View source for Gabi Zimmer

{{short description|German politician, Member of the European Parliament (born 1955)}}
{{BLP sources|date=December 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name         = Gabi Zimmer
| image        = Gabriele Zimmer 01.JPG
| image_upright = 0.9
| caption       = Zimmer in 2014
| office          = Leader of the [[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|Party of Democratic Socialism]]
| term_start      = 14 October 2000
| term_end        = 29 June 2003
| predecessor     = [[Lothar Bisky]]
| successor       = Lothar Bisky

| office1       = Leader of the [[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|Party of Democratic Socialism]] in [[Thuringia]]
| term_start1   = July 1990
| term_end1     = December 1998
| predecessor1  = ''Position established''
| successor1    = Dieter Hausold

| office2       = Leader of the [[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|Party of Democratic Socialism]] in the [[Landtag of Thuringia]]
| term_start2   = 1 October 1999
| term_end2     = 1 November 2000
| predecessor2  = Birgit Klaubert
| successor2    = Werner Buse

| office3      = Member of the [[Landtag of Thuringia]]
| term_start3  = [[1990 Thuringian state election|25 October 1990]]
| term_end3    = [[2004 Thuringian state election|8 July 2004]]
| predecessor3 = ''Constituency established''
| constituency3 = [[Electoral system of Germany|PDS List]]

| office4       = [[Member of the European Parliament|Member]] of the [[European Parliament]] <br /> for [[Germany (European Parliament constituency)|Germany]]
| term_start4   = [[2004 European Parliament election in Germany|1 July 2004]]
| term_end4     = [[2019 European Parliament election in Germany|2 July 2019]]
| constituency4 = [[Electoral system of Germany|The Left List]]

| birth_name   = Gabriele Zimmer
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|1955|5|7|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[East Berlin]], [[East Germany]]
| party        = [[The Left (Germany)|The Left]]
| otherparty   = [[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|Party of Democratic Socialism]] (1990–2007)<br />[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]] (1981–1990)
}}

'''Gabriele''' "'''Gabi'''" '''Zimmer''' (born 7 May 1955) is a German politician who served as leader of the [[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|Party of Democratic Socialism]] (PDS) from 2000 to 2003. After leaving office as leader, she was a [[member of the European Parliament]] from 2004 to 2019. Zimmer sat with the [[European United Left–Nordic Green Left]] (GUE/NGL) group, which she chaired from 2012 to 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/de/28248/GABRIELE_ZIMMER/history/8|title=Gabriele ZIMMER|access-date=12 May 2021|website=[[European Parliament]]}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Zimmer was born in [[East Berlin]] in 1955. After graduating from high school, she studied Russian and French in the Theoretical and Applied Linguistics section of the [[Leipzig University|Karl Marx University]] in [[Leipzig]] from 1973 to 1977, graduating as a qualified linguist. Then she worked as a clerk at VEB vehicle and hunting weapons factory "Ernst Thälmann" in [[Suhl]]. From 1981 to 1987 she was the editor of the company's newspaper, and from 1987 to 1989 she was a member of the SED party leadership of this company.

Zimmer is [[non-denominational]], married, and has two children.

== Political career ==
She joined the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]] (SED), the ruling party of the [[German Democratic Republic]] (East Germany), in 1981.<ref name="EUMP1">{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/28248/GABRIELE_ZIMMER_home.html |title=Your MEPs – Gabi Zimmer |access-date=4 July 2015 |work=EU MEP information |publisher=[[European Union]] }}</ref> After its transformation into the Party of Democratic Socialism in 1990, she became the party's leader in the new state of [[Thuringia]], a position she held until 1998. She was a member of the [[Landtag of Thuringia]] from 1990 until 2004.

Zimmer became federal deputy leader of PDS in 1996. She was elected federal leader in 2000 after the resignation of [[Lothar Bisky]]. The party suffered a major defeat in the [[2002 German federal election|2002 federal election]], failing to pass the 5% [[electoral threshold]] and returning only two representatives. Zimmer was re-elected as leader at the first party congress after the election, but after internal party disputes, announced she would step down and not seek re-election at an extraordinary party congress in 2003. She left the leadership in May of that year.

Zimmer remained active in the party, and was elected to the European Parliament in [[2004 European Parliament election|2004]]. In 2007, the PDS merged into [[The Left (Germany)|The Left]]. Zimmer was re-elected as an MEP representing The Left in 2009 and 2014. In 2012, she became the chairwoman of the GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament. She did not seek re-election in the [[2019 European Parliament election]].

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{commons category|Gabi Zimmer}}
{{European Parliament MEPs, 2009-2014 (Germany) by party}}
{{European Parliament MEPs, 2014-2019 (Germany) by party}}
{{Party of the European Left}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmer, Gabi}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from East Berlin]]
[[Category:Socialist Unity Party of Germany members]]
[[Category:Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) politicians]]
[[Category:Die Linke politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the Landtag of Thuringia]]
[[Category:Women members of state parliaments in Germany]]
[[Category:Die Linke MEPs]]
[[Category:MEPs for Germany 2004–2009]]
[[Category:MEPs for Germany 2009–2014]]
[[Category:MEPs for Germany 2014–2019]]
[[Category:21st-century women MEPs for Germany]]
[[Category:20th-century German women]]
[[Category:Leipzig University alumni]]
[[Category:Politicians from Berlin]]