Steffen Bockhahn: Difference between revisions

| website = {{URL|https://www.bockhahn.de/}}

'''Steffen Bockhahn''' (December 29, 1978, in [[Rostock]]) is a [[Germany|German]] [[politician]]. He is the [[Senator]] for Social Affairs, Youth, Health and Schools of the Hanseatic City of Rostock.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bockhahn ist Sozialsenator |url=https://www.ostsee-zeitung.de/Mecklenburg/Rostock/Bockhahn-ist-Sozialsenator |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |work=OZ -– Ostsee-Zeitung |agency=Ostsee Zeitung |date=2015-01-January 15, 2015 |location=Rostock |language=de}}</ref> From October 24, 2009, to November 5, 2012, he was the state chairman of the [[The Left (Germany)|Left Party]] in [[Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania]], and from 2009 to 2013 he was a member of the [[List of members of the 17th Bundestag|17th German Bundestag]], where he was elected as a direct candidate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alphabetisches Verzeichnis der Gewählten nach Parteien: DIE LINKE Vorläufiges Ergebnis der Bundestagswahl 2009 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001110214/http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/de/bundestagswahlen/BTW_BUND_09/ergebnisse/gewaehlte/partei/gewaehlte_partei_34.html |website=web.archive.org |publisher=Der Bundeswahlleiter |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |date=1 October 1, 2009}}</ref>

Bockhahn spent his childhood in Rostock. Until he started school, he lived with his parents and older sister in the Reutershagen district before the family moved to a new development in the city center. From 1985 to 1991, he attended the 9th [[Polytechnic Secondary School|POS]] Clara Zetkin, which regained its old name "''Große Stadtschule''" during the [[German reunification|reunification period]]. From the third grade on, he learned the [[Russian language]] there. From 1991 until his [[Abitur]], Bockhahn was a student at the Gymnasium am Goetheplatz. He passed his Abitur in 1997 with advanced courses in mathematics and English.

Bockhahn did his [[Zivildienst|civilian alternative service]] ([[German language|German]]: ''Zivildienst'') at a daycare center run by the [[People's Solidarity]] in Rostock. From 1999 to 2000, he was a volunteer at the private radio station ''Ostseewelle'' before moving to its competitor ''Antenne Mecklenburg-Vorpommern''. There he worked as an editor and news anchor.

In 2002, Steffen Bockhahn began studying political science and modern European history at the [[University of Rostock]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Profil Steffen Bockhahn |url=https://www.linksfraktion.de/fraktion/abgeordnete/profil/steffen-bockhahn/ |website=Fraktion DIE LINKE. im Bundestag |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |language=de}}</ref>. He passed his Bachelor of Arts exams in 2005 and his Master of Arts exams in 2007. From October 2007, he was an assistant to [[Dietmar Bartsch]], a member of the German [[Bundestag]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Vita Steffen Bockhahn |url=https://www.bockhahn.de/zur-person/vita/ |website=DIE LINKE. Steffen Bockhahn |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |language=de}}</ref>

== Political Careercareer ==

Steffen Bockhahn began his political involvement as a school representative at the high school and in the district student council of Rostock. On May 1, 1995, he joined the [[PDS]] at the age of 16<ref>{{cite web |title=Rostock -– Lebenslauf von Steffen Bockhahn |url=https://rathaus.rostock.de/de/rathaus/aktuelles_medien/lebenslauf_von_steffen_bockhahn/275963 |website=rathaus.rostock.de |access-date=19 December 19, 2020}}</ref>. Before he withdrew from active politics from 1999 onwards, due to work commitments, he was a member of the district executive committee, the state executive committee and a delegate to the federal party conference.

In 2004, Bockhahn ran for the Rostock city council for the first time and was elected. In the same year, he became deputy state chairman of his party in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In the [[2005 German federal election|2005 federal election]], Bockhahn stood for the PDS in constituency 14. After [[Christian Kleiminger]] ([[SPD]]) and [[Eckhardt Rehberg]] ([[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]]), he received the third-best vote but failed to win. In the [[2009 German federal election|2009 federal election]], he was elected as a direct candidate. In the [[2013 German federal election|2013 federal election]], he lost the direct mandate in the Bundestag constituency Rostock -– Landkreis Rostock II (constituency 14) to [[Peter Stein]] (CDU).<ref>{{cite web |title=Wahl zum Bundestag der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in Mecklenburg-Vorpommernam 22. September 2013 – Endgültiges ErgebnisWahlkreis 14: Rostock -– Landkreis Rostock II |url=http://service.mvnet.de/cgi-bin/wahlen/2013_bund/wahl2013_anz.pl?B_WK14.htm |website=service.mvnet.de |access-date=19 December 19, 2020}}</ref>

Since 2007, Steffen Bockhahn was chairman of the parliamentary group The Left in Rostock. During this time, he initiated a citizens' petition against the sale of municipal property together with the service sector union [[ver.di]]. More than 10,000 signatures were collected in five weeks. However, due to an objection by the mayor, there are now court proceedings to clarify the legality.<ref>{{cite news |title=Politthriller: Rechtsaufsicht stärkt Bockhahn {{!}} svz.de |url=https://www.svz.de/lokales/rostock/rechtsaufsicht-staerkt-bockhahn-id6040111.html |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |work=svz |date=2014-03-March 19, 2014}}</ref>

On March 5, 2014, Bockhahn was elected senator for the department of youth, social affairs, health, schools, and sports by the Rostock city parliament.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bürgerschaft hat gewählt: Steffen Bockhahn ist neuer Sozialsenator {{!}} nnn.de |url=https://www.nnn.de/lokales/rostock/steffen-bockhahn-ist-neuer-sozialsenator-id5920261.html |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |work=svz |date=March 5, 2014-03-05}}</ref>

In a decision dated July 10, 2014, the Schwerin Administrative Court prohibited the Hanseatic City of Rostock from appointing Bockhahn as a senator (elective official) because he lacked the aptitude, qualification, and expertise required for the office and the election by the Bürgerschaft violated the constitutional requirement to select the best (Case No. 1 B 599/14). Citizens of the Hanseatic city of Rostock appealed against the recommendation of its city administration to the Higher Administrative Court of [[Greifswald]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Bürgerschaft beharrt auf Steffen Bockhahn als Sozialsenator |url=https://www.rostock-heute.de/buergeschaft-beschwerde-gericht-steffen-bockhahn-wahl-sozialsenator/74917 |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |work=Rostock-Heute.de |date=2014-07-July 22, 2014 |language=de-DE}}</ref>, which lifted the ban on appeal in the last instance on January 9, 2015. Bockhahn was a candidate for the mayoral election in Rostock in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rostock: Personalchef will OB werden |url=https://www.ostsee-zeitung.de/Mecklenburg/Rostock/Rostock-Personalchef-will-Oberbuergermeister-werden |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |work=OZ -– Ostsee-Zeitung |date=2018-09-September 28, 2018 |language=de}}</ref> He achieved 18.9% in the first round<ref>{{cite news |title=Däne könnte erster ausländischer Oberbürgermeister werden |url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/2019-05/rostock-oberbuergermeisterwahl-claus-ruhe-madsen-steffen-bockhahn |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |work=www.zeit.de |date=2019-05-May 27, 2019}}</ref> and thus entered the runoff against [[Claus Ruhe Madsen]], but lost the same on June 16, 2019, with 42.9%.<ref>{{cite news |title=Däne Madsen gewinnt Stichwahl in Rostock |url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/wahl-zum-oberbuergermeister-daene-madsen-gewinnt-stichwahl-in-rostock/24462438.html |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |work=www.tagesspiegel.de |date=2019-06-June 16, 2019 |language=de}}</ref>

In January 2012, it became known that Steffen Bockhahn was one of 27 members of the Bundestag of the Left Party under observation by the [[Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Geheimdienst: Verfassungsschutz beobachtet 27 Linken-Abgeordnete -– DER SPIEGEL -– Politik |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/geheimdienst-verfassungsschutz-beobachtet-27-linken-abgeordnete-a-810651.html |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |work=www.spiegel.de |agency=Der Spiegel |date=2012-01-January 22, 2012 |language=de}}</ref>, which was criticized by politicians of all factions.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kritik an Beobachtung der Linkspartei durch Verfassungsschutz {{!}} tagesschau.de |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116223455/http://www.tagesschau.de/inland/linksparteiverfassungsschutz100.html |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |work=web.archive.org |agency=Tagesschau |date=2013-01-January 16, 2013}}</ref> The observation of Bockhahn was seen as particularly sensitive because the Scientific Services of the Bundestag had stated in December 2011 that "due to the special task of the Confidence Committee [...] only very exceptional circumstances justify the observation of a member [...]."<ref>{{cite news |title=Geheimdienst: Verfassungsschutz beobachtet 27 Linken-Abgeordnete -– DER SPIEGEL -– Politik |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/geheimdienst-verfassungsschutz-beobachtet-27-linken-abgeordnete-a-810651.html |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |work=www.spiegel.de |language=de}}</ref>

In July 2014, it became known that his cell phone had been tapped by U.S. intelligence agencies.<ref>{{cite news |title=Geheimdienste : Deutsche Politik offenbar gezielt ausgespäht |url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2014-07/cia-nsa-spionage-deutschland |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |work=www.zeit.de |agency=Zeit |date=2014-07-July 13, 2014}}</ref> Bockhahn's closest aide noticed tampering with her cell phone on July 30, 2013. Unknown persons are said to have searched through the entire SMS traffic between her and the then member of the Bundestag, as well as specifically looking for service emails related to the [[Parliamentary Oversight Panel (Germany)|Parliamentary Oversight Panel]], of which Bockhahn was a member.<ref>{{cite news |title=Handys von Bundestagsabgeordneten ausspioniert |url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/nsa-affaere-handys-von-bundestagsabgeordneten-ausspioniert/10192040.html |access-date=19 December 19, 2020 |work=www.tagesspiegel.de |agency=Der Tagesspiegel |date=2014-07-July 13, 2014 |language=de}}</ref>