Ursula von der Leyen

**Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen** (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician and physician serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding positions in Angela Merkel's cabinet.

Von der Leyen was born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, to German parents. Her father, Ernst Albrecht, was one of the first European civil servants. She was brought up bilingually in German and French, and moved to Germany in 1971 when her father became involved in German politics. She graduated from the London School of Economics in 1978, and in 1987, she acquired her medical licence from Hanover Medical School. After marrying physician Heiko von der Leyen, she lived for four years in the United States with her family in the 1990s. After returning to Germany she became involved in local politics in the Hanover region in the late 1990s, and she served as a cabinet minister in the state government of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2005.

On 2 July 2019, von der Leyen was proposed by the European Council as the candidate for president of the European Commission. She was then elected by the European Parliament on 16 July, becoming the first woman to hold the office. She was named the most powerful woman in the world by _Forbes_ in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

On 18 July 2024, von der Leyen was re-elected as President of the European Commission by the European Parliament with an absolute majority of 401 members of the European Parliament out of 720.

## Other websites

- Official Site of Ursula von der Leyen

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **embed**: yes
- **office4**: Deputy Leader of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Christian Democratic Union
- **leader4**: Angela Merkel
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
- **alongside4**: Volker Bouffier, Julia Klöckner, Armin Laschet, Thomas Strobl
- **term start4**: 15 November 2010
- **term end4**: 22 November 2019
- **predecessor4**: Christian Wulff
- **successor4**: Silvia Breher


## Infobox (officeholder)

- **embed**: yes
- **office6**: Cabinet Wulff I, Minister for Social Affairs, Women and Families and Health
- **1namedata6**: Christian Wulff
- **term start6**: 4 March 2003
- **term end6**: 22 November 2005
- **predecessor6**: Gitta Trauernicht
- **successor6**: Mechthild Ross-Luttmann


## Infobox (officeholder)

- **embed**: yes
- **office7**: Member of the German Bundestag, Member of the Bundestag
 for Lower Saxony
- **term start7**: 2009 German federal election, 27 October 2009
- **term end7**: 31 July 2019
- **successor7**: Ingrid Pahlmann
- **predecessor7**: _Multi-member district_
- **constituency7**: Electoral system of Germany, Christian Democratic Union list
- **office8**: Member of the
Landtag of Lower Saxony
 for Lehrte
- **term start8**: 2003 Lower Saxony state election, 4 March 2003
- **term end8**: 7 December 2005
- **predecessor8**: Gerhard Schröder
- **successor8**: Dorothee Prüssner


## Infobox (officeholder)

- **honorific prefix**: The Honourable
- **name**: Ursula von der Leyen
- **image**: Ursula von der Leyen 2024.jpg
- **caption**: Official portrait, 2024
- **office**: President of the European Commission
- **term start**: 1 December 2019
- **1blankname**: Commission
- **1namedata**: Von der Leyen Commission I, Von der Leyen I and Von der Leyen Commission II, II
- **predecessor**: Jean-Claude Juncker
- **office1**: Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany), Minister for Defence
- **chancellor1**: Angela Merkel
- **term start1**: 17 December 2013
- **term end1**: 17 July 2019
- **predecessor1**: Thomas de Maizière
- **successor1**: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
- **office2**: Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Minister for Labour and Social Affairs
- **chancellor2**: Angela Merkel
- **term start2**: 30 November 2009
- **term end2**: 17 December 2013
- **predecessor2**: Franz Josef Jung
- **successor2**: Andrea Nahles
- **office3**: Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
- **chancellor3**: Angela Merkel
- **term start3**: 22 November 2005
- **term end3**: 30 November 2009
- **predecessor3**: Renate Schmidt
- **successor3**: Kristina Schröder
- **birth name**: Ursula Gertrud Albrecht
- **birth place**: Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium
- **citizenship**: Germany
- **party**: Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Christian Democratic Union (since 1990)
- **otherparty**: European People's Party
- **children**: 7
- **father**: Ernst Albrecht (politician, born 1930), Ernst Albrecht
- **alma mater**: University of Göttingen
London School of Economics
Hannover Medical School (Doctor of Medicine, MD, Master of Public Health, MPH)
- **signature**: Ursula von der Leyen signature.svg