Sawsan Mohammed Chebli (born 26 July 1978 in West Berlin, Berlin,Profile of Sawsan Chebli at the Süddeutsche Zeitung (German), 13 December 2017. Accessed 22 May 2019. West Germany) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Early life and education Chebli was born to Palestinian asylum seekers in Germany and grew up with her parents and twelve siblings in Berlin's Moabit district. She was stateless until the age of 15, and her father was expelled from Germany three times and returned illegally each time.Itay Mashiach (18 May 2019), A Daughter of Palestinian Refugees, This German Politician Is Fighting anti-Semitism Haaretz.
Chebli only started to learn German when she entered school.Itay Mashiach (18 May 2019), A Daughter of Palestinian Refugees, This German Politician Is Fighting anti-Semitism Haaretz. After completing her Abitur at Lessing-Gymnasium in Wedding, Berlin in 1999, she studied political science at the Otto Suhr Institute (OSI) of the Free University of Berlin.
Political career
Chebli joined the Social Democratic Party in 2001. During her time at university, she worked as student research assistant to Gert Weisskirchen. From 2004, she served as chief of staff to Johannes Jung.
Between 2010 and 2014, Chebli was the first spokesperson for intercultural affairs of the Berlin's State Minister of the Interior and Sport, Ehrhart Körting, in the state government of the Governing Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit. From January 2014, she served as deputy spokesperson of the Federal Foreign Office under Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel; she was the first Muslim to hold that post.Itay Mashiach (18 May 2019), A Daughter of Palestinian Refugees, This German Politician Is Fighting anti-Semitism Haaretz.
From December 2016 until December 2021,Julius Betschka (20 December 2021), Nachfolgerin von Sawsan Chebli: 27-jährige Sozialdemokratin wird Staatssekretärin in Berlin Der Tagesspiegel. Chebli served as State Secretary for Federal Affairs in the state government of the Governing Mayor of Berlin Michael Müller. As one of Berlin's representatives in the Bundesrat, she was a member Permanent Advisory Council, which is composed of the sixteen envoys of the federal states.
In August 2020, Chebli announced that she would run for a parliamentary seat in the 2021 national elections.Lorenz Maroldt (August 15, 2020), Chebli kandidiert gegen Müller: Nimmt eine Frau sich Macht, legen Männer das als parteischädigend aus Der Tagesspiegel.Sabine Menkens (August 16, 2020), Sawsan Chebli: „Ich denke, dass ich für dieses dynamische Berlin stehe“ Die Welt. For her candidacy, she won many well-known supporters, including Auschwitz survivor Esther Béjarano, musician Marius Müller-Westernhagen, art collector Julia Stoschek and actors Sebastian Koch and Clemens Schick. In an internal vote, however, she lost out against Michael Müller.Ulrich Zawatka-Gerlach, Robert Kiesel and Ingo Salmen (October 28, 2020), Sieg gegen Sawsan Chebli: Michael Müller gewinnt Duell um die Bundestagskandidatur Der Tagesspiegel.
Other activities Global Citizen, Member of the European Board (since 2021)Board of Directors Global Citizen. German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), Member of the Presidium (since 2019) Apolitical Foundation, Member of the Global Advisor NetworkGlobal Advisor Network Apolitical Foundation. Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy (CFFP), Member of the Advisory BoardAdvisory Council Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy (CFFP). Checkpoint Charlie Foundation, Member of the Supervisory BoardSupervisory Board Checkpoint Charlie Foundation. Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future“ (EVZ), Member of the Board of TrusteesBoard of Trustees Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future". German-Arab Friendship Association (DAFG), Co-Founder and Member of the Advisory BoardAbout Us German-Arab Friendship Association (DAFG).
Political positions In an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in 2016, Chebli addressed the role of Sharia, saying, "it primarily deals with the personal relationship between God and humans. It addresses things like prayer, fasting and alms. That presents no problems for me as a democrat; it is absolutely compatible [with democracy], just as it is for Christians, Jews and anyone else." The statement caused controversy after her appointment to a governing position in Berlin.
Chebli has also denounced anti-Islam right wing German populists, telling Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "My father is a pious Muslim, hardly speaks German, can neither read nor write, but he is more integrated than many functionaries of the AfD who question our constitution."
Alarmed by displays of anti-Semitism among new immigrants to Germany in 2018, Chebli proposed required visits to Nazi concentration camp memorials, an idea which soon received support from the Central Council of Jews in Germany and the World Jewish Congress.Miriam Hollstein (7 January 2018), SPD-Politikerin fordert KZ-Pflichtbesuch für Deutsche und Migranten Bild.Rick Gladstone (10 January 2018), German Idea to Fight Anti-Semitism: Make Immigrants Tour Concentration Camps New York Times.
Controversy In January 2022, the Berlin Regional Court ruled that the publicist Roland Tichy must pay Chebli damages of 10,000 euros for sexist remarks about her in his publication Tichys Einblick.Alwin Schröder (4 January 2021), Wegen sexistischer Beleidigung: SPD-Politikerin Chebli erhält Schmerzensgeld von Journalist Tichy Der Spiegel.
Personal life Chebli has been married since 2006.Itay Mashiach (18 May 2019), A Daughter of Palestinian Refugees, This German Politician Is Fighting anti-Semitism Haaretz. In 2020, she gave birth to a son.Joachim Fahrun (26 August 2020), Wie Müller Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf für sich erobern will Berliner Morgenpost.
Publications Ich träume davon, dass wir Muslime ein anderes Bild des Islams zeigen ("I dream that we Muslims show a different image of Islam") Die Zeit, 29. March 2012 Muslimischsein – Deutschsein – Frausein ("Muslimness - Germanness - womanhood") spd-fem.net, Nov. 26, 2012 Multi-Kulti oder Parallelgesellschaft? "Multi-culti" or "parallel society"? The debate on Muslim integration Diplomatic Magazine 5, 2013
References