Germany · Annemarie Renger

Annemarie Renger belonged to a generation of male and female politicians who shaped the reconstruction of German social democracy after the end of National Socialism. She was born in Leipzig in 1919 and joined the SPD after the Second World War. In the first post-war years, she worked in the circle of party chairman Kurt Schumacher. This work introduced her at an early stage to the party’s organisational and political activities.

In 1953, Renger entered the Deutscher Bundestag and remained a member until 1990. Thus, she was involved in the parliamentary development of the Federal Republic over several decades. Initially, she worked primarily within the SPD parliamentary group and also assumed leadership responsibilities there. Her political career took place at a time when women had possessed the right to vote and held mandates since the founding of the Federal Republic, but the senior positions in political institutions were still predominantly held by men.

Following the 1972 Bundestag election, Renger was elected to head the parliament. As President of the Bundestag, she chaired plenary sessions, represented the Bundestag externally, and was responsible for maintaining its ability to function and its parliamentary order. The office is not connected with leading a government; rather, it represents the parliament as a constitutional organ. Renger held the office until 1976 and subsequently continued to serve in the presidium of the Bundestag as Vice-President.

Her election also attracted attention because it opened an office at the federal level that had not previously been held by a woman. The coin therefore not only focuses on an individual biography but also commemorates the gradual expansion of political participation and the role of women in the institutions of parliamentary democracy. The milestone birthday provides an occasion to recall Renger’s many years of work and her contribution to the history of the Deutscher Bundestag.