European Young Leaders (#EYL40)

Martina is the former Secretary of State for the Slovenian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. Having long been interested in politics, she began her political career by participating in the Young Democrats Forum towards the end of secondary school. This formative experience led her to pursue and obtain elected office at both the local and national level. At the Slovenia National Assembly, Martina has actively participated in the parliamentary group responsible for the fields of work, family, social affairs, health and human rights. For the past four and a half years, under two Governments, she worked as a state secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. As a Council of Europe-certified human rights trainer, she has worked with various non-governmental organisations to promote human rights and gender equality.

Lea is a Danish politician, currently member of the parliament where she sits on the Business Committee, as well as the Climate, Energy and Supply Committee. She has served as the Danish Minister for the Environment in the Mette Frederiksen government. She describes herself as a ‘classic Social Democrat’ who strongly believes in equality and the power of community. As the daughter of a primary school teacher, she is passionate about the role of education as an instrument for social change. Lea became a passionate environmental advocate growing up in Bornholm, a community-tight Danish island with leading policies on circular economy, waste reduction and recycling. She has been involved in politics for the past decade, originally serving as a Board Member of the youth wing of the Social Democratic party. She has also worked in Tanzania on local democracy projects.

Serge is a Luxemburgish MP for the Christian Social People’s Party. Originally interested in the fields of history and European society, Serge briefly worked for the national archives before quickly making his way into politics first as a parliamentary advisor and then an elected official from 2011 onwards. After being elected chairman of the Young Christian Socialists (Jeunesse Chrétienne-Sociale – CSJ) in 2008, Serge Wilmes went on to become chairman of the CSV for Luxembourg City in 2016. Since 2017, he has held the office of First Deputy Mayor (premier échevin) of Luxembourg City, overseeing urban development, architecture, information technology, commerce and tourism.

Currently, Ozan works as a researcher at the Finnish Labour Institute for Eonomic Research. Formerly, he served as green city counsellor in Helsinki and as member of the Finish Parliament. As a green politician and future economist, he is very interested in the future of work and green economic growth. At the age of 27, he was elected as a Member of the Finnish Parliament and in the past parliamentary term he advocated for social equality and the fight against discrimination. Ozan has worked at the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. Ozan has also served as the Co-Chair of the Federation of Green Youth and in 2017 he was on the 30 Under 30 list of Forbes.

Humza Yousaf has succeeded Nicola Sturgeon as the First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP). While delivering his oath of allegiance, he wore a kilt and spoke in Urdu, embracing his British-Pakistani heritage and British multiculturalism. At 27, he notably became the youngest minister in the Scottish Government’s history, as well as the first ever minister from an ethnic minority background, serving as the minister for Europe and international development. Yousaf has also served the Scottish cabinet as the justice secretary and health secretary. In the Scottish Parliament, he represents the Glasgow Pollok constituency. Involved in community work and described as a ‘role model for all Scots’, he is a spokesperson and volunteer on several issues related to homelessness and asylum seekers.

Florian is Head of the corporate governance and internal policies division at the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), where he is responsible for the preparation of decisions and meetings of the Board of Governors (eurozone finance ministers), Board of Directors and Board of Auditors. He has worked in economic and financial affairs in the areas of central banking and monetary policy in various capacities including at the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Central Bank (ECB). He has a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, as well as a Master’s in Advanced European Studies from the University of Vienna.