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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWho's Elif Eralp? Elf with a help?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Elif Eralp
Eralp in December 2025
Member of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 November 2021
ConstituencyFriedrichshain-Kreuzberg 1 (since 2026)
Personal details
Born (1981-01-14) 14 January 1981 (age 45)
Munich, West Germany
PartyDie Linke (since 2017)
Children2
ParentHülya Eralp [de] (mother)
EducationUniversity of Hamburg
Occupation
  • Lawyer
  • politician

Elif Eralp (German pronunciation: [ˈeːlɪf ˈɛʁalp];[1] born 14 January 1981) is a German lawyer and politician of Die Linke who has been a member of the Berlin House of Representatives since November 2021.[2] She has served as deputy group leader of the party since 2024, and as deputy state chair of the party since 2025.[3]

Eralp was born in Munich to parents who had fled Turkey after the military coup of September 1980 and claimed asylum in West Germany. She studied law at the University of Hamburg, passed both German state examinations in law, and worked from 2010 to 2021 as a legal policy adviser to Die Linke's parliamentary group in the Bundestag. Her political work has focused on anti-racism, anti-discrimination and housing policy.[4][5]

She was Die Linke's lead candidate in the 2026 Berlin state election, in which the party took 25.7 per cent of the list vote and won 47 of the 158 seats, becoming the largest party in the House of Representatives for the first time.[6][7][8] Because the Governing Mayor of Berlin is elected by the House of Representatives, Eralp has been widely named as a candidate for the office. Die Linke invited the Greens and the SPD to exploratory talks the day after the election, and a Christian Democrat-led coalition under Stefan Evers also remained arithmetically possible.[9][10]

Early life and education

[edit]

Eralp's family comes from the village of Panlı in Pınarbaşı, Kayseri, the hometown of her father, Selçuk Eralp.[11][12] Her parents, who were politically active trade unionists in Turkey, fled to West Germany due to political persecution following the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. Her mother, Hülya Eralp [de], who was born in Adana, had been elected to the central committee of a socialist workers' party in Istanbul in 1979 and was organising textile workers for the DİSK union federation; after the coup the couple went into hiding, left Turkey on 13 November 1980 and applied for asylum on arrival in Munich, where Eralp was born on 14 January 1981.[13] She grew up in Dortmund, where her father worked as a doctor and her mother studied social pedagogy at evening classes. At the age of eight, the family moved to Altona, Hamburg, where she completed her schooling.[14][13]

After graduating from high school, Eralp studied law at the University of Hamburg from 2001 to 2007, specializing in criminology and spending a semester at the University of Alicante in Spain. She completed her studies with the First State Examination in law.[15] She then completed her legal traineeship, which included placements at the Hamburg [de] and Hamburg-Altona local courts, Fuhlsbüttel prison, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Berlin, the German Embassy in Ottawa, and a law firm specializing in immigration and asylum law. In 2009, she completed her legal training with the Second State Examination in Law in Hamburg.[14][15]

Political career

[edit]
Eralp speaks at an extraordinary party conference of Die Linke in Berlin, 18 January 2025

Eralp has been politically active since her youth, including environmental activism and supporting Castor transport blockades [de] in the Wendland region and at Gorleben.[14][4] In 2010 she moved to Berlin, where she worked until 2021 as a legal policy adviser to the Civil Rights and Democracy working group of Die Linke's parliamentary group. During the same period she sat on the group's works council and on the collective bargaining commission of the Ver.di trade union.[4][3] Describing Kreuzberg as her political home, she was active there in initiatives against racism and gentrification and for affordable housing for all. Among other things, she was involved in the migrant association Allmende e.V., which was itself forced to leave its premises on Kottbusser Damm because of rising rents.[14]

Eralp joined the party in 2017, saying she believed parliaments needed a party that offered an alternative to neoliberal politics and stood against the racism of the AfD.[14] She was first elected to the state executive committee at the 7th state party conference of the Berlin state association [de] in December 2018 and served until 2023, and was first elected deputy state chair at the 10th state party conference in May 2025. In the House of Representatives she has chaired the urban development committee and served as her party's spokeswoman on migration and anti-discrimination policy.[4][3]

In mid-2019, Eralp, together with her state executive committee colleagues Hamze Bytyci, Ferat Koçak, and Belma Bekos, founded the nationwide alliance Links*Kanax, which advocates, among other things, for greater inclusion of party members who have experienced racism. The alliance campaigned successfully for a decision to set up a volunteer anti-discrimination office for those who experience discrimination within the party, although Eralp said in 2025 that this and other proposals, including a diversity survey and a mentoring programme, were still awaiting implementation. Eralp and her colleagues also championed a diversity committee to develop strategies and concepts for organizing and engaging more people with a migrant background within the party.[16][4]

In 2021, the Berlin branch of Die Linke nominated Eralp for a direct mandate in the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg 2 constituency and for the promising seventh spot on the state list for the 2021 Berlin state election.[17] One of the goals of the state party and its chairwoman, Katina Schubert, was to include "new faces" among the top ten candidates on the list.[16] Eralp cited the far-right extremist Hanau shootings in 2020 as one of her motivations for running.[16] Various media outlets reported on Eralp's door-to-door campaigning in her constituency, which has a large immigrant population.[18][19] Although she lost to incumbent Green candidate Marianne Burkert-Eulitz with 28.5% of the vote against 38.5%, through the state list she was nevertheless able to enter the Berlin House of Representatives, where she joined Die Linke's faction.[2] At the repeat election in 2023 she took 27.1% of the first vote in her constituency and kept her seat.[15][20]

2026 state election

[edit]
Die Linke's constituency candidates for Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, 13 December 2025: Michael Efler, Kerstin Wolter, Damiano Valgolio, Eralp and Ekkehard Spiegel

On 9 October 2025 the Berlin state executive of Die Linke unanimously nominated Eralp as the party's lead candidate for the state election of 20 September 2026 and as its candidate for Governing Mayor.[21][22] The party built its campaign largely around Eralp personally and ran an extensive door-to-door canvassing operation; in spring 2026 it brought in Morris Katz, a strategist who had worked on Zohran Mamdani's New York campaign, as an adviser.[23][24] Support for Die Linke and the left was also mobilised by the recent AfD victory in the 2026 Saxony-Anhalt state election. Rent and housing policy were at the centre of the campaign: Eralp said one of her first acts in office would be a rent cap, and the party made its entry into government conditional on implementing the 2021 Deutsche Wohnen & Co. enteignen referendum on expropriating large housing companies. She also argued that the AfD should be banned.[5][23][7]

Eralp showing a necklace reading Mietendeckel ("rent cap") at the campaign's closing rally, 18 September 2026

Two controversies arose during the campaign. At an event organized by the party's Neukölln district association in late August 2026, a rapper performing a song about the war in Gaza used the line "death to the Israeli army". Eralp and state chair Kerstin Wolter condemned the performance in the strongest terms. Eralp said she was appalled, and that those responsible should have intervened at once.[25] At a discussion held by Berlin's Jewish Community on 9 September 2026 she said that antisemitism was a problem for society as a whole and existed within Die Linke as well, but that the large majority of the party supported the protection of Jewish life. She added that she expected the Neukölln incident to be investigated and to have consequences.[26]

Eralp at the closing rally in front of the Red City Hall, two days before the election

At the election on 20 September 2026 Die Linke took 25.7% of the list vote, a gain of 13.4 percentage points on 2023, and won 47 of the 158 seats. It became the largest party in the House of Representatives for the first time in its history. The CDU took 18.8%, the AfD 16.3%, the Greens 14.3% and the SPD 12.1%, the SPD's worst recorded result in Berlin; the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance fell below the threshold on 4.7% and turnout was 74.2%. Eralp won the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg 1 constituency on the first vote, entering the House as a directly elected member.[6][27][9]

On election night Eralp said the mandate to form a government fell to her party and that it would not retreat on expropriation, declaring that "if Die Linke governs, expropriation will happen".[28] The following day Die Linke invited the Greens and the SPD to exploratory talks. Both a Left–Green–SPD coalition and a CDU–Green–SPD coalition were arithmetically possible, and the CDU lead candidate Stefan Evers was named alongside Eralp as a possible Governing Mayor.[9][10] SPD lead candidate Steffen Krach and Green lead candidate Werner Graf said they expected an explicit commitment against antisemitism from Die Linke as a condition of any coalition. Eralp replied that the party's promise of protection applied to Muslims and Christians as well as Jews, and to everyone in the city.[10]

Personal life

[edit]

Eralp is married and a mother of two children.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Ein anderes Berlin ist möglich [A different Berlin is possible] (YouTube video) (in German). Die Linke. 9 October 2025. Event occurs at 1:38 – via YouTube.
  2. 1 2 "Elif Eralp". Parliamentwatch (in German). Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Elif Eralp, Linke". Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin (in German). Retrieved 18 September 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Elif Eralp – Kandidatur zum stellvertretenden Landesvorsitz" [Elif Eralp – candidacy for deputy state chair] (in German). Die Linke Berlin. May 2025. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 Ilgın, Ayşegül (16 September 2026). "Berlin'de Mamdani yolunda ilerliyor: Elif Eralp" [Making progress on the Mamdani route in Berlin: Elif Eralp] (in Turkish). Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Wahl zum 20. Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin am 20. September 2026" [Election to the 20th House of Representatives of Berlin on 20 September 2026] (in German). Landeswahlleiterin für Berlin. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  7. 1 2 Mackenzie, James (20 September 2026). "Far-left party wins Berlin election, pledging to nationalise housing". Reuters. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  8. ↑ Cole, Deborah (20 September 2026). "Friedrich Merz vows to stay in office after CDU 'disaster' in German state elections". The Guardian.
  9. 1 2 3 "Vorläufiges Endergebnis in Berlin: Linke erstmals stärkste Kraft – SPD mit historischem Tief" [Provisional final result in Berlin: The Left the strongest force for the first time – SPD at a historic low]. Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 21 September 2026. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 "Berlin: Was die Linke für Koalitionspartner unattraktiv macht" [Berlin: what makes The Left unattractive to coalition partners] (in German). ZDF. 21 September 2026. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  11. ↑ "Panlı köyü'nde Elif Eralp sevinci: "Köyümüzden başbakan çıkması büyük gurur"" [Joy over Elif Eralp in Panlı village: "It is a great pride that a head of government came from our village"]. Sabah (in Turkish). 22 September 2026. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  12. ↑ Liy, Ergün Özgür (5 September 2026). "Elif Eralp: Berlin belediye başkanı adayı - Jineps Gazetesi". Jineps Gazetesi (in Turkish). Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  13. 1 2 "Hülya Eralp Biografie" [Hülya Eralp biography]. Ver/sammeln antirassistischer Kämpfe (in German). University of Göttingen, Kiel University of Applied Sciences and FHXB Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Museum. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "Elif Eralp – Ein Berlin für Alle!" [Elif Eralp – A Berlin for Everyone!]. elif-eralp.de (in German). Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 "Vita". elif-eralp.de (in German). Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 Claudia Krieg (24 April 2021). "Eine diversere Berliner Linke" [A more diverse Berlin left]. neues deutschland (in German). Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  17. ↑ "C. Landeslisten: Liste Nr. 4: DIE LINKE" [C. State lists: List No. 4: DIE LINKE] (PDF). Berlin. 2021. p. 3094. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 September 2026. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  18. ↑ Luise Sammann (30 August 2021). "Von Tür zu Tür in Berlin-Kreuzberg - Parteien entdecken Zuwanderer als Wähler" [From Door to Door in Berlin-Kreuzberg: Parties Target Immigrants as Voters]. Länderreport (in German). Deutschlandfunk Kultur. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  19. ↑ Valerie Dörner (21 September 2021). "'Das Herz der Leute gewinnt man nur an der Tür'" ['You can only win people's hearts on their doorstep']. n-tv.de (in German). Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  20. ↑ "Gewählte Wiederholungswahl zum 19. Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin am Sonntag, dem 12. Februar 2023 (Hauptwahl vom 26.09.2021) in Berlin" [Repeat election for the 19th House of Representatives of Berlin on Sunday, 12 February 2023 (main election of 26 September 2021) in Berlin]. wahlen-berlin.de (in German). 12 February 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  21. ↑ "Ein anderes Berlin ist möglich: Elif für Berlin" [A different Berlin is possible: Elif for Berlin] (in German). Die Linke Berlin. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  22. ↑ "Elif Eralp soll Berliner Linke in den Wahlkampf führen" [Elif Eralp to lead Berlin's Linke into election campaign]. Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 9 October 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  23. 1 2 Augustin, Kersten (12 September 2026). ""Hallo, ich bin Elif"" ["Hello, I'm Elif"]. taz (in German). Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  24. ↑ Methven, Steven. "How Zohran Mamdani Helped Germany's Left Party Win in Berlin". Novara Media. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  25. ↑ "Linken-Spitzenkandidatin Eralp kritisiert eigene Parteimitglieder nach Rapper-Auftritt in Neukölln" [The Left's lead candidate Eralp criticises her own party members after rapper's appearance in Neukölln] (in German). Deutschlandfunk. 4 September 2026. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  26. ↑ "Eralp: Große Mehrheit der Linken für Schutz jüdischen Lebens" [Eralp: large majority of The Left in favour of protecting Jewish life]. Die Zeit (in German). dpa. 9 September 2026. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  27. ↑ "Gewählte – Wahl zum 20. Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin am 20. September 2026" [Elected members – election to the 20th House of Representatives of Berlin on 20 September 2026] (in German). Landeswahlleiterin für Berlin. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  28. ↑ "Live-Blog zur Abgeordnetenhaus-Wahl: Linke sieht in Berlin Regierungsauftrag – und beharrt auf Vergesellschaftungen" [Live blog on the House of Representatives election: The Left sees a mandate to govern in Berlin – and insists on socialisation]. web.de (in German). 20 September 2026. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
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