Bärbel Kofler


Bärbel Kofler is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Bavaria since 2004. In 2016, she was appointed as Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Assistance in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Political career

On 21 September 2004 Kofler moved to the Bundestag to replace the late Hans Büttner, representing the Berchtesgadener Land and Traunstein districts.
In parliament, Kofler has been a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs since 2009. She has also served on the Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development ; the Sub-Committee on the United Nations ; the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid ; and the Finance Committee. In addition to her committee assignments, she chaired the German-Ukrainian Parliamentary Friendship Group from 2006 until 2013.
In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition of the Christian Democrats and the SPD under the leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel following the 2013 elections, Kofler was part of the SPD delegation in the working group on the environment and agriculture, led by Katherina Reiche and Ute Vogt. In similar negotiations following the 2017 federal elections, she was part of the working group on foreign policy, led by Ursula von der Leyen, Gerd Müller and Sigmar Gabriel.

Other activities