Politician and diplomat. Since 1982 she studied applied linguistics at the universities of Leipzig and Warsaw; certified translator of Polish and Russian. Active in politics at state and federal level since 1990.

Secretary General of the FDP from 2001 to 2005. Member of the Bundestag for the FDP from 1998 to 2013, Vice-Chair of the Education, Research and Technology Assessment Committee, and FDP spokesperson for research policy.

State Secretary at the German Federal Foreign Office and Federal Government Coordinator for Polish-German Intersocietal Relations from 2009 to 2013. Since August 2014 Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Gdańsk.

Awarded an honorary doctorate by Dokkyo University in Japan in 2010 and an honorary professorship by Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce in 2011.