What drives you?
The desire to make the world a better place and ensure greater justice.
The best advice you’ve ever gotten?
Having more confidence.
What are you learning right now that you’re not so good at yet?
Adjusting to new life situations.
What would you change if you had the power?
Make the world a fairer place.
Which superheroine power would you like to have?
To end injustice, poverty and misery in the world. Create justice.
Sawsan Chebli
Sawsan Chebli was born in Berlin in 1978 as the twelfth child of a Palestinian refugee family. She and her family lived stateless for 15 years, only then were they granted German citizenship. Sawsan studied political science and joined the SPD in 2001.
After holding numerous positions in the offices of members of the Bundestag, she became a policy officer for intercultural affairs at the Berlin Senate Department for the Interior and Sports in 2010. From January 2014, she moved to the Federal Foreign Office as deputy spokeswoman for then-Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. From 2016 to 2021, she was the Plenipotentiary of the State of Berlin to the Federal Government and State Secretary for Civic Engagement and International Affairs. She is a member of the Advisory Council of the Center for Feminist Foreign Policy, a member of the Executive Board of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), co-founder of Love Politics, co-founder of the Female Network Atlantik-Brücke, Gates Foundation SDG Global Goalkeeper, and second chairwoman of the Kita-Sprachpat*innen Verein.
In March 2023, her book “LOUD. Why hate speech is real violence and how we can stop it” was published. Sawsan Chebli is a frequent target of cyber violence and calls on society to show more digital courage. She has more than 125,000 followers on Twitter and helps shape the political debate with her tweets and social media activism. Sawsan Chebli lives in Berlin, is married and the mother of a son.
Topics
Online hate, racism, diversity, poverty, feminist foreign policy, Middle East, international relations, feminism, education, anti-Semitism
Languages
German, English, Arabic
Formats
ReferenCES
- Die Zeit, issue no. 5/2017, essay: “Me, an Islamist? Just look at me!” by Mariam Lau
- Der Spiegel, issue no. 29, 2018, article: “Löwenkind” by Nicola Abé
- Goldmann Verlag, Frankfurt 2023, book: “Laut. Why hate speech is real violence and how we can stop it.” by Sawsan Chebli and Miriam Stein
- Berliner Zeitung, June 15, 2010, Interview with Sabine Rennefanz: “I don’t need a prayer room”
- Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, August 3, 2016, interview with Jasper von Altenbockum and Rainer Hermann: “… als würde Muslime für Aliens gehalten” (together with Michael Müller)
- taz, June 1, 2010, Interview with Alke Wierth: “For me, the essence of Islam is peaceful”
- Berliner Morgenpost, October 2, 2011, Interview with Christina Brüning: “Mein Deutschsein hat Kratzer erfahren”
- SWR1 Leute, YouTube, Interview: “Refugee, stateless, career woman” (Video, 28 min.)
- Jung & Naiv, Episode 313, June 25, 2017, Interview with Tilo Jung: Sawsan Chebli (SPD)
- Jung & Naiv, Episode 478, October 4, 2020, Interview with Tilo Jung: Sawsan Chebli (SPD) wants to be in the front row
- rbb show Chez Krömer, season 3, episode 1, October 13, 2020, interview with Kurt Krömer
What drives you?
The desire to make the world a better place and ensure greater justice.
The best advice you’ve ever gotten?
Having more confidence.
What are you learning right now that you’re not so good at yet?
Adjusting to new life situations.
What would you change if you had the power?
Make the world a fairer place.
Which superheroine power would you like to have?
To end injustice, poverty and misery in the world. Create justice.