Gülistan Yüksel

Gülistan Yüksel
Gülistan Yüksel in 2014
Member of the Bundestag
Incumbent
Assumed office 2013
Personal details
Born	(1962-03-27) 27 March 1962 (age 62) Adana, Turkey
Nationality	German
Political party	SPD
Children	2

Gülistan Yüksel (born 27 March 1962) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag, the German parliament, since 2013.^[1]

Early life and professional career

Yüksel was born in Adana, Turkey.^[1] At the age of eight years, she moved to Mönchengladbach, Germany, and grew up in Rheydt. After vocational training as a pharmacy assistant (Pharmazeutisch-kaufmännische Angestellte [de]), she worked in a pharmacy in Rheydt. Later, she became head of a taxi company.^[2]

Political career

Yüksel became an SPD member in 1997. She was deputy chair of her local party organisation from 2005 to 2014 and chair since 2014.^[1] After serving on the Mönchengladbach city foreigner's council in the mid-1990s, she was a member of the city council for most of the time between 2002 and 2013.^[2]

Yüksel became a member of the Bundestag in the 2013 elections and was reelected in 2017 as one of 14 members of the Bundestag with Turkish roots.^[3] In addition to her committee assignments, she has been a member of the German delegation to the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly since 2019.^[4]

Within her parliamentary group, Yüksel belongs to the Parliamentary Left, a left-wing movement.^[5]

Recognition

Yüksel was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2007 for her engagement for migrants.^[6]

Other activities

• Federal Agency for Civic Education (BPB), Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2022)^[7]

Personal life

Yüksel is married and has two children.^[1]

References