Dr. Sommer, born in Bochum, Germany, has been a member of the European Parliament since 1999 and since 2009 has been a member of the Bureau of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats).
She began her political career in 1993 by becoming a member and chair of the Bureau of Herne District (Christian Democrats) and since 1994 has been chairman of the Herne Europa-Union. From 1994 to 1999 she was a city councilor in Herne and vice chair of the Christian Democratic Union group on the Herne Municipal Council.
She serves on the following committees in the European Parliament: Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs; Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety; the delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee; the delegation for relations with the Maghreb Countries and the Arab Maghreb Union; and delegation to the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly.
She received her doctorate in international nutrition and consumer behavior in 1996 at Bonn University. Her experience includes serving as an academic assistant in Bonn University’s Department of Agriculture and as an agricultural policy officer with the German Rural Youth Academy of the German Farmers’ Union in Bonn.