Löning, Markus

Markus Löning was born in 1960 in Meppen, Germany. Upon completion of his studies in political science at Heidelberg University and computer science at University of Kent at Canterbury, he started his professional career as a manger and freelance staff member at various advertising agencies. He started his political career in 2001 by joining the German Liberal Party (FDP) and became a member of the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) in 2002 acting as the development policy spokesman of the FDP parliamentary group until 2005. From 2005 up to 2009 he was appointed European policy spokesman of the FDP parliamentary group and chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Relations with Belgium and Luxembourg. From 2005 to 2007 he was elected president of the German Group of Liberal International (DGLI), followed by the vice-presidency of the European Liberal Democrats (ELDR). From 2004 to 2010 he acted as president of the Liberal Party in the State of Berlin. His Bundestag mandate ended in September 2009. In April 2010 he was appointed to his current position as federal government commissioner for human rights policy and humanitarian aid for the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin.