Hedwig von Beverfoerde

Baroness Hedwig von Elverfeldt gennant Beverfoerde zu Werries (, née von Lüninck; born 1963) is a German conservative politician and Catholic activist. A former member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany who worked to shorten daycare hours in Saxony-Anhalt and protect parental rights, she is the founder of the Family Protection Initiative and an organizer of the Demo für Alle rallies in Hanover and Stuttgart, campaigning against same-sex marriage. Early life and education Von Beverfoerde was born Baroness Hedwig von Lüninck in 1963 at Ostwig House, a mansion in Bestwig, North Rhine-Westphalia, owned by her family. She is a member of the Von Lüninck family, who are part of the German nobility, and is a relative of the politician Baron Ferdinand von Lüninck. After graduating from Kloster Wald, a Catholic boarding school for girls in Wald, Baden-Württemberg, she trained as a secretary in Brussels before studying business administration at a university in Münster. Career After graduating from university, Von Beverfoerde worked as an assistant sales director of a stock corporation in Magdeburg. In 1993 she left business to pursue political activism. She was an active member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany until December 2016, serving as a district board member of the Jerichower Land. She left the party in 2016, stating that she could not remain in the party as "a faithful Catholic" while under the leadership of Angela Merkel, and due to her disagreement with the party's acceptance of opening German borders to Muslim refugees. Her earlier political career was focused on public education and childcare. From 1999 until 2000 she served as a spokeswoman of the national citizen's movement ABC-Schützen! She worked to protect parental rights and campaigned for shorter daycare hours.