2023Von der Leyen with Ethiopian Prime MinisterAbiy Ahmed and other leaders at theInternational Conference on Development and Migration inRome, 23 July 2023Von der Leyen with British Prime MinisterRishi Sunak, 2 November 2023Von der Leyen with Egyptian PresidentAbdel Fattah el-Sisi, inCairo, 18 November 2023Von der Leyen with Prime Minister of PolandDonald Tusk, in Brussels, 15 December 2023
In April von der Leyen issued a video statement celebratingIsrael's75th Independence Day, noting that "the Jewish People could finally build a home in the Promised Land", adding that "You have literally made the desert bloom".[206]
In October 2023, von der Leyen condemned "themilitary operation by Azerbaijan against the Armenian population ofNagorno-Karabakh and reaffirmed the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia".[208]
During theOctober 2023 Israel–Hamas war, von der Leyen condemned theHamas attack on Israel, calling it "terrorism in its most despicable form" and saying "Israel has the right to defend itself against such heinous attacks".[209] She announced that humanitarian aid toGaza would be tripled.[210]
In December 2023, she visitedEgypt and discussed the "strategic partnership" between the EU and Egypt with Egyptian PresidentAbdel Fattah el-Sisi.[211]
In May 2023 at the Beyond Growth conference in the European Parliament, von der Leyen moderately criticisedGDP-based economy, saying "a growth model centred on fossil fuels is simply obsolete" and "economic growth is not an end in itself". About an hour later, the European Commission presented its economic forecast which talked about GDP and inflation without presenting any other parameters.[212][213] Her remarks were part of a debate in the European Union on the possibility of not passingplanetary boundaries in a GDP-based economy.[214]
In 2022, the European Union recorded the highest number of unauthorised migrant arrivals since 2016.[215] Von der Leyen tried to strike a deal withTunisia's authoritarian PresidentKais Saied, with a focus on stopping illegal migration from Tunisia to Italy. In September 2023, more than 120 boats carrying around 7,000 migrants from Africa arrived on the Italian island ofLampedusa within 24 hours.[216] Italian Prime MinisterGiorgia Meloni declared that she wrote to von der Leyen "to ask her to come with me to Lampedusa to personally realize the gravity of the situation we face, and to immediately accelerate the implementation of the agreement with Tunisia by transferring the agreed resources".[217]
von der Leyen with Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy and Belgian Prime MinisterAlexander De Croo in Kyiv, 24 February 2024von der Leyen with British Prime MinisterKeir Starmer in Brussels, 2 October 2024
In March 2024 von der Leyen was once again confirmed as theEPP's candidate for the Presidency of the European Commission. Opinion polls deemed her re-election as President very likely.[218]
In April 2024, she praised theEU Asylum and Migration Pact as a "huge achievement for Europe".[219] Countries where migrants first arrive will newly be able to relocate a total of up to 30,000 migrants per year to other EU member states. The Pact will institute a "mandatory solidarity mechanism".[220] The Pact has been criticized by some right-wing politicians for not going far enough to prevent illegal immigration, such as missing provisions relating to migrant returns.[221]
On 27 June 2024, theEuropean Council nominated von der Leyen for a second term asPresident of the European Commission. On 18 July 2024, she was re-elected for a further five-year term after a secret ballot among MEPs at theEuropean Parliament, winning 401 votes in favour compared to 284 against with 22 blank or invalid ballot papers.[1][222]
In the fall of 2024, von der Leyen became an advocate fornuclear power, along with her party, CDU.[223]
On 26 February 2025, the Commission announced a collection of measures backed by 100 billion euros ($104.94 billion) to support EU-made clean manufacturing,[225] called theClean Industrial Deal.[226]
Von der Leyen also introduced the GermanElternzeit, a paidparental leave scheme. Following Scandinavian models, the scheme reserves two additional months for fathers who go on parental leave as well (Vätermonate in German). This part of the law, in particular, attracted protest from some German conservatives.Catholic BishopWalter Mixa accused von der Leyen of turning women into "birthing machines". Meanwhile,Bavarian colleagues from von der Leyen's sister party, theCSU, complained that men did not need a "diaper-changing internship".[237] Von der Leyen successfully influenced public opinion of her reforms with a 3-million-euro PR campaign, which was criticised for using public funds for political advocacy and for employingembedded marketing techniques.[238]
Demonstration on 17 April 2009 against internet censorship
Ursula von der Leyen advocated the initiation of a mandatory blockage ofchild pornography on the Internet through service providers via a block list maintained by theFederal Criminal Police Office of Germany (BKA), thus creating the necessary infrastructure for extensivecensorship of websites deemed illegal by the BKA.[239]
These actions brought her the nickname "Zensursula", aportmanteau word blending the German word for censorship ("Zensur") and her given name ("Ursula").[240] The combination of a sensitive topic like child pornography and internet censorship is said to have caused a rising interest in thePirate Party.[241]
In July 2009, she referred to the problems of struggling against paedophile pornography on the internet as the responsible persons often use servers located in Africa or India, where, she said, "child pornography is legal".[242][243] This claim was based on a 2006 study by theInternational Centre for Missing & Exploited Children.[244] As child pornography is illegal in India, and the country hasstricter rules about all pornography than Germany, she later expressed regret for citing an inaccurate study.[245]
In 2013, von der Leyen unsuccessfully campaigned for a statutory quota for female participation in the supervisory boards of companies in Germany, requiring company boards to be at least 20% female by 2018, rising to 40% by 2023.[247]
Von der Leyen with U.S. PresidentDonald Trump in January 2020
Von der Leyen is a proponent of a more assertive German foreign policy.[248][249] One striking example was the decision in September 2014 to send arms to Kurdish and Iraqi security forces. This decision broke a longstanding taboo on Germany's dispatching of weapons to a conflict zone.[127]
Von der Leyen and Russian PresidentVladimir Putin at the International Conference onLibya, 19 January 2020
On the deteriorating relationship between Europe and Russia during theannexation of Crimea, she argued that "the reliance on a functioning business relationship with Europe is much, much bigger in Russia" and that sanctions should prod the oligarchs and Russian business.[250] She also called for more significantNATO backing of theBaltic states during Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014.[251]
Von der Leyen andHenry Kissinger at the Munich Security Conference in 2014
Von der Leyen has supported closesecurity cooperation withSaudi Arabia.[252] German opposition parties criticised Germany's defence plan with Saudi Arabia, which has beenwaging war in Yemen and was condemned for massivehuman rights violations.[253][254] In 2016, von der Leyen caused controversy after she refused to wear ahijab while visiting Saudi Arabia. She said: "It annoys me when women are to be pushed into wearing theabaya."[255]
In 2017 von der Leyen noted that "healthy democratic resistance of the younger generation" inPoland must be supported.[256] In some Polish media, it was understood that she instigated opposition aimed to overthrow the allegedly anti-democratic and authoritarianPiS government; the statement was branded as scandalous.[257] ThePolish Foreign Minister made sarcastic comments about "Prussian tone of theOde to Joy".[258] The PolishMinister of Defence summoned the Germany military attache and demanded explanations.[259] The German embassy in Warsaw and spokesman for the German defence ministry in Berlin issued conciliatory statements.[260] The German media mostly ignored the incident; some acknowledged a "minor slip of the tongue"[261] on the part of von der Leyen, yet also noted thatGerman-Polish relations were "severely damaged".[262]
Von der Leyen responded toDonald Trump's criticism of the Russian-backedNord Stream 2—a pipeline for deliveringnatural gas from Russia to Germany—in an interview with the BBC: "We have an independent energy supply, we are an independent country, we are just diversifying."[263]
In a 2011 interview withDer Spiegel, von der Leyen expressed her preference for "aunited states of Europe—run along the lines of the federal states of Switzerland, Germany or the USA" which would capitalise on Europe's size by agreeing on core issues relating to finance, tax and economic politics.[264]
In 2015, von der Leyen argued that a form ofEU army should be a long-term goal. She also said that she was convinced about the goal of a combined military force, just as she was convinced that "perhaps not my children, but then my grandchildren will experience aUnited States of Europe".[266] In March 2015, she and her counterparts from France andPoland,Jean-Yves Le Drian andTomasz Siemoniak, revived a meeting format intended to promote cooperation between the three countries in crisis zones by holding their first meeting between theWeimar Triangle defence ministers since 2007.[267]
Von der Leyen with Italian Prime MinisterGiorgia Meloni and Dutch Prime MinisterMark Rutte, 3 November 2022
Following the2016 European Union membership referendum in the United Kingdom, she argued that the UK had "paralysed" European efforts to integrate security policy and "consistently blocked everything with the label 'Europe' on it".[268] She has describedBrexit as "a burst bubble of hollow promises".[269] In an interview withThe Guardian days after her election to succeedJean-Claude Juncker asPresident of the European Commission, she stated that the withdrawal deal agreed betweenTheresa May and chief Brexit negotiatorMichel Barnier would remain the basis of any future talks. She also stated that the EU should extend the Brexit deadline beyond 31 October 2019.[270] In November 2019, at Paris Peace Forum, von der Leyen said that there is need for stable and responsible leadership in Europe and that the bloc must increase foreign policy budget spending by one-third.[271]
On 7 September 2023, Ursula von der Leyen met the UAE President Mohammad bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi. The meeting included a discussion on the export of sanctioned goods through the Gulf state to Russia. She asked MbZ to be more cooperative and constructive in handling the issue. The EU expected the UAE to stop being a mediator supplying sanctioned goods to Russia. It had already sanctioned several Emirati entities that were alleged of directly supporting Russia's war.[272]
Ursula von der Leyen, French PresidentEmmanuel Macron and Chinese PresidentXi Jinping in Beijing, China, 6 April 2023
Von der Leyen and French PresidentEmmanuel Macron raised the issue ofhuman rights in China duringtheir visit to China in April 2023, amid growing international criticism of China's repression of ethnic minorities, political dissidents, and civil society activists.[273] They expressed their concerns over the situation inXinjiang, where the Chinese government has detained an estimated one millionUyghurs and other Turkic Muslims inre-education camps, subjected them toforced labour,surveillance, and abuse.[274] They also urged China to respect the autonomy and freedoms of Hong Kong.[275]
When theFederal Constitutional Court ruled in favour of tax equality for same-sex couples in 2013, von der Leyen came forward in support ofequal adoption rights, arguing, "I know of no study that says that children growing up in same-sex partnerships fare any differently than children who grow up in heterosexual marriages or partnerships."[276] In June 2017, von der Leyen voted against her parliamentary group's majority and in favour of Germany's introduction ofsame-sex marriage.[277]
Von der Leyen with Israeli PresidentIsaac Herzog in Brussels, January 2023
On the 75th anniversary ofIsrael's independence, von der Leyen referred to Israel as a "vibrant democracy" in the Middle East that made "the desert bloom". These remarks were criticised as racist by the foreign ministry of thePalestinian Authority.[278][279] During the2023 Israel–Hamas war, she was criticised by EU lawmakers and diplomats for supporting Israel and not calling for a ceasefire.[280] On 13 October 2023, she visited Israel to express solidarity with the country.[281]
EU foreign policy chiefJosep Borrell criticized her pro-Israeli stance which, he said, undermined Europe's geopolitical position.[282][283]
She promoted theEuropean Green Deal.[284] She complained that, "Global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars, and their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies."[285]
Ursula von der Leyen,C-reaktives Protein als diagnostischer Parameter zur Erfassung eines Amnioninfektionssyndroms bei vorzeitigem Blasensprung und therapeutischem Entspannungsbad in der Geburtsvorbereitung, doctoral dissertation, Hannover Medical School, 1990[297]
^ The process for electing the president of the European Commission is described in Article 17(7) of theTreaty on European Union.[8]
^The European Commission presidentJean-Claude Juncker criticised Von der Leyen's decision, saying: "I don't like the idea that the European way of life is opposed to migration. Accepting those that come from far away is part of the European way of life."[150]Philippe Lamberts, the president of theGreens–European Free Alliance at the European Parliament, said: "An all-white European Commission claiming to protect 'our European way of life' is a far cry from the idea of unity in diversity on which this union is built. Von der Leyen must present a better proposal".[151]
^Rahlf, Katharina (30 June 2009). Lorenz, Robert; Micus, Matthias (eds.).Ursula von der Leyen – Seiteneinsteigerin in zweiter Generation. Seiteneinsteiger: Unkonventionelle Politiker-Karrieren in der Parteiendemokratie (in German). Springer-Verlag. p. 278.ISBN978-3-531-91569-2.
^Council of the European Union. General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union (2022).Conference on the Future of Europe: Report on the Final Outcome(PDF). European Union.doi:10.2860/637445.ISBN9789282487488. Retrieved15 October 2022. p. 39:We citizens want a Europe in which decisions are made transparently and quickly, where the unanimity principle is reconsidered and in which we citizens are regularly and seriously involved
^"Dieser gesunde demokratische Widerstand der jungen Generation dort auch in Polen, die muss man unterstützen. Also es ist unsere Aufgabe auch, sozusagen diesen Diskurs aufrecht zu erhalten",Polen empört über von der Leyen-Äußerung bei „Maybrit Illner", [in:]PI-News service 6 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019
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