Born on February 14, 1966, in Bremerhaven; Protestant; married; one adult daughter
1983: Graduated from Johann-Gutenberg-Schule in Bremerhaven
Graduated as an automotive mechanic in 1986 and as a port worker in 1989
A dockworker at the Bremen State Port Authority (GHB) in Bremerhaven since 1987
1995–2022: Member of the Works Council at GHB Bremerhaven; 2012–2018: Chair of the Works Council at GHB Bremerhaven and Chair of the General Works Council of GHB
2010: Joined the SPD
2014–2022: Chair of AfA Bremerhaven and Deputy State Chair of AfA Bremen
2018–2022: Deputy Federal Chair of the AfA
2011–2015 Member of the Bremerhaven City Council
2015–2017: Member of the Bremen City Parliament, where he served on the Budget and Finance Committee, the Committee on Port Affairs in the State of Bremen, the Audit Committee, and the State Committee on Economic Affairs, Labor, and Ports
Member of the German Bundestag since 2017, representing Constituency 55 (Bremen II-Bremerhaven); in the 21st German Bundestag, member of the Budget Committee and rapporteur for Section 12; alternate member of the Transport Committee; Chair of the Federal Finance Committee;
2021–2025: Spokesperson for the Seeheim Group in the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag
Chair (Lotse) of the Küstengang group within the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag since 2022
Since 2025, Deputy Chair of the Lower Saxony-Bremen Regional Group within the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag
Memberships
Member of ver.di since 1985
Member of IG Metall, IG BCE, and IG BAU since 2019
Member of the Bremerhaven City Fire Department Association since 2020
Member of Weserbrücke e.V. since 2023
Member of the Advisory Board of the German Shipping Industry Foundation since 2023
Member of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for Germany as a Shipping Hub since 2025
Member of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH since December 2025
Member of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn AG since March 1, 2026
