Sebastian Schäfer (born 11 July 1979) is a German economist and politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since 2021.
Early life and education Schäfer was born 1979 in the West German town of Dettelbach. He studied philosophy at the University of Erfurt and Beloit College, and economics at the University of California, Berkeley.
Early career From 2018 to 2021, Schäfer worked at Baden-Württemberg's State Ministry of Finance.Sebastian Schäfer Bundestag. He was a 2021/22 Marshall Memorial Fellow of the German Marshall Fund.
Political career Career in state politics In the negotiations to form a coalition government under the leadership of Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg Winfried Kretschmann following the 2021 state elections, Schäfer was part of the working group on the state budget, led by Edith Sitzmann and Stefanie Bürkle.Koalitionsverhandlungen: Arbeitsgruppen Bündnis 90/Die Grünen Baden-Württemberg, press release of 13 April 2021.Koalitionsverhandlungen: Arbeitsgruppen CDU Baden-Württemberg, press release of 13 April 2021.
Member of the German Parliament, 2021–present Schäfer was elected to the Bundestag in 2021.
In parliament, Schäfer has since been serving on the Budget Committee and the Finance Committee.Sebastian Schäfer Bundestag. On the Budget Committee, he serves as his parliamentary group’s rapporteur on the annual budget of the Federal Ministry of Defence.Markus Decker (12 December 2025), Es geht um 52 Milliarden Euro: Rüstungsbeschaffungen im Eiltempo lassen „Raum für zwielichtige Machenschaften“ RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland. In 2022, he also joined the parliamentary body charged with overseeing a 100 billion euro special fund to strengthen Germany's armed forces. Since 2025, he has been a member of the so-called Confidential Committee (Vertrauensgremium) of the Budget Committee, which provides budgetary supervision for Germany's three intelligence services, BND, BfV and MAD.Kaufmann nicht zum Vizepräsidenten gewählt – Gremien besetzt Bundestag, press release of 26 June 2025.
In the negotiations to form a coalition government under the leadership of Cem Özdemir following the 2026 state elections in Baden-Württemberg, Schäfer was part of his party's delegation in the working group on public finances, co-chaired by Danyal Bayaz and Albrecht Schütte.Rafael Binkowski (17 April 2026), Grün-Schwarze Koalitionsverhandlungen:Wer verhandelt für Grüne und CDU? Staatsanzeiger für Baden-Württemberg.
Other activities Nuclear Waste Disposal Fund (KENFO), Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2022)Governance Nuclear Waste Disposal Fund (KENFO).
References