President of the Bundestag appoints members of the German Ethics Council

The following individuals have thus been appointed for a first or second term of office (in alphabetical order): Jutta Allmendinger, Petra Bahr, Cornelia Betsch, Hans-Georg Dederer, Uta Eser, Aldo Faisal, Helmut Frister, Nils Goldschmidt, Winfried Hardinghaus, Ute Kalender, Hedy Kerek-Bodden, Armin Nassehi, Annette Riedel, Frauke Rostalski, Kerstin Schlögl-Flierl, Susanne Schreiber, Josef Schuster, Muna Tatari, Gregor Thüsing, Achim Wambach and Eva Winkler.

Elisabeth Gräb-Schmidt, Armin Grunwald, Mark Schweda and Judith Simon already are members of the Council. They were appointed during the last period of office and their term has not yet expired.

The nominee of the AfD parliamentary group was rejected during the plenary sitting of 6 June in the German Bundestag. The Ethics Council will therefore consist of 25 members instead of 26, as provided for in the Ethics Council Act.

The members of the Council serve in an honorary capacity for a period of four years and can be reappointed no more than once. They represent scientific, medical, theological, philosophical, ethical, social, economic, and legal expertise. In addition to scientists from the above-mentioned fields, the Council also consists of members who are particularly familiar with ethical issues in the life sciences and reflect the diversity of opinions in society.

The Council will elect a new Chair and Board during its constituent meeting on 14 November.

Background

The first German Ethics Council was established in April 2008 based on the Ethics Council Act of July 2007. The Council's task is to monitor ethical, social, scientific, medical and legal issues as well as the likely consequences for individuals and society that arise in connection with research and developments, particularly in the field of life sciences and their application to human beings. www.ethikrat.org