Cem �zdemir

"Cem �zdemir is currently [2003] a transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Washington, DC. A member of the German Green party since 1981, he was first elected to the German parliament in 1994. With his election, Mr. �zdemir � a Turkish citizen by birth, who was naturalized in 1983 � became the first representative of non-German origin to serve in the German Bundestag. Mr. �zdemir was a member of parliament until 2002. During his first term, he served as the parliamentary speaker on migration issues and as Vice-Chairman of both the German-Turkish and the German-Greek friendship groups. After his reelection in 1998, Mr. �zdemir became parliamentary speaker on internal affairs for the Greens, as well as Chairman of the German-Turkish friendship group. Mr. �zdemir studied social pedagogic and completed training as an educator before starting on his political career. From 1989 to 1995, he was a member of the district board of the Greens in the state of Baden-W�rttemberg. He currently serves on the boards of a variety of organizations devoted to intercultural understanding, political and academic exchange, and nature conservation. In 2002, he was elected as a �Global Leader for Tomorrow� by the World Economic Forum and, in 1997, received an award as �Multi-Cultural Man of the Year� from the broadcast station Sender Freies Berlin. Mr. �zdemir is the author of numerous books on immigration, integration, and cultural identity, including his autobiography, which appeared in 1997."

(created 19 April 2003)
SOURCE: Hudson Institute