24 Facts About Katja Kipping

Katja Kipping was born on 18 January 1978 and is a German politician of The Left party.

Katja Kipping was a member of the Bundestag representing Saxony from 2005 to 2021, a federal co-leader of The Left from 2012 to 2021 alongside Bernd Riexinger, and the Senator for Integration, Labour and Social Affairs in the Berlin state government from December 2021 to April 2023.

Katja Kipping married political scientist Kolja Muller in 2011, and has a daughter.

At the start of her studies at the Dresden University of Technology, Katja Kipping was heavily involved with the so-called Protestburo.

Katja Kipping was speaker for the protest groups Red Tree and Green League.

Katja Kipping was elected to the city council of Dresden, capital of Saxony, serving from 1999 to 2003.

Katja Kipping was elected to the Landtag of Saxony for the PDS in the 1999 state election, and served until the 2004 election.

Katja Kipping became party spokesperson for traffic and energy policy.

Katja Kipping was a chief representative of the young progressive generation who sought to renew the party and place emphasis on environmentalism, social justice, and social movements.

Katja Kipping was a principal proponent of a united left party, comprising the east-oriented PDS and the west-oriented Labour and Social Justice.

The PDS and WASG merged to form The Left in June 2007, and Katja Kipping was elected deputy chairperson of the new party.

Katja Kipping was re-elected to the Bundestag in 2009 and became chairwoman of the Committee for Labour and Social Affairs.

The previous year, Katja Kipping had become editor of the left-wing magazine Prague Spring, which became the faction's primary publication.

In January 2012, Der Spiegel reported that Katja Kipping was one of 27 members of The Left's parliamentary group who were under surveillance by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

Katja Kipping has long advocated its repeal and the implementation of universal basic income; she was spokeswoman for the Basic Income Network from 2004 to 2008.

Katja Kipping calls for the reduction of the work week from five days to four.

Katja Kipping advocated for reform of immigration law to permit quicker and easier naturalisation, and for a "new social contract" to facilitate easier movement, guarantees of individual rights and social security for all.

Katja Kipping has repeatedly spoken in favour of The Left's involvement in government with the Social Democratic Party and The Greens.

Katja Kipping pointed to the Berlin government's attitude toward the city's housing crisis as an example to follow, and praised the initiative for a referendum to expropriate large real estate companies.

In Bundestag elections, Katja Kipping served as The Left's candidate in Dresden I in elections from 2005 to 2021, placing either second or third each time.

In 2021, in light of Lammel's retirement and the declining popularity of the CDU, Katja Kipping campaigned for SPD and Greens supporters to tactically support her candidacy to prevent Maier from winning.

On 2 December 2021, during the government formation following the 2021 Berlin state election, the Berlin association of The Left announced that Katja Kipping would replace fellow Left politician Elke Breitenbach as Senator for Integration, Labour, and Social Affairs in the Giffey senate.

Katja Kipping was sworn in on 21 December 2021 and served until the Giffey senate left office on 27 April 2023 after the 2023 Berlin repeat state election.

Katja Kipping is a founding member and board member of the Institute of Solidary Modernity, a left-wing oriented think tank founded in 2010.