Dr. Maria Flachsbarth

Chairwoman

Maria Flachsbarth was elected chairwoman of XertifiX e.V. in December 2024. The trained veterinarian was a CDU member of the Bundestag for the southern part of the Hanover region from 2002 to 2021.

In addition to environmental policy, she was involved in church and religious policy issues and also headed the so-called Gorleben Committee of Inquiry. She was also a member of the Merkel government from 2013 to 2021 as Parliamentary State Secretary to the Minister for Food and Agriculture and the Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development. Her conviction that a life of peace, freedom and prosperity worldwide is only possible if people in all regions of the world have the opportunity to lead self-determined lives stems from this work in development cooperation and her Christian faith. As a committed Catholic, she is active on a voluntary basis in various committees of her church, including the Catholic German Women’s Association (KDFB) and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK). Maria Flachsbarth is married and has two adult sons.

“I am delighted to now be able to work with committed colleagues on the board of XertifiX e.V. and in cooperation with XertifiX Sozialprojekte e.V. to specifically promote fair working conditions in the natural stone sector, education instead of child labor, health care and adequate nutrition for the people working in the quarries. Our goal is to work specifically towards achieving SDG 8 “Decent work and economic growth” of the UN Agenda 2030.”