Ute Schmidt was born in 1959 in Leverkusen and grew up in Thuringia and Brandenburg. She worked as a teacher until 1991 and then as a women's and foreigners' representative in Ludwigsfelde for ten years.

From 2001 onwards, she worked as an advisor in the office of the ombudsman of the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where she was responsible for the interests of migrants. In 2003, she moved to the state government and worked as a consultant in the fields of migration, youth policy, family policy and democracy and tolerance. Since 2012, Ute Schmidt has headed the State Coordination Office for Democracy and Tolerance in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

For many years, Ute Schmidt was involved in equality policy and on the boards of the Rostock associations Dien Hong e.V and Migra e.V for the integration of migrants.

Since 2005, she has been a member of the state board of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Main areas of work:

• Integration issues
• Political participation
• Women's and family policy
• Youth policy