Manuela Schwesig is a young and successful SPD politician. Born in Brandenburg in 1974 the finance expert joined the SPD party in 2003. She made a rapid career in politics and in 2008 she was named state minister for health and social affairs in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. She sees it as her role to encourage young people to become politically active. She sees equality between men and women as an important challenge as well as promoting socially disadvantaged children and the introduction of a minimum wage. She became a member of Frank-Walter Steinmeier's shadow cabinet before the last general election and in October 2009 became one of the four deputies of SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel. Manuela Schwesig married in 2000 and has one son.