Lissy Gröner is a German

Politics of Germany

The Federal Republic of Germany is a federal parliamentary republic, based on representative democracy. The Chancellor is the head of government, while the President of Germany is the head of state, which is a ceremonial role but with substantial reserve powers.Executive power is vested in the...

 politician

Politician

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

 and since 1989 Member of the European Parliament

Member of the European Parliament

A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...

 with the Social Democratic Party of Germany

Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

, part of the Socialist Group

Party of European Socialists

The Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...

 and sits on the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

's Committee on Culture and Education

Committee on Culture and Education

The Committee on Culture and Education is a committee of the European Parliament.- Responsibilities of the Committee :This committee has focused on the well-being of all members of the human race and the increased opportunities for education in all countries of the European Union...

 and its Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality

Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality

The Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality is a committee of the European Parliament.-Chair:-Members:*BASTOS, Regina *BAUER, Edit *BOZKURT, Emine *ČEŠKOVÁ, Andrea *CORNELISSEN, Marije *COSTA, Silvia *CYMAŃSKI, Tadeusz...

.

She is a substitute for the Committee on Budgets

Committee on Budgets

-Key Members:-External links:*...

, substitute for the Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

 and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an organisation of South Asian nations, founded in December 1985 by Ziaur Rahman and dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasising collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Bangladesh,...

 (SAARC).

Activities

• Vice-President of SIW (Socialist International Women)
• PSE coordinator on the Committee on Women's Rights
  Women's rights
  Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
  
   and Equal opportunities
• Vice-Chair of the Children's Alliance
• Member of the board of the Association of Social-Democratic Women

Member of

• The Workers' Welfare Association (AWO)
• BUND (Association for Nature and Environmental Protection)
• Europa-Union
• IFFF (Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
  Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
  The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom was established in the United States in January 1915 as the Woman's Peace Party...
  
  )
• 'Die Naturfreunde' tourists' association

Rapporteur for

• The 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing
  Beijing
  Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
  
   and Beijing +5
• Problems of children in the European Community
• Poverty among women in Europe
  Europe
  Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
  
  
• Equal opportunities programme (interim report)
• 2000-2006: The Youth Action Programme
• White Paper on youth

Personal life

Gröner is lesbian and is married to Sabine Gillessen. The couple married in Belgium

Same-sex marriage in Belgium

On June 1, 2003, Belgium became the second country in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage, with some restrictions. Originally, Belgium allowed the marriages of foreign same-sex couples only if their country of origin also allowed these unions...

 in September 2005, with Gröner announcing, "There is no discrimination of same-sex couples in Belgium by law. And this is the signal we want to give to the people in Europe, to send the message out: it's possible to honor the love of same-sex people by law".

External links