About us


    About Us


    The local chapter of the German Green Party (Alliance '90/The Greens) was founded on April 13th, 2008 at the Goethe Institute in Washington D.C. It is the first chapter of a German political party in the United States.

    Our main goal is to provide a platform for politically active and green-oriented German citizens, in and beyond Washington D.C., to discuss and actively participate in German Green politics.

    We want to tap into the expertise and knowledge of the many German citizens, who work for many international Organizations, be in cultural fields, the media, public and private foundations and non profit organizations as well as political institutions and committees. We want to foster professional and personal exchange, channeling the outcomes towards the political discourse in Germany.

    We cordially invite all German Greens in the United States, within and beyond the borders of the District of Columbia, to use the forum of our local chapter to advance green politics in Germany.

    For further information, please contact us: info (at) gruene-washington.de or visit our English page on Facebook.


    German Greens in Coalition Governments - A Political Analysis

    16.01.2018. The German Greens have succeeded in taking over governmental responsibility in the majority of Germany's 16 federal states. This is a great success for the party. In his study German Greens in Coalition Governments (Heinrich-Böll-Foundation EU, 2017), Arne Jungjohann offers insights which ministries the Greens take charge of and how their leadership explains this selection. The study also looks at which forms of coalition management the Greens use and the informal structures they have built up in recent years for party-internal coordination between the state and federal level.

    >> PDF
    >> Video presentation of the key findings


     

    Grün Goes Global! - On Twitter

    01.05.2016. Insights into what's happening concerning green politics in Germany, and updates on the German Green Party - all in English: Our new Twitter spin-off caters to everybody around the globe who wants to stay updated on these issues. >> @GermanGreens 

    The OV Washington: "A telling example of innovative green grassroots democracy"

    A study of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies and the Heinrich-Boell-Foundation portrays the rise of the German Green Party, 30 years after their first entry into the Bundestag (the German Parliament).  According to the authors Andrei S. Markovits and Joseph Klaver, the OV Washington is a characteristic achievement of an innovative party that lives out grassroots democracy and transfers its policies to the global level. More..



    German Greens want to strengthen transatlantic cooperation on climate change

    The German government should turn cooperation on climate change into a strategic priority in the transatlantic relations. This is the core demand of a resolution passed the German Greens in the Deutscher Bundestag. We as the Washington DC chapter of the German Greens couldn’t agree more: Though Congress is irresponsibly ignoring the urgent threat of climate change, there are other pillars in the US American society to connect to and foster collaboration and mutual learning across the Atlantic. One of the vehicles for this is the Transatlantic Climate Bridge that should be strengthened, according to the resolution of the Greens.

    You can download the resolution below. Thanks to Hermann Ott, the German Green Party’s leading climate voice, and his team in Berlin for this good piece of (transatlantic) cooperation!
    German Greens Resolution 177356-Transatlantic Climate Cooperation


    Green The Capitals!

    In the run-up to the regional election in Berlin on September 18th, we launched a fun new game at our recent summer party: "Green the Capital!" The aim of the online game is to green Berlin as fast as possible – see if you can beat the current record of 5.8 seconds! Our goal – needless to say – is to green Berlin in real life and to support Renate Künast's candidacy for first green mayor of Berlin! 


    New York Times reports on German Greens in Washington DC

    September 1, 2011. Greens gain in Germany. According to the New York Times, "a string of Green Party victories and strong electoral showings across Germany, from the conservative south to the port cities of the north, are helping to redefine politics among voters who are increasingly losing faith in the more established parties." We couldn't agree more!
    The author explains why an otherwise growing green movement on the global level has yet not gained traction in the United States: "The global surge has remained under the radar in the United States, for many reasons. In a system dominated by two parties, the Greens have no representatives in Congress or, for that matter, in a single state legislature. The party’s image and electoral success in the United States has been tightly bound to the ultimately doomed presidential bids of Ralph Nader rather than depending on the grass-roots methods used to build the Greens in Germany. The German Greens even have their own local chapter in Washington, and they have served as a model for their political cousins abroad."
    Read the full article here.


    German Greens in DC Congratulate Canadian Green Elizabeth May on her splendid success

    May 19th, 2011. In the recent Federal Election, the Canadian Greens achieved a historic victory. Despite the general trend towards the Conservative Party, which strengthened its position in power, Green Party leader Elizabeth May won the first ever elected seat for the Green Party in Canada. Elizabeth won the seat in British Columbia defeating the incumbent, Gary Lunn, Conservative and Minister of State in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

    The election of a Green member into the Canadian Parliament is a first, not only for Canada, but – in the absence of any Green parlamentarians in the US – for the whole of North America (see NYT article).

    The local chapter of the German Greens in Washington DC send their heartfelt congratulations and offer their support in a letter to Elizabeth.


    German Greens: Mr. President, leave nuclear power behind!

    President Obama has stood up for renewable energy. The First Lady has made children’s health her signature cause. In the face of the tragical nuclear accident in Fukushima, the German Greens in Washington, DC urge the President to leave nuclear power behind. Here you can download the full letter.