Sigmar Gabriel, was born in 1959 in Goslar. He began his political career in his home town as local president of the “Socialist Youth Group Germany - Die Falken” and joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in 1977. He studied at the University of Göttingen to become a grammar scool teacher.

Gabriel was a directly elected member of the Lower Saxony Landtag (state parliament) from 1990 to 2005, becoming SPD parliamentary leader in 1998. During this time he was a member of the Landtag environment committee, County Councillor of the town of Goslar and spokesman for domestic policy of the SPD parliamentary group. In December 1999 he became Minister-President of Lower Saxony and subsequently chair of the SPD parliamentary group. Since November 2005, Sigmar Gabriel is the Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.