Werner Schulz was born in 1950 in Zwickau. He studied food chemistry and technology at the Humbolt University, Berlin. In 1974 he became an assistant lecturer at the Humbolt but was dismissed without notice in 1980 for protesting about the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. From 1968 he was active in various opposition groups in the GDR. In 1989, he was one of the founders of Neues Forum. In 1990 he was successful in the first free elections to the Volkskammer. From October 1990 to October 2005, Schulz was a Member of the Bundestag for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, for whom he acted as spokesman, parliamentary leader and economic spokesman. Since June 2009 he has been a Member of the European Parliament.