Elfriede "Friedel" Grützmacher (born 3 August 1942 in Leer

Leer

Leer is a town in the district of Leer, the northwestern part of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated at the river Ems, near the border with the Netherlands....

, Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

) is a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 from East Frisia

East Frisia

East Frisia or Eastern Friesland is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony....

 and member of the German Green party.

Originally a teacher in Wörth

Wörth

Wörth may refer to:*places in Germany:**Wörth am Main, Miltenberg district, Bavaria**Wörth am Rhein, Germersheim district, Rhineland-Palatinate**Wörth an der Donau, Regensburg district, Bavaria**Wörth an der Isar, Landshut district, Bavaria...

 in Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....

, she joined the Green Party in the 1980s, and served as an elected Member of the Rhineland-Palatinate Landtag

Rhineland-Palatinate Landtag

The Rhineland-Palatinate Landtag is the state diet of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate.Article 79, Section 1 of the Rhineland-Palatinate constitution provides: "The Landtag is the supreme organ of political decision-making, elected by the people...

between 1991 and 2006. She was the leader of her party group in the Landtag from 1993 to 1996, deputy leader from 1996-2001, and was Vice President of the Landtag from 2001 until 2006. She served on the Committees for Justice and Internal Affairs and the Penal Justice Commission. Prior to 1996, she had been responsible for educational policy.