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Ulrich Thoden

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Ulrich Thoden
Member of the Bundestag
from North Rhine-Westphalia
Assumed office
2025
Personal details
Born (1973-05-16) 16 May 1973 (age 52)
Münster
Political partyDie Linke (since 2018)
Other political
affiliations
SPD (until 2018)
Alma materUniversity of Münster

Ulrich Thoden (born 16 May 1973)[1] is a German politician from Die Linke. He was elected to the German Bundestag via the North Rhine-Westphalia state list in the 2025 German federal election.[2]

Life and career

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Thoden was born in the Münster district of Münster-Hiltrup [de]. After graduating from the Ratsgymnasium in Münster in 1992, Thoden studied Catholic theology at the University of Münster, graduating with distinction in 1999. In 2005, he passed the First State Examination for secondary school teachers and the Second State Examination in 2008.[1] From 2006 , Thoden taught English, Latin, and Catholic theology at the Canisianum Gymnasium [de] in Lüdinghausen,[3] where he also served as a class teacher. From 2017 until his entry into the 21st Bundestag in 2025, he worked as a teacher at the Rheine vocational college in the Steinfurt district, where he taught English, Latin, philosophy, and Catholic religion.[1]

Politics

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Thoden was already politically active during his school days at the Ratsgymnasium in Münster, for example by participating in demonstrations against the Gulf War in 1991.[3] In 2008, he joined the SPD.[3] In 2016 applied within the party to succeed Münster SPD MP Christoph Strässer [de].[4] In 2018, he joined Die Linke, where he was parliamentary group spokesman for the Münster council group from 2020 to 2024. In 2022, he became deputy state spokesperson for The Left Party in North Rhine-Westphalia and in 2023, delegate for North Rhine-Westphalia to the party council. [1]

On 14 December 2024, a general meeting was held, at which Thoden was elected as the direct candidate in Steinfurt III.[5][6] At the state representative meeting of Die Linke NRW on 11 January 2025, it was announced that he would be running for the 2025 German federal election for the state list position 4.[7] In his constituency, Die Linke received 6.0% for the first vote and 6.4% for the second vote.[8]

Trade union activity

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In addition to his political work, Thoden is active in the Education and Science Union (GEW) . In 2017, he was elected chairman of the GEW Münster city association for the first time.[9][10] In this role, he advocates for better working conditions in the education sector and, in connection with the "Education Construction Site" campaign, criticized unequal pay for teachers and called for more staff through better pay and better working conditions.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Thoden, Ulrich" (in German). Retrieved 2025-02-25.
  2. ^ "Zwei Linke aus dem Kreis Steinfurt im Bundestag" (in German). 2025-02-25. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
  3. ^ a b c Peter Werth. "Cani-Lehrer ordnet sich selbst als „links" ein" (in German). Retrieved 2025-02-25.
  4. ^ Martin Kalitschke. "Vom Klassenraum in den Plenarsaal: Lehrer aus Münster sitzt nun im Bundestag" (in German). Retrieved 2025-02-25.
  5. ^ "Direktkandidat:innen-Wahl Borken I - Steinfurt I" (in German). 2024-12-14. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  6. ^ "Mareike Hermeier und Ulrich Thoden als Direktkandidierende gewählt" (in German). 2024-12-22. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  7. ^ "Landesvertreter:innenversammlung Die Linke NRW 11.01.2025 / Kamen" (in German). Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  8. ^ "Detail-Ergebnis" (in German). Retrieved 2025-02-25.
  9. ^ wn. "Neuer Vorsitzender lobt Tarifabschluss" (in German). Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  10. ^ Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft NRW. "GEW-Stadtverband wählt neuen Vorstand" (in German). Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  11. ^ Münster Tube (2022-04-06). "GEW-Aktion "Baustelle Bildung" in Münster - Statement von Ulrich Thoden (Vors. GEW Münster)". Retrieved 2025-02-26.