Yasmin Fahimi was born on 25 December 1967 in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony. She joined the SPD in October 1986 and began studying chemistry and engineering in her home town. In 1998, she started working at the labour and environment foundation of the trade union IG BCE. In 2004, she became IG BCE General Secretary in Recklinghausen, before joining the union’s national executive in 2005. Since January 2014, she has been General Secretary of the SPD.