Ursula von der Leyen has accused Britain of compromising on its coronavirus vaccine safety, saying that the EU's slower approval process was the 'right decision.' President von der Leyen's team supports her in her daily work. Instead, she went into medicine and graduated (1987) from Hanover (Germany) Medical School (MHH). Ursula von der Leyen, Belgian-born German politician who was the first woman to serve as Germany’s minister of defense (2013–19). The defense spending target of 1.5 percent of GDP by 2024 remained short of the 2.0 percent agreed upon by NATO leaders in 2014, however, and the Bundeswehr struggled to reach expanded manpower goals. Omissions? Nicki Peter Petrikowski is a freelance writer, editor, and translator. The following day she resigned as Germany’s defense minister and was succeeded by Kramp-Karrenbauer. Although she was the daughter of an esteemed European Community official, von der Leyen herself was seen as something of an outsider to the Brussels establishment, and, despite the fact that she had received the endorsement of the centrist and liberal parliamentary blocs, there remained doubts about the likelihood of her confirmation. In addition, she earned a master’s degree (2001) in public health. The President is the head of the European Commission. The President also sets the Commission's policy agenda. The situation strained resources and led to anti-immigration efforts. In December 2013 von der Leyen—seen by some as a possible successor to Merkel—became the first woman to hold the defense portfolio. Von der Leyen urged restraint, arguing that it was a mistake to equate refugees with terrorists. On July 16, 2019, von der Leyen was narrowly confirmed, receiving 383 of 747 votes (with 374 needed). Mar 22, 2021 Ursula von der Leyen, Werner Hoyer By strengthening its emissions-reduction targets and investing heavily in clean energy, greentech, and research and development, the European Union has positioned itself as a global climate leader. Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The origin can be traced to the middle of the 10th century, which had estates on the Moselle.Originally the family was named de Petra or by its castle in Gondorf (Cunthereve). Von der Leyen most mégis a saját pártjától kapja a legkeményebb támadásokat. The European Commission hit out after its chief Ursula von der Leyen was left without a chair as Turkey’s president sat down for talks with her male counterpart. European Commission Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200 1049 Brussels. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. * 8. Meet extraordinary women who dared to bring gender equality and other issues to the forefront. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. In July 2019 she became the first woman … Von der Leyen reacted to the findings by saying that it would take time to make up for decades of spending shortfalls, and Merkel’s government committed to a significant increase in its defense budget. Road to the European Commission presidency, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ursula-von-der-Leyen. A machine-readable version of all Declarations is also published. They set the work of the European institutions around six headline ambitions for Europe for this period: As part of the Commission’s commitment to transparency, Commissioners and their members of Cabinet publish information on meetings held with organisations or self-employed individuals. All of a sudden, it seems that the supposed new technocratic administration may be a little more politically active than initially expected. Fewer than one-third of Germany’s combat aircraft, fewer than half of its tanks, and just three of its heavy transport aircraft were available for deployment. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. While she held that post, the ongoing financial crisis compelled her to make cuts to welfare spending. She studied economics (1977–80) at the Universities of Göttingen and Münster as well as at the London School of Economics but never graduated. Turkish President Erdogan HUMILIATES EU chief Ursula von der Leyen Pathetic 60 Minutes busted trying to smear Florida Gov. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). In that post she endeavoured to reform the Bundeswehr (federal armed forces) while dealing with a number of challenges. The crisis sparked new concerns about NATO’s capabilities, especially after an independent review of Germany’s defense ministry, released in October 2014, uncovered scores of “problems and risks” in its procurement process. Media enquiries should be directed to the European Commission press service. Grab a copy of our NEW encyclopedia for Kids! A physician by profession, she previously also served as the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs from 2009 to 2013 and as the Minister of Senior Citizens, Women and Youth from 2005 to 2009. Born in Brussels, the 60-year-old Ursula von der Leyen moved to Germany when she was only 13. European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, gave a special address to Davos Agenda Week. There is a common thread running through the career of Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission. Thank you very much, dear Klaus. The watchdog, which monitors German government cashflows, described dozens of irregularities in the hiring of external consultants by von der Leyen's defense ministry. The first time the public heard about the scandal was in the fall of 2018, when internal reports by Germany’s Federal Audit Office were leaked to the media. In last week’s state of the union address, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s speech was a surprising tour-de-force. Von der Leyen declined to campaign for the position, which was eventually filled by Merkel protégé Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. This is in line with the requirements of the Code of Conduct. Responses to petitions, or a high number of identical correspondence to the President and other members of the College of Commissioners, are published here in the interest of transparency and coherence. Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (født 8. oktober 1958 i Bruxelles-bydelen Ixelles) er en tysk politiker, der repræsenterer CDU og som fra d. 17. december 2013 var landets forsvarsminister i regeringerne Angela Merkel III og Angela Merkel IV.Von der Leyen blev den 2. juli 2019 nomineret til at være formand for EU-kommissionen fra 2019 til 2024. Doubts that the country could fulfill its military commitment to NATO, owing to a lack of battle-ready equipment, led some allies to pressure Germany to increase its military spending. President von der Leyen was appointed by national leaders and elected by the European Parliament after she presented her Political Guidelines. After her return to Germany, she served as a faculty member (1998–2002) at the MHH’s department of epidemiology, social medicine, and health systems research. From overcoming oppression, to breaking rules, to reimagining the world or waging a rebellion, these women of history have a story to tell. She was initially seen as a possible successor to German chancellor Angela Merkel. Contact the team. Ursula von der Leyen was left without a seat at a summit in Ankara on Tuesday after her two male counterparts took the only available chairs, leaving her to perch on a nearby sofa. In February 2018 a survey of German military equipment found that only a fraction of key weapons systems were combat ready. Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen szül. In late 2010 von der Leyen was elected deputy chairman of the CDU. Her position, however, drew increasing pushback following terrorist attacks in Paris (2015) and Brussels (2016). These guidelines were inspired by her discussions with the parliament’s political groups, as well as by the European Council’s strategic agenda for 2019-2024. According to the treaties, the President decides on the organisation of the Commission and allocates portfolios to individual Commissioners. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. That von der Leyen, who had once been regarded as Merkel’s heir apparent, did not even present herself as a candidate was seen by some as evidence that the defense portfolio continued to be a poisoned chalice. In July 2019 she became the first woman to be elected president of the European Commission. Ursula von der Leyen, née Ursula Albrecht, (born October 8, 1958, Brussels, Belgium), Belgian-born German politician who was the first woman to serve as Germany’s minister of defense (2013–19). After the CDU won the federal elections in 2005, she was appointed minister of family affairs, senior citizens, women, and youth in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s first cabinet. The house von der Leyen is an ancient German noble family of princely and historically sovereign rank. Most surprising, however, was the nomination of von der Leyen to succeed Juncker as president of the European Commission. In October 2018, after a poor showing by the CDU in regional elections, Merkel announced that she would not seek another term as party leader. Heinäkuussa 2019 Eurooppa-neuvosto päätti ehdottaa von der Leyenia komission johtoon ja Euroopan parlamentti valitsi hänet tehtävään 16. heinäkuuta. Albrecht, s. 8. lokakuuta 1958 Bryssel, Belgia) on saksalainen kristillisdemokraattinen poliitikko ja Euroopan komission nykyinen puheenjohtaja. Ursula Gertrud Albrecht von der Leyen, nemška zdravnica in političarka, * 8. oktober 1958, Ixelles, Belgija.. 1. decembra 2019 je postala predsednica Evropske komisije. Those consultants played a more significant role than the ministry had publicly claimed, several media reports said: … Bjoern Seibert. Seats were laid out for Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the EU’s Charles Michel in Ankara but Ms von der Leyen had to sit on a sofa. Ursula von der Leyen, who had joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in 1990, became involved in 1996 in the politics of Lower Saxony—the federal state her father had governed (1976–90). Von der Leyen proposed extending recruiting efforts to foreign European Union (EU) nationals who had been long-term residents of Germany, but other EU leaders expressed concerns about how such efforts might affect their own military readiness.