At the age of 19, Anna Lührmann became the youngest member of parliament to date. She joined the Green Youth at the age of 13, as she mentioned in the „bwg sitzunswoche Sprechstunde“ series at the Ständige Vertretung with moderator Christoph Nitz, the founder of the series. After graduating from high school in Hofheim im Taunus, she initially enrolled at Humboldt University in Berlin, but soon transferred to Fernuni Hagen, where she completed her political studies alongside her parliamentary work and obtained a bachelor’s degree. In 2009, she bid farewell to the Bundestag and followed her husband to Sudan, where he became an ambassador. In addition to her representative duties as an ambassador’s wife and taking care of their young daughter, she enrolled at Ahfad University for Women in Omdurman, Sudan, for „Peace and Gender Studies.“ She also worked for the United Nations Development Programme there. She vividly described this time in a 2011 article in „Der Spiegel.“
After completing her PhD at Humboldt University, she continued her academic career in Sweden at the University of Gothenburg, where she eventually became a junior professor. She has also lived in Spain, where her husband served as Consul General in Barcelona. However, the climate crisis and a bit of homesickness for her years abroad drew her back to German politics. It was during this time that she received a question from Annalena Baerbock asking if she would be interested in becoming the State Secretary for Europe and Climate at the Foreign Office. „I was sitting on the couch with my daughter at the time,“ she recalls during a breakfast café at StäV.
To balance the dual commitment of holding a mandate and fulfilling obligations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a great deal of discipline is necessary, but she had already learned this in her early career. No political emails are reviewed after 8 pm, as family takes priority. Breaks are necessary, according to Lührmann, because „it is pointless if all politicians experience burnout after ten years.“
The digital possibilities in Sweden have impressed her. More digitization could also contribute to important bureaucracy reduction in Germany, for example for the winemakers and farmers in her constituency Rheingau-Taunus-Limburg, which is strongly characterized by agriculture. Her main concern is the fight against the climate crisis and the rapid expansion of renewable energies, with less time loss from application to the construction of photovoltaic or wind power plants. With more communication that communities can financially benefit from it. And with ingenuity in finding suitable areas. This way, solar modules can cover a parking lot or protect the vines in the vineyard from too much sun. Because with the grape varieties currently grown there, winemakers are facing a heat problem and are partially switching to varieties that have traditionally been grown in Southern Europe. In addition to warming, there are also the dried out soils that can no longer absorb rainwater – a problem not only for agriculture, as seen in the Ahrtal.
In the EU, Lührmann sees the need for reforms, especially as the community should continue to grow. For Ukraine, joining is an important hope in their defensive war, as she could determine in the basement conversation with deputies during the bombing attack in Kiev. Here, one should consider the possibility of advancing the approach in individual steps depending on the topic area. She is definitely „very excited“ about the EU reform concept by experts that will be presented soon. Less blocking possibilities for individual countries would be a reform goal that she envisions.
Den Streit in der Ampelkoalition, auf den Nitz sie anspricht, relativiert sie in gewissem Sinn: „Wir in der Politik werden für das Streiten bezahlt.“ Leider würden die guten Ergebnisse zu wenig kommuniziert, weder durch die Regierung und noch durch die sie tragenden Parteien, und auch nicht durch die Medien, für die Streit interessanter sei als Einigung. Immerhin habe die Regierung bereits 170 Gesetze verabschiedet, wirft Nitz ein.
Lührmann disagrees with the portrayal of the EU as a creator of bureaucracy, stating that it is actually the opposite, as seen in the case of Brexit. He believes that the EU brings prosperity, peace, and opportunities for young people. He emphasizes the importance of continuously discussing these benefits.
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The event series „bwg sitzungswoche – Sprechstunde“ is a collaboration between bwg Berliner Wirtschaftsgespräche, sitzungswoche – Independent Network for Politics, Economy and Media, StäV Ständige Vertretung Berlin, Wölhaf Group, and OSI Club with the support of Studio Schiffbauerdamm Landau Media and berlin bubble.