Petra Bahr leaves Hanover - and becomes State Secretary

Hanover. For her personally, the Church Congress that just took place in Hanover must have been like a big farewell party: Hanover's regional bishop, Petra Bahr, is moving to the Federal Ministry for Education, Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth as State Secretary. "I had a fantastic time here and am leaving the city with a heavy heart," says the 59-year-old, "but there are challenges that one simply has to accept when liberal democracy is under attack."

Petra Bahr is one of the country's most important intellectuals; her voice carries considerable weight even beyond the Protestant Church. When contacted by our editorial team, Bahr declined to comment in detail on her future responsibilities in the ministry, which has been headed by CDU politician Karin Prien.

The Lüdenscheid-born theologian earned her doctorate on Kant's "Critique of Judgment" and taught philosophy of religion and ethics in Frankfurt from 2000 to 2006. She then became cultural representative of the Evangelical Church in Germany and, from 2014 onward, headed the policy and consulting department of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, which is affiliated with the CDU, for two years.

In addition, she has sat on the German Ethics Council as a CDU member in recent years - so the cosmopolitan woman has been able to build and maintain contacts in Berlin over the years.

Smart churchwoman: Petra Bahr will work in Berlin in the future.

Source: Irving Villegas

Nevertheless, the move from the church to politics comes as a complete surprise to many - some observers had seen her as a possible successor to the 63-year-old regional bishop Ralf Meister.

He now thanked Bahr for her commitment. "We will miss her wisdom and sharp analytical perspective," said Meister. At the same time, he was pleased that Petra Bahr, as a theologian and ethicist, was now assuming such prominent sociopolitical responsibility for the country.

Since 2017, the Protestant theologian had been at the head of the Hanover diocese and was responsible for more than 200 congregations with approximately 440,000 members in this church region.

Petra Bahr is married to Göttingen canon lawyer Hans Michael Heinig and has one son. As the author of several books, she has repeatedly contributed to social debates, balancing values ​​and modernity.