Anke Timmermann

Anke Timmermann, born in 1968, is a German politician and activist with a background in business economics and management consulting. She previously worked for companies like Accenture and McKinsey, and later as a lobbyist for Microsoft. Timmermann has been involved in politics through various parties, including Alliance 90/The Greens and the Pirate Party, before becoming a member of The Left. She served as a member of the Bundestag from 2017 to 2025, focusing on digital policy and the 'Digital Agenda' committee. Her political career also included roles as chair of the Pirate Party in Brandenburg. She co-founded ViaEuropa, a company focused on decentralized fiber-optic network development. Timmermann has also been active in advocating for gender equality, campaigning against sexism and violence, and promoting women in leadership roles. She has also been a proponent of open government principles and digital rights.

Anke Timmermann's career spans both the corporate and political spheres. After studying business economics and earning degrees from International Business School and Northumbria University, she worked as a management consultant for major firms like Accenture and McKinsey. She later served as a lobbyist for Microsoft in Germany. In the business world, she co-founded ViaEuropa, an initiative aimed at promoting the decentralized development of fiber-optic networks. Politically, Timmermann has been associated with several parties, including Alliance 90/The Greens and the Pirate Party, where she held leadership positions in Brandenburg. She was elected to the Bundestag in 2017 as a representative of The Left, serving until 2025, and chaired the 'Digital Agenda' committee within the party's group in the Bundestag.

A significant focus of Timmermann's work has been the promotion of gender equality. She has actively campaigned against sexism and violence towards women and girls, and has spoken out against workplace and political inequalities. Her involvement includes leading studies on female leadership opportunities in Europe and co-initiating initiatives like FidAR (Women on Supervisory Boards) to advocate for quotas. Timmermann has also participated in public discourse on gender roles, notably through the #aufschrei debate on everyday sexism, and has co-initiated an award recognizing 'absurd gender marketing'.

Timmermann is a proponent of open government principles, advocating for increased public access to government data through Web 2.0 technologies. She has been instrumental in initiatives like 'Government 2.0 Network Germany' and the 'Open Government Camp'. Her work also extends to digital rights and information security, including support for the Charter of Fundamental Digital Rights of the European Union. She has called for greater independence for the Federal Office for Information Security to avoid potential conflicts of interest.

Timmermann has expressed a generally positive, albeit critical, stance towards transparency initiatives like WikiLeaks, viewing them as a means to achieve more open governments. She has discussed the challenges of translating the concept of 'whistleblower' into German and has appealed for responsibility from those who publish secret documents. She saw no conflict between her work in promoting transparency and her previous role at Microsoft. She and her husband, Daniel Domscheit-Berg, have supported the Icelandic Initiative on Modern Media (IMMI), which aims to provide legal protection for investigative online journalism.