Martina Renner (born 11 March 1967) is a German politician of The Left who has been a member of the Bundestag since 2013 and one of six deputy leaders of her party since 2018.
Life and education
Renner grew up in Mainz and attended the Gymnasium Gonsenheim, earning her Abitur in 1986. She then studied philosophy, cultural studies, art studies, and biology at the University of Bremen from 1987 to 1995. She was a member of the board of the General Students' Committee there from 1993 to 1995. After graduating, she worked in Bremen from 1996 to 1997 as an education and public relations officer at the German-Kurdish Friendship Association and from 1998 to 2002 as a cultural manager at the Fuhrpark district cultural center.[1]
Political career
Renner grew up in the Gonsenheim neighbourhood of Mainz, where both the far-right extremist Aid Organisation for National Political Prisoners and neo-Nazi activists Ursula and Curt Müller were active. Being exposed to their activities during her teenage years, Renner developed a strong political conscience and opposition to right-wing extremism.[2]
In 2002, Renner became a research assistant to the PDS parliamentary group in the Landtag of Thuringia. From 2005 to 2007, she served in the PDS district executive in Erfurt. She was elected to the Landtag in the 2009 Thuringian state election and became deputy chair of The Left faction, as well as spokeswoman for domestic policy. During her time in the Landtag, she was vice-chair of the investigative committee on the National Socialist Underground.[1]
In June 2018, Renner was elected as one of six deputy federal leaders of The Left.[5] She was re-elected to the position in January 2021.[4]
On 26 September 2019, Renner received a call to order from vice-president of the Bundestag Wolfgang Kubicki for wearing an Antifa sticker on her lapel while speaking in opposition to a motion introduced by the AfD calling to outlaw Antifa. In the aftermath, Kubicki stated that "wearing a button from this group, which legitimises and sometimes pursues attacks on police officers and state institutions, is incompatible with the dignity of the parliament." Renner protested the equation of anti-fascism with fascism itself and noted the value of anti-fascist organisations in combating right-wing extremism; she received support from other Left and Green politicians.[6] Renner regularly consults professional anti-fascist publications and research networks, such as the Antifa-Infoblatt or apabiz, when writing on the topics of extremism, civil rights, and democracy.[7]
