Photo: Ralf Roletschek / GFDL 1.2 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Cem Özdemir is, to me, one of the more quietly significant political stories in modern Europe. The son of Turkish immigrants, born in Bad Urach, who rose through the Greens to become Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture and then Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg in 2026, he embodies a Germany still learning to see its own diversity as strength. The awards tell the deeper story: the Leo Baeck Award and Ignatz Bubis Award honor tolerance and reconciliation, not just policy wins. I respect figures who turn a complicated identity into a bridge rather than a grievance, and Özdemir has done exactly that with real staying power.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Cem Özdemir
- Name (Japanese)
- ジェム・オズデミル
- Reading
- じぇむ・おずでみる
- Born
- December 21, 1965 (age 60)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Snake
- Origin
- Bad Urach, Tübingen Government Region, Germany
- Occupation
- politician / environmentalist / social pedagogue / educator
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- 2013 Orden wider den tierischen Ernst
- 1996 Theodor Heuss Medal
- 2021 Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg
- 2022 German Leo Baeck Award
- 2019 Ignatz Bubis Award
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Cem Özdemir born?
Born December 21, 1965 (age 60).
Where is Cem Özdemir from?
Cem Özdemir is from Bad Urach, Tübingen Government Region, Germany.
What does Cem Özdemir do?
Cem Özdemir works as politician, environmentalist, social pedagogue, educator.
Politician — see all → · Environmentalist — see all → · More people from Germany →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.