Name Jo Leinen Resigned 1994 | ||
![]() | ||
Born 6 April 1948 (age 76) Bisten, Saar Protectorate ( 1948-04-06 ) Books The Winners of the New European Treaty | ||
Preceded by Francesco Rossollillo Political party German:SPD EU:PES |
Wfeb 2015 mr jo leinen member of the european parliament board member wfeb
Joseph Leinen (born 6 April 1948) is a German politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Germany. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, part of the Party of European Socialists.
Contents
- Wfeb 2015 mr jo leinen member of the european parliament board member wfeb
- Jo Leinen EU China Climate Cooperation
- Extraparliamentary tasks
- Party
- Career in national politics
- Member of the European Parliament
- Commitment to European ideal
- Other activities
- Recognition
- Publications
- References

He is well known for his environmental and foreign affairs activities, as well as for his support for a Federal Europe. He obtained a law degree in Germany in 1972 and a Certificate of Advanced European Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, in 1974. Since 1977 he has worked as a lawyer.

Jo Leinen - EU-China Climate Cooperation
Extraparliamentary tasks
Leinen became publicly known as a spokesman of the Anti-nuclear movement and the Peace movement (1980), he was also active for the Bundesverband Bürgerinitiativen Umweltschutz (BBU). He received the nickname "container-Jo" during a demonstration, having climbed a container in order to coordinate protest actions by megaphone. Because of his participation at a demonstration against the Brokdorf Nuclear Power Plant (1981), he was briefly charged with being "guide and headman" of a rioting 'mob', however the Federal Constitutional Court eventually dropped charges against him, ruling that there can not be a case of "guide and headman" during collective actions. (One of his defenders at the time was Gerhard Schröder, former Chancellor of the BRD.)
Party
Jo Leinen is a member of the SPD and had different functions:
Career in national politics
From 1985 until 1999, Leinen was a Member of the Landtag of Saarland. He served as State Minister of the Environment in the government of Minister-President Oskar Lafontaine between 1985 and 1994.
From 1995, Leinen was also a substitute member of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), invariably standing in for Lafontaine. In 1999, he was also member of the municipal council of Püttlingen/Saar.
Member of the European Parliament
Leinen has been elected Member of the European Parliament without interruption since 1999. In parliament, he concentrates on environment, the development of the unification of the European Union and on foreign affairs. Since 2004 he has been the President of some key Committees and Delegations in the EP.
In 2015, Leinen was one of the Parliament’s two rapporteurs (alongside Danuta Hübner) on a set of proposed changes to EU electoral law that sought to regularize a variety of different electoral systems across the EU.
In addition to his committee assignments, Leinen served on the European Parliament Intergroup on a European Constitution from 1999 until 2009.
Commitment to European ideal
He was member in the Committee of the Regions from 1995 to 1999 and in the Congress of the Regions and Communes of the Council of Europe. Currently, he is member of different organisations of culture, social and sport; and also vice-president of EUROSOLAR e.V (1988-2005).
Jo Leinen was chairman of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) (JEF) (1977–1979) and vice-president of the European Environment Bureau (EEB) in Brussels (1979–1984). He was President of the UEF (1977–2005). He served as vice-president of the European Movement International from 2005 to 2011 until in November 2011 he was elected president of the organisation.
Other activities
Leinen has been President of the Union of European Federalists since 1997. In addition, he holds various other positions, including: