A former journalist and author, Evers-Meyer was first elected member of the German Bundestag in the
2002 federal elections. Between 2005 and 2009, Evers-Meyer – herself a mother of a child with disabilities – served as the Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Disabled Persons (at the
Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs) in the
second cabinet of Chancellor
Angela Merkel. Ahead of the
2009 elections, German foreign minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier included her in his
shadow cabinet of 10 women and eight men for the Social Democrats' campaign to unseat Merkel as chancellor. Following the
2009 federal elections, Evers-Meyer was appointed the SPD parliamentary group's deputy spokesperson on defense policy. A member of the Budget Committee since the
2013 elections, she served as the group's rapporteur on the
budget of the
Federal Ministry of Defense (BMVg). In addition, she was a member of the German delegation to the
NATO Parliamentary Assembly, led by
Karl A. Lamers. In the negotiations to form a
coalition government following the
2013 federal elections, Evers-Meyer was part of the SPD delegation in the working group on foreign affairs, defense policy and development cooperation, led by
Thomas de Maizière and
Frank-Walter Steinmeier. In late 2014, Evers-Meyer was considered as successor of as
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces but withdrew her candidacy when
Hans-Peter Bartels emerged as her parliamentary group's nominee; she would have been the first woman to hold that office. In July 2016, Evers-Meyer announced that she would not stand in the
2017 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term. == Political positions ==