Maria Berger

Maria Berger (born 19 August 1956 in Perg, Upper Austria) is an Austrian politician and currently Judge at the European Court of Justice. She was a member of the European Parliament and a Minister of Justice.
Berger is a member of the European Parliament since 1996, interrupted by her tenure as Austrian Justice Minister (2007 – 2008). She is also the leader of the Social Democratic Party delegation which is part of the Party of European Socialists, and sited on the European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs She was also a substitute for the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, a member of the delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, and a substitute for the delegation for relations with Canada.
In January 2007 she was appointed as Justice Minister in the government of Alfred Gusenbauer as Chancellor of Austria. After leaving office in December 2008 she returned to serve in the European Parliament till July 2009. Since October 2009 she is a member of the European Court of Justice.

• Doctor of Law, Innsbruck University (1979)
• University assistant (1979–1984)
• Official at the Federal Ministry of Science and Research (1984–1988)
• Head of the European Integration Department of the Federal Chancellor's Office (1989–1993)
• Directorship post in the EFTA Surveillance Authority in Brussels (1993–1994)
• Vice-President of the University of Krems (1995–1996)
• Federal Chairman of the Young Generation in the SPÖ (1984–1987)
• Member of the Land party committee of the SPÖ in Upper Austria (since 2004)
• Member of the European Parliament (1996–2007, 2008- )
• Honorary medal of the International Mauthausen Committee, National Order of the Republic of Lithuania
• Minister of Justice (2007–2008)