List of prominent members of the SPD

This is a list of prominent SPD members who became known through positions within the party or public attention outside the party.

Current members of the SPD presidium

person	position	Taking office
Saskia Esken	Federal Chairperson	2019
Norbert Walter-Borjans	Federal Chairman	2019
Klara Geywitz	Deputy Federal Chair	2019
Hubertus Heil	Deputy Federal Chairman	2019
Kevin Kühnert	Deputy Federal Chairman	2019
Serpil Midyatli	Deputy Federal Chair	2019
Anke Rehlinger	Deputy Federal Chair	2019
Lars Klingbeil	Secretary General	2017
Udo Bullmann	Responsible for the European Union	2017
Jessika Wischmeier	Federal Managing Director	2019
Dietmar Nietan	Federal Treasurer	2014

Current heads of government at the state level

person	country	Taking office
Peter Tschentscher	Hamburg	2018
Malu Dreyer	Rhineland-Palatinate	2013
Stephan Weil	Lower Saxony	2013
Dietmar Woidke	Brandenburg	2013
Michael Mueller	Berlin	2014
Andreas Bovenschulte	Bremen	2019
Manuela Schwesig	Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	2017

Other prominent contemporary social democrats

Torsten Albig , Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein (2012-2017)
Katarina Barley , Federal Minister for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth (2017–2018), Acting Federal Minister for Labor and Social Affairs (2017–2018), Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection (2018–2019)
Kurt Beck , Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate (1994–2013), SPD chairman (2006–2008)
Lilly Blaudszun , young politician and influencer
Friedhelm Boll, Prof. Dr. Historian at the Historical Research Center of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation
Hans Peter Bull , legal scholar , Federal Commissioner for Data Protection (1978–1983), Minister of the Interior of Schleswig-Holstein (1988–1995)
Herta Däubler-Gmelin , Federal Minister of Justice (1998–2002)
Klaus von Dohnanyi , Federal Minister (1972–1974), First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (1981–1988)
Franziska Drohsel , Federal Juso Chairwoman (2007-2010)
Hans Eichel , Prime Minister of Hesse (1991–1999), Federal Minister of Finance (1999–2005)
Björn Engholm , Federal Minister (1981–1982), Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein (1988–1993), SPD Chairman (1991–1993)
Sigmar Gabriel , SPD Chairman (2009–2017), Federal Vice Chancellor (2013–2018), Federal Minister of Economics (2013–2017), Federal Foreign Minister (2017–2018)
Klara Geywitz , candidate for party chairmanship 2019 , member of the state parliament (2004–2019), general secretary of the SPD Brandenburg (2013–2017), member of the SPD party executive (since 2017)
Gerhard Glogowski , MdL (1978–2003), Minister of the Interior (1990–1998), then Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (1998–1999), Lord Mayor of Braunschweig (1976–1981, 1986–1990), honorary chairman of the SPD district of Braunschweig
Wolfgang Jüttner , chairman of the Lower Saxony state parliamentary group (2005–2010), SPD top candidate for the 2008 state election in Lower Saxony
Christina Kampmann , candidate for party chairmanship 2019 , Minister for Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (2015-2017), Member of the State Parliament (since 2017), Member of the German Bundestag (2013-2015)
Susanne Kastner , Vice-President of the Bundestag (2002–2009)
Petra Köpping , candidate for party chairmanship 2019 , Saxon State Minister for Equal Opportunities and Integration (since 2014), member of the state parliament (since 2009), deputy state chairwoman of the SPD Saxony (2006-2016)
Kevin Kühnert , Federal Juso Chairman (since 2017)
Reinhard Klektiven , Prime Minister of Saarland (1998–1999), Federal Minister of Transport (1999–2000), long-time member of the Media Commission
Hans-Ulrich Klose , Chairman of the SPD parliamentary group (1991-1994), Bundestag Vice-President (1994-1998), First Mayor of the City of Hamburg (1974-19981)
Michael Kniesel , Police President of Bonn (1988–1993), State Councilor at the Minister of the Interior of Bremen (1993–1995)
Hannelore Kraft , Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia (2010-2017)
Karl Lauterbach , candidate for party chairmanship in 2019 , deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group (since 2013), member of the German Bundestag (since 2005), professor of health economics at the University of Cologne
Willi Lemke , former managing director of SV Werder Bremen and Bremen's Senator for Education
Hilde Mattheis , candidate for party chairmanship 2019 (withdrawn), member of the German Bundestag (since 2002), chairwoman of the Forum Democratic Left 21 (since 2011)
Walter Momper , Governing Mayor of Berlin (1989–1991), President of the Berlin House of Representatives (2001–2011)
Franz Müntefering , Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Labor and Social Affairs (2005–2007), SPD Chairman (2004/2005, 2008/2009)
Andrea Nahles , Federal Minister for Labor and Social Affairs (2013–2017), first female SPD chairperson (2018/2019), first female chairperson of the Bundestag parliamentary group (2017–2019), SPD general secretary (2009–2013), Federal Juso chairperson (1995 -1999)
Jürgen Nimptsch , Lord Mayor of Bonn (2009–2015)
Thomas Oppermann , chairman of the SPD parliamentary group (2013-2017), vice-president of the German parliament since 2017
Boris Pistorius , candidate for party chairmanship in 2019 , Lower Saxony Minister of the Interior (since 2013), member of the state parliament (since 2017), member of the SPD party executive (since 2017), Lord Mayor of Osnabrück (2006-2013)
Matthias Platzeck , Prime Minister of the State of Brandenburg (2002–2013), SPD Chairman (2005/2006)
Michael Roth , candidate for party chairmanship in 2019 , Minister of State for Europe in the Foreign Office (since 2013), member of the German Bundestag (since 1998), member of the SPD party executive (since 2017)
Rudolf Scharping , Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate (1991–1994), Federal Minister of Defense (1998–2002), Chairman of the Bundestag parliamentary group (1994–1998), SPD Chairman (1993–1995), Chairman of the European Social Democratic Party (1995–2001)
Nina Scheer , candidate for party chairmanship in 2019 , member of the German Bundestag (since 2013), environmental and energy politician, member of the SPD's Fundamental Values Commission
Henning Scherf , Mayor of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (1995–2005)
Otto Schily , Federal Minister of the Interior (1998-2005)
Ulla Schmidt , Federal Minister for Health and Social Security (2001–2009)
Gerhard Schröder , Federal Chancellor (1998–2005), Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (1990–1998), SPD Chairman (1999–2004)
Gesine Schwan , candidate for party chairmanship in 2019 , chairwoman of the SPD's Fundamental Values Commission, SPD candidate for the office of Federal President in 2004 and 2009
Erwin Sellering , Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (2008-2017)
Heide Simonis , Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein (1993-2005)
Rainer Speer , Minister of Finance of Brandenburg (2004–2009), Minister of the Interior of Brandenburg (2009–2010)

Ralf Stegner , candidate for party chairmanship 2019 , deputy federal chairman (2014-2019)

Frank-Walter Steinmeier , Head of the Chancellery (1999–2005), Chairman of the SPD parliamentary group (2009–2013), Federal Foreign Minister (2005–2009 and 2013–2017), Federal President (since 2017)

Ludwig Stiegler , state chairman of the Bavarian SPD (2004–2009), chairman of the SPD parliamentary group (2002)

Manfred Stolpe , Prime Minister of Brandenburg (1990–2002), Federal Minister for Transport, Building and Housing (2002–2005)

Wolfgang Thierse , President of the Bundestag (1998-2005), Vice-President of the Bundestag (since 2005), last chairman of the SPD in the GDR (June to September 1990), deputy chairman of the SPD (1990-2005)

Wolfgang Tiefensee , Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing (2005–2009)

Johanna Uekermann , Federal Juso Chairwoman (2013-2017)

Günter Verheugen , Vice President of the EU Commission and Commissioner for Industry and Companies (since 2004), previously Commissioner for Enlargement (1999–2004)

Barbara Voge l, Prof. Dr., historian at the University of Hamburg (retired)

Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul , Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (1998–2009), Federal Juso Chairwoman (1974–1977)

Brigitte Zypries , Federal Minister of Justice (2002–2009), Federal Minister of Economics (since 2017)

Other prominent social democrats in the past (excluded)

Wolfgang Abendroth , legal scholar and political scientist , member of the State Court of Bremen and the State Court of Hesse (1959–1963)

Viktor Agartz , economist and trade unionist , head of the Bizonal Economic Office, head of the Economic and Scientific Institute of the DGB (1948–1955)

Johannes Agnoli , German political scientist of Italian origin, theoretical thought leader of the 1968 student movement and the APO

Klaus Uwe Benneter , politician , Juso federal chairman (1977), general secretary of the SPD (2004–2005), legal advisor of the SPD parliamentary group (2005–2009), re-entry 1983

Christoph Butterwegge , political scientist , active in the peace movement , member of the attac advisory board , resumed in 1987

Franz Josef Degenhardt , lawyer, attorney, songwriter and writer, involved in the peace movement

Ossip K. Flechtheim , political scientist , founding member and vice-president of the International League for Human Rights , member of the board of trustees of the German Society for Peace and Conflict Research

Hugo Haase , lawyer , politician and pacifist , SPD Chairman (1911–1916), USPD Chairman (1917–1919), Deputy Chancellor

Karl-Heinz Hansen , member of the German Bundestag (1969–1983), founder of the Democratic Socialists Party

Thilo Sarrazin , Senator for Finance in the Berlin Senate (2002–2009) and from May 2009 to September 30, 2010 member of the board of the Deutsche Bundesbank , author of the controversial book Germany Abolishes Itself
Jürgen Seifert , political scientist and civil rights activist , co-editor and editor of the magazines Kritische Justiz und vorgangs (1977–1997), Federal Chairman of the Humanist Union (1983–1987), member of the Joint Constitutional Commission and the G10 Commission of the German Bundestag
Detlev von Larcher , member of the German Bundestag (1990–2002), member of the party council
Uwe Wesel , legal scholar , employee of ZEIT , critical justice and the course book , re-entry 2008

Other prominent social democrats in the past (resigned)

Christoph Butterwegge , political scientist , active in the peace movement , member of the scientific advisory board of attac , expelled in 1975 because of criticism of Helmut Schmidt's politics , resumed in 1987, resigned in 2005 due to the second grand coalition
Wolfgang Clement , Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia (1998–2002), Federal Minister for Economics and Labor (2002–2005)
Manfred Coppik , Member of the Bundestag (1972–1983), founder of the Democratic Socialists Party , re-entry in 1993, because of the German involvement in the Kosovo war in 1999 left again, today deputy. Chairman of the party Die Linke in Hessen
Diether Dehm , Member of the Bundestag, federal chairman of the working group self-employed in the SPD , left in 1998 because of the Kosovo war, today a member of Die Linke
Andreas Fischer-Lescano , legal scholar , founding member of the political think tank Institut Solidarische Moderne , co-editor of the quarterly critical justice
Wilhelm Heitmeyer , educational scientist , former director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence , coined the term group-related enmity
Detlef Hensche , lawyer, trade unionist, chairman of the IG Medien (1992–2001), co-editor of the papers for German and international politics , member of the scientific advisory board of attac
Arno Klönne , sociologist and political scientist, co-editor of the journal Ossietzky
Oskar Lafontaine , Prime Minister of Saarland (1985–1998), Federal Minister of Finance (1998–1999), SPD party chairman (1995–1999)
Sergey Lagodinsky , lawyer and publicist , spokesman for the Working Group of Jewish Social Democrats (2007–2011), resigned in 2011 due to the unsuccessful party exclusion procedure against Thilo Sarrazin
Sigrid Leuschner , MdL (1994–2013), member of the Hanover District Executive, deputy. Chairwoman of the Hanover Region sub-district, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Lower Saxony Consumer Center. V.
Herbert Marcuse , German-American philosopher and sociologist , representative of critical theory and member of the Institute for Social Research , left in 1919 after the murder of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
Ulrich Maurer , lawyer and politician, Member of the Bundestag (2005–2013), Member of the Bundestag (1980–2005), chairman of the SPD parliamentary group in the Baden-Württemberg state parliament (1992–2001), chairman of the SPD Baden-Württemberg (1987–1999), resigned 2005 because of Agenda 2010 , today a member of Die Linke
Wolf-Dieter Narr , political scientist , co-founder of the Committee for Fundamental Rights and Democracy , co-editor of the journal Bürgerrechte & Polizei / CILIP
Wolfgang Nešković , Member of the Bundestag (2005–2013), former judge at the Federal Court of Justice , member of the state executive committee of the SPD Schleswig-Holstein, resigned in 1994, since 2005 independent
Peter von Oertzen , Lower Saxony's minister of education (1970–1974), member of the party executive (1973–1993), co-author of the Berlin program , co-editor of the Spw - magazine for socialist politics and economics , resigned in 2005 because of Agenda 2010

Norman Paech , Member of the Bundestag (2005–2009), legal scholar, chairman of the Association of Democratic Jurists (1976–1985), member of the scientific advisory boards of attac , IALANA and IPPNW , resigned in 2001 because of the war in Afghanistan, now a member of Die Linke

Peter Schaar , Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information , now a member of Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen

Richard Schmid , lawyer, resistance fighter against National Socialism, Attorney General of the State of Württemberg-Baden (1945–1953), President of the Higher Regional Court Stuttgart (1953–1964), resigned in 1968 to protest against the emergency laws

Jörg Tauss , media officer of the SPD parliamentary group (1998-2002)

Lutz Trümper , Lord Mayor of Magdeburg (since 2001), State Secretary (2000/2001)

Fritz Vilmar , member of the SPD Fundamental Values Commission (1977–1984), political scientist, member of the Attac Scientific Advisory Board, resigned in 2003 after 52 years of membership, because the SPD was increasingly "dependent on capital" and showed a "severe loss of social substance"

Gunter Weißgerber , co-founder of the SDP in the GDR (1989), then Member of the Bundestag (1990–2009), resigned in 2019 because of the legal action taken by the SPD's Deutsche Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (ddvg) against Tichy's insight

Frieder Otto Wolf , philosopher , President of the Humanist Association of Germany (HVD)

Other prominent social democrats of the past (deceased)

Hans Apel , Federal Minister of Defense (1978–1982), Federal Minister of Finance (1974–1978), Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs (1972–1974)

Walter Arendt , Member of the Bundestag (1961–1980), former Federal Minister. D. (1969–1976), member of the party executive (1968–1979), member of the presidium (1973–1979), deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group (1976–1980), chairman of the IG Bergbau und Energie (1964–1969)

Fritz Baade , Member of the Bundestag (1949–1965), Member of the Bundestag (1930–1933), participant in the Constitutional Convention on Herrenchiemsee , Director of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (1948–1961)

Egon Bahr , Member of the Bundestag (1972–1990), Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation (1974–1976), Federal Minister for Special Tasks (1972–1974), pioneer and “architect” of the New Ostpolitik under Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt, member of the Palme Commission

Karl Barth , theologian, founder of dialectical theology

Fritz Bauer , judge and public prosecutor, played a key role in bringing about the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials , founder of the civil rights organization Humanist Union

Gustav Bauer , Reich Chancellor (1919/20)

Otto Bennemann , MdL (1947–1974), Minister of the Interior of Lower Saxony (1959–1967), Lord Mayor of Braunschweig (1948–1952, 1954–1959), member of the International Socialist Fighting League , co-author of the Godesberg program

Eduard Bernstein , MdR (1902–1907, 1912–1918, 1920–1928), important theoretician of the party

Werner Blumenberg (1900–1965), resistance fighter, historian

Ernst Böhme , MdL (1930–1933, 1946–1955), Lord Mayor of Braunschweig (1929–1933, 1945–1948), co-founder and member of the German Association of Cities (1946–1955), member of the Lower Saxony State Court (1957–1968)

Wilhelm Bracke , MdR (1877–1879), publicist and publisher , co-founder of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP), first biographer of Karl Marx, publisher of the Braunschweiger Volksfreund , one of the oldest social democratic newspapers

Willy Brandt , Federal Chancellor (1969–1974), SPD Federal Chairman (1964–1987), Governing Mayor of (West) Berlin (1957–1966), Federal Foreign Minister (1966–1969), President of the Socialist International (1976–1992), Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Max Brauer , First Mayor of Hamburg (1946–1953 and 1957–1960)

Lily Braun (1865–1916), writer, suffragette, journalist

Otto Braun , MdR (1920–1933), Prime Minister of Prussia (1921–1932)

Otto Brenner , Member of the State Parliament (1951–1954), trade unionist, chairman of IG Metall (1952–1972)

Walter Christaller , geographer

Gustav Dahrendorf , MdR (1932–1933), resistance fighter against National Socialism, consumer cooperative, co-founder of the Young Socialists

Friedrich Ebert , President of the Reich (1919–1925)

Friedrich Ebert junior , MdR (1928–1933), member of the SED from 1946 , (first) Lord Mayor of East Berlin (1948–1967), member of the People's Chamber (1950–1979)

Karl Ebert , Member of the State Parliament of Württemberg-Baden (1946–1952) and the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg (1953–1964)

Georg Eckert , pedagogue , historian and ethnologist , resistance fighter against National Socialism , editor of the Archives for Social History (1961–1969), President of the German Commission for UNESCO (1964–1974)

Horst Ehmke , Federal Minister for Research and Technology and Federal Post Minister (1972–1974), Federal Minister for Special Tasks and Head of the Chancellery (1969–1972), Federal Minister of Justice (1969)

Willi Eichler , Member of the Bundestag (1949–1953), chairman of the International Socialist League (1927–1945), chairman of the commission for the preparation of the Godesberg program

Erhard Eppler , Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation (1968–1974)

Fritz Erler , Member of the Bundestag (1949–1967), chairman of the SPD parliamentary group (1964–1967)

Josef Felder , last living SPD member of the Reichstag († 2000)

Ernst Fraenkel , lawyer for the socialist workers 'movement , syndic of the German Metalworkers' Association , political scientist, father of the pluralism theory in Germany, author of the Nazi study Der Doppelstaat

Peter Glotz , Member of the Bundestag (1972–1977 and 1983–1996), Federal Managing Director (1981–1987)

Helga Grebing , historian, researcher of the German labor movement, member of the historical commission of the SPD party executive , member of the fundamental values commission

Otto Grotewohl , MdR (1925–1933), MdL (1920–1930), Chairman of the Central Committee of the SPD (1945–1946), from 1946 member of the SED, Prime Minister of the GDR (1949–1964)

Fritz Hartnagel , judge and peace activist, fiance of Sophie Scholl

Gustav Heinemann , Federal President (1969–1974), Federal Minister of Justice (1966–1969)

Hermann Heller , founding member of the Association of German Constitutional Law Teachers , member of the Hofgeismar Circle , coined the term “social constitutional state” (cf. Art. 28 (1) sentence 1 GG)

Günter Hellwing , MdL (1957–1958, 1961–1962), from 1958 member of the state and federal executive boards, head of the Gestapo in Marseille (1943–1944), member of the SS and SD

Horst Herold , former President of the Federal Criminal Police Office

Werner Henneberger , architect, guild management of the Guild of Liberal Book Friends (1904–1977)

Regine Hildebrandt , Minister in the GDR Government (1990) and State Government Brandenburg (1990–1999)

Rudolf Hilferding , founder of the Stamokaptheorie , editor-in-chief of Vorwärts (1910–1915), MdR (1924–1933), Reich Finance Minister (1923, 1928/1929)

Wilhelm Hoegner , Bavarian Prime Minister (1945–1946, 1954–1957)

Jörg Immendorff , artist

Heinrich Jasper , MdL (1919–1933), Prime Minister of the Free State of Braunschweig (1919/1920, 1922–1924, 1927–1930), member of the Weimar National Assembly

Wolfgang Joecks , criminal lawyer with a focus on commercial and tax criminal law , judge at the state constitutional court of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (2008-2016)

Marie Juchacz , MdR (1920–1933), women's rights activist, founder of the workers' welfare organization

Adalbert Bela Kaba-Klein (1895–1962), Hungarian Jewish investor in the Kurhaus Binz (island of Rügen)

Wilhelm Kaisen , Mayor of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (1945–1965)

Karl Kautsky , important theoretician of the party, founder and editor of the journal Die Neue Zeit , co-author of the Heidelberg program

Otto Kirchheimer , constitutional and constitutional lawyer, professor of political science at Columbia University (1960–1965)

Johanna Kirchner (1889–1944), SPD secretary and resistance fighter

Hans Koschnick , Member of the Bundestag (1987–1994), Mayor of Bremen (1965–1985)

Alfred Kubel , MdL (1946–1976), Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (1970–1976), State Minister (1946–1955, 1957–1970), Prime Minister of the Free State of Braunschweig (1946), member of the International Socialist League

Annette Kuhn (1934–2019), Prof. Dr., historian at the University of Bonn, women and peace researcher

Heinz Kühn , Member of the Bundestag (1953–1963), Member of the Bundestag (1948–1954, 1962–1978), Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia (1966–1978)

Otto Landsberg , lawyer, MdR (1912–1918, 1924–1933), member of the Council of People's Representatives , Reich Minister of Justice (1919)

Lauritz Lauritzen , lawyer, Member of the Bundestag (1969–1980), Federal Minister (1966–1974), Lord Mayor of Kassel (1954–1963)

Georg Leber , union leader, Federal Minister (1966–1978), Vice President of the Bundestag (1979–1983)

Annedore Leber (1904–1968), resistance fighter, politician, publicist

Julius Leber (1891–1945), MdR (1924–1933), resistance fighter against National Socialism

Wilhelm Leuschner , resistance fighter against National Socialism

Paul Levi , lawyer, MdR (1920–1930), co-founder and chairman (1919–1921) of the KPD , after his exclusion in 1922, a member of the Marxist wing of the SPD

Karl Liebknecht , lawyer, MdR (1912–1916), co-founder of the KPD

Wilhelm Liebknecht , radical democratic revolutionary, co-founder of SVP (1866) and SDAP (1869), founder and editor-in-chief (1878–1900) of Vorwärts

Jutta Limbach , President of the Federal Constitutional Court (1994–2002)

Paul Löbe , Member of the Bundestag (1920–1933), Member of the Bundestag (1949–1953), President of the Reichstag (1920–1924, 1925–1932), member of the Parliamentary Council

Rosa Luxemburg , important theorist, internal party opponent of Bernstein in the revisionism dispute , co-founder of the KPD

Hans Matthöfer , Member of the Bundestag (1961–1987), Federal Minister (1974–1982), Treasurer of the SPD (1985–1987), Chairman of the board of the trade union holding BGAG (1987–1997)

Carlo Mierendorff , MdR (1930–1933), resistance fighter against National Socialism

Hermann Müller , Reich Chancellor (1920, 1928–1930), Chairman of the SPD parliamentary group (1920–1928)

Fritz Naphtali , business journalist, trade unionist, coined the term economic democracy , after emigrating to Israel minister there (1951–1959)

Otto Nerz , first Reich coach of the German Football Association

Franz Neumann , Member of the Bundestag (1949–1969), Chairman of the Berlin SPD (1946–1958), Chairman of the Workers' Welfare Association (1970–1974)

Franz L. Neumann , lawyer, political scientist, author of Behemoth , a standard work on the ruling constitution of National Socialism

Paul Nevermann , lawyer, First Mayor of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg (1961–1965), President of the German Tenants' Association (1967–1979)

Erik Nölting , Member of the Bundestag (1949–1953), Member of the Bundestag (1928–1933, 1946–1953), Minister of Economics of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (1946–1950)

Gustav Noske , Reichswehr Minister (1919/20), was responsible for the suppression of the Spartacus uprising and the March fighting in Berlin , President of the Province of Hanover (1920–1933)

Erich Ollenhauer , Member of the Bundestag (1949–1963), Chairman of the SPD and the SPD parliamentary group (1952–1963)

Anton Pannekoek , Dutch astronomer and councilor communist

Gustav Radbruch , lawyer, important legal philosopher ( Radbruch formula ), Member of the Parliament (1920–1924), Reich Minister of Justice (1921/1922, 1923)

Johannes Rau , Federal President (1999–2004), Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia (1978–1998), member of the SPD party executive , chairman of the NRWSPD (1977–1998)

Ernst Reuter (1889–1953), KPD functionary (1919–1922), after expulsion from the KPD in 1922, again a member of the SPD, resistance fighter, governing mayor of Berlin (1948–1953)

Annemarie Renger , Member of the Bundestag (1953–1990), President of the Bundestag (1972–1976)

Eva Rühmkorf , psychologist , State Minister in Schleswig-Holstein (1988–1992)

Philipp Scheidemann , MP (1903–1933), Prime Minister of the German Reich (1919), member of the party executive (1911–1918), Lord Mayor of Kassel (1919–1925)

Hermann Scheer , MP (1980–2010) and member of the SPD party executive (1993–2009), important environmental politician of the party

Helmut Schirrmacher , Federal Chairman of the Police Union (1975–1981)

Karl Schiller , Member of the Bundestag (1965–1972), Federal Minister (1966–1972)

Marie Schlei , Member of the Bundestag (1969–1981), Federal Minister (1976–1978)

Carlo Schmid , Member of the Parliamentary Council (1948/49), Member of the Bundestag (1949–1972), Federal Minister (1966–1969), Vice President of the Bundestag (1949–1966, 1969–1972), Member of the Party Executive (1947–1970), Member of the Presidium (1958–1970)

Helmut Schmidt , Federal Chancellor (1974–1982), Federal Minister (1969–1974), Chairman of the Bundestag parliamentary group (1966–1969)

Louise Schroeder , Member of the Bundestag (1920–1933), Member of the Bundestag (1949–1957), Mayor of Berlin (1947/48)

Kurt Schumacher , Member of the Bundestag (1930–1933), Member of the Bundestag (1949–1952), party chairman (1946–1952), chairman of the SPD parliamentary group (1949–1952)

Kurt Schwitters , writer, artist and representative of Dadaism

Carl Severing , Prussian Interior Minister (1920–1926, 1930–1932), Reich Interior Minister (1928–1930)

Hugo Sinzheimer , lawyer, father of labor law in Germany, member of the Weimar constituent assembly

Samuel Spier , co-founder of the Social Democratic Labor Party, co-author of the Eisenach program

Jochen Steffen , MdL (1958–1977) and elected chairman of the SPD in Schleswig-Holstein in 1965. Steffen was also known for his cabaret monologues performed under the alias Kuddl Schnööf .

Käte Strobel , Member of the Bundestag (1949–1972), Federal Minister (1966–1972), member of the party executive (1958–1971)

Peter Struck , leader of the SPD parliamentary group (1998–2002, 2005–2009), Federal Minister of Defense (2002–2005)

Otto Suhr , President of the Berlin House of Representatives (1951–1954), Governing Mayor of Berlin (1955–1957)

Ferdinand Tönnies , sociologist, economist and philosopher

Hans-Jochen Vogel , SPD party chairman (1987–1991), chairman of the SPD parliamentary group (1983–1991)

Rudolf Wassermann , lawyer, President of the Higher Regional Court Braunschweig (1971–1990), President of the Lower Saxony State Judicial Examination Office (1976–1990), member of the Lower Saxony State Court (1977–2000), Federal Chairman of the AsJ (1974–1980)

Herbert Wehner , Member of the Bundestag (1949–1983), Federal Minister (1966–1969), Chairman of the SPD parliamentary group (1969–1983)

Otto Wels (1873–1939), MdR (1912–1933), party chairman from 1919, resistance fighter

Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski , Member of the Bundestag (1957–1990), Federal Minister (1966–1968), SPD Federal Managing Director (1968–1972), Federal Chairman of the Jusos (1959–1961)

Clara Zetkin , peace activist and women's rights activist, MdR (1920–1933), initiator of International Women's Day , women's secretary in the central party executive of the SPD (until 1917), editor-in-chief of the journal Die Gleichheit (1892–1917), from 1917 member of the USPD, then of the KPD

Luise Zietz , MdR (1920–1922), women's rights activist, member of the SPD party executive (1908–1917), was considered a “female Bebel”, a founding member of the USPD

Georg-August Zinn , member of the Parliamentary Council (1948/1949), Prime Minister of Hesse (1950–1969), Chairman of the SPD Hessen (1947–1969)

Social democratic candidate for chancellor since 1949

1949 Kurt Schumacher
1953 Erich Ollenhauer
1957 Erich Ollenhauer
1961 Willy Brandt
1965 Willy Brandt
1969 Willy Brandt
1972 Willy Brandt
1976 Helmut Schmidt
1980 Helmut Schmidt
1983 Hans-Jochen Vogel
1987 Johannes Rau
1990 Oskar Lafontaine
1994 Rudolf Scharping
1998 Gerhard Schröder
2002 Gerhard Schröder
2005 Gerhard Schröder
2009 Frank-Walter Steinmeier
2013 Peer Steinbrück
2017 Martin Schulz

Prominent members outside of politics

Ingo Appelt , comedian

Wilhelm Bender , former CEO of Fraport AG and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Eintracht Frankfurt

Heinrich Bedford-Strohm , Regional Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria and Chairman of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany.

Verena Bentele , biathlete, cross-country skier, four-time World Cup and twelve-time Paralympic winner.

Klaus von Beyme , political scientist

Reinhard Birkenstock , defense attorney

Jan Böhmermann , comedian

Manfred Breuckmann , sports commentator

Jürgen Domian , moderator

Horst Dreier , lawyer and legal philosopher, former member of the national ethics council

Paul van Dyk , DJ

Günter Grass , writer and Nobel Prize winner (resigned in 1992)

Manfred Güllner , founder and managing director of the Forsa Institute

Ottfried Fischer , actor

Hans-Joachim Heist , actor

Reiner Hoffmann , DGB chairman

Lutz van der Horst , comedy writer, comedian and television presenter

Uwe Hück , Chairman of the Porsche Works Council,

Roland Kaiser , pop singer

Ernes Erko Kalac , integration ambassador of the DOSB

Kai-Oliver Knops , lawyer

Günther Koch , radio reporter

Jürgen Kühling , judge at the Federal Constitutional Court (1989–2001), judge at the Federal Administrative Court (1979–1989)

Leonard Lansink , actor

Wolf von Lojewski , journalist

Thomas Meyer , political scientist

Gerhard Olschewski , actor

Özgür Özata , actor

Jürgen Peters , former chairman of IG Metall

Fritz Pleitgen , journalist and former WDR director

Jobst Plog , lawyer and former NDR director

Oskar Mahler , artist, actor and author

Reinhard Rauball , football official

Edzard Reuter , manager, former CEO of Daimler-Benz AG

Lea Rosh , television journalist and publicist

Katharina Saalfrank , qualified pedagogue, known for the RTL coaching format Die Super Nanny , columnist

Rainer Sass , presenter and TV chef

Sylvia Schenk , former athlete, lawyer, former president of the Association of German Cyclists, former chairwoman of Transparency International Germany