Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

© Tobias Koch

On Wednesday, the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn AG reconstituted itself. Upon recommendation of Economic Affairs Minister Peter Altmaier, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy will be represented by Parliamentary State Secretary Elisabeth Parliamentary State Secretary Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker appointed new member of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn AG in the coming term of office.

Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker said: "These are particularly difficult times for Deutsche Bahn. The coronavirus pandemic is posing major challenges to both passenger and logistics services. Both are essential to our country – especially in times of crisis like now. As a member of the Supervisory Board, I shall dedicate myself to the success of Deutsche Bahn AG, a company we need more than ever. But even after the crisis, Deutsche Bahn will play a fundamental role in organising sustainable transport networks in Germany. For the first time, the newly constituted Supervisory Board is made up of an equal number of women and men as representatives of the Federal Government. This sends out an important signal.”

Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker is succeeding Oliver Wittke, who resigned upon expiry of the current term of office of the Supervisory Board on 25 March 2020. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy appoints one representative – as do the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure and the Federal Ministry of Finance – to the Supervisory Board of the federally owned company.

The 57-year-old former judge from North Rhine-Westphalia has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2005. In her new capacity as member of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn, she will be able to draw on her legal expertise as well as her long-standing experience as consumer policy spokesperson for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. With the appointment of Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker, the Federal Government is now being represented by an equal number of men and women in the Supervisory Board.

With more than 320,000 employees and an annual turnover of around €44.4 billion, Deutsche Bahn AG is one of the most important government holdings of particular economic relevance.