Ferda Ataman is to become the new anti

Enlarge image

Ferda Ataman

Photo: Jörg Carstensen / picture alliance / dpa

The post of anti-discrimination commissioner of the federal government has been vacant since 2018 - now the cabinet has proposed a new candidate to the Bundestag: the publicist and political scientist Ferda Ataman is to become the new head of the federal anti-discrimination agency.

Parliament is expected to decide on the personnel in the coming week.

The anti-discrimination agency advises people who are disadvantaged in their work life or in everyday business because of their ethnic origin, religion, ideology, sexual identity, age, disability or gender.

In addition, it prepares scientific studies and regularly submits a report to the Bundestag together with the respective government representatives.

Officially, the office for which Ataman has now been proposed is to be designed as an "Independent Federal Commissioner for Anti-Discrimination."

The term of office is limited to five years, a one-time re-election is possible.

Ataman also worked as a columnist for SPIEGEL

Christine Lüders headed the position for a long time.

The reason for the vacancy since 2018 was the appointment procedure at the time, in which the Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth could appoint the head.

This led to lawsuits from competitors.

In April of this year, the Equal Treatment Act was amended to allow for elections by the Bundestag.

Ataman would then be appointed and sworn in by the Federal President.

"Diversity is the strength of our society," said Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens).

With the proposal for the election of Ataman, this strength will be further expanded.

She stands for an inclusive, democratic society.

Ataman worked in public service, including in the Ministry for Intergenerational Affairs, Family, Women and Integration in North Rhine-Westphalia and as head of department at the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency.

She then set up Mediendienst Integration, a scientific information platform for journalists, and worked as an author, journalist and columnist.

Until 2020, she wrote the »Heimatkunde« column for SPIEGEL.

(You can find an overview of her texts here).

Most recently, she founded a consulting company for diversity.

The federal cabinet's proposal to make Ataman anti-discrimination officer has met with criticism from the CDU and the FDP.

The parliamentary director of the CSU Bundestag group, Stefan Müller, called Ataman a "crass miscasting" in the "Bild".

"Again, a left-wing activist has been promoted to a government office funded by taxpayers." Ataman has so far attracted attention primarily "with verbal abuse towards people without a migration background".

There is also resistance in the ranks of the coalition partner FDP.

MP Linda Teuteberg tweeted: "A proposal to the German Bundestag that I cannot vote for."

ulz/dpa/AFP