Meet 10 of Germany’s most prominent Black people

Charles Mohamed Huber, MP (Bundestag) 

The former TV actor (59) was born in the Bavarian city of Munich to a Senegalese father and a German mother. Huber, who represents the western city of Darmstadt in the Federal Parliament, was the first Black actor in a national TV series, “Der Alte”, where he played the inspector Henry Johnson. The member of the CDU comes from a prominent Senegalese family – his father was a diplomat and his uncle, Léopold Senghor, was the first President of Senegal. “Politics is a tradition in our family,” Huber said after his historic election in 2013. “Somehow it was meant to be.”

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Karamba Diaby, MP (Bundestag)

The SPD member (56) represents the eastern city of Halle in the Federal Parliament. The election of the Senegalese-born holder of a doctorate degree in chemistry and that of Charles Huber (CDU) as the Bundestag’s first members of African descent in 2013 marked a watershed in the history of Germany.

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Steffi Jones, Director at the German Football Federation

Born in Frankfurt to a German mother and an African American father in December 1972, she scored nine goals in 111 caps for the German national team between 1993 and 2007. Jones was in charge of organising the 2011

FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany and is currently a director of the football federation. She will succeed Silvia Neid as national coach of the women’s national team in September.   © Bugs Steffen

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Yared Dibaba, TV moderator

The Ethiopian-born TV moderator, actor,
author and singer (47)
is a successful media personality
of African origin in Germany

 Yared Dibaba│© RTL

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Roberto Blanco, Entertainer

Born 79 years ago in Tunis to parents, who were variety artists from Cuba, he has been active in the country’s entertainment scene for nearly 60 years.

© Manfred Baumann

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Nelson Müller, TV cook

Born in February 1979 in Breman Asikuma, Ghana, he came to Germany with his parents at 4 but was raised by German foster parents who formally adopted him in 2013. The cook, author and singer also runs his Restaurant Schote in Essen.

© ZDF/Ulrich Perrey
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Ivy Quainoo, Singer

Born in Berlin to Ghanaian parents in August 1992, she won the first episode of the talent hunt show The Voice of Germany in 2012. Quainoo has since then recorded two albums and she performs regularly on German TV and at concerts across Europe.

© Martin Black

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Jerome Boateng, football player

Born in Berlin to a German mother and a Ghanaian father, the professional player (27) was a member of the World Cup winning German team in 2014, the year he also won the German FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League with his club Bayern FC.

© HSB

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Nneka, Singer and song writer

The Hamburg-based hip-hop and soul singer was born in December 1980 in Warri, Nigeria, to a German mother and a Nigerian father. She moved to Germany at 18 and burst into the music scene with a successful debut single The Uncomfortable Truth in 2005. Nneka, who has since then recorded six albums, regularly performs around the world – in Africa, Europe, North America and Japan.

© Steve Rutherford

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Xavier Naidoo, Singer 

Born in October 1971 in Mannheim to South African parents of Indian and African descent, he landed in Germany’s top charts in 1997 with the song “Frei sein” (To be free), in collaboration with Sabrina Setlur. His 1998 debut album “Nicht von dieser Welt” (Not from this world) sold more than 1 million copies. Since then he has released eight albums and is celebrated as one of the most successful recording artists in Germany’s history.