Cem Özdemir
German politician, Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg since 2026 (born 1965)
Why this is trending
Interest in “Cem Özdemir” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-06-03.
Categorised under Politics & Government, this article fits a familiar pattern. Political articles spike during elections, policy announcements, diplomatic events, or when political figures make international headlines.
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Key Takeaways
- Cem Özdemir ( German: [ˈdʒɛm ˈœsdemiːɐ̯] ; Turkish: [ˈdʒem ˈœzdemiɾ] ; born 21 December 1965) is a German politician serving as Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg since 2026.
- From November 2024 to May 2025 he additionally served as Federal Minister of Education and Research, making him the first federal minister in Germany with Circassian ancestry.
- Between 2008 and 2018, Özdemir co-chaired The Greens together with Claudia Roth and later Simone Peter.
- From 2004 to 2009 he served as a Member of the European Parliament.
- Early life Özdemir was born in Urach, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany.
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Source summary
WikipediaCem Özdemir (German: [ˈdʒɛm ˈœsdemiːɐ̯]; Turkish: [ˈdʒem ˈœzdemiɾ]; born 21 December 1965) is a German politician serving as Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg since 2026. He served as Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture in the cabinet of Olaf Scholz from December 2021 to May 2025. From November 2024 to May 2025 he additionally served as Federal Minister of Education and Research, making him the first federal minister in Germany with Circassian ancestry. After his party's victory in the 2026 Baden-Württemberg state election, he became minister-president of this state.
Between 2008 and 2018, Özdemir co-chaired The Greens together with Claudia Roth and later Simone Peter. He has been a Member of the German Bundestag since 2013, having previously served from 1994 to 2002, when he became one of the first two Bundestag members of Circassian descent. From 2004 to 2009 he served as a Member of the European Parliament. In the 2017 federal election Özdemir and Katrin Göring-Eckardt ran jointly as The Greens’ lead candidates.
Özdemir was born in Urach, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany. His father Abdullah Özdemir (died 2015) came from the town of Pazar in the Turkish province of Tokat and belonged to the Circassian minority in Turkey. He immigrated to Germany as a Gastarbeiter ("guest worker") in 1963 and worked in a textile factory in the Black Forest. Özdemir's mother Nihal (died 2021) came to Germany from Istanbul in 1964, and ran her own tailoring shop. Her father was an officer in the Turkish War of Independence. In 1983 Özdemir and his parents acquired German citizenship.
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