Elif Eralp

Elif Eralp (born 1981) is a German politician serving as a member of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin since 2021. She has served as deputy group leader of Die Linke since 2024, and as deputy state chair of the party since 2025. She is the party's lead candidate in the 2026 Berlin state election.

Early life and education Eralp's parents, who were politically active trade unionists in Turkey, fled to Germany in September 1980 due to political persecution following the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. Eralp was born in Munich shortly thereafter. She grew up there and later in Dortmund, where her father worked as a doctor. At the age of eight, the family moved to Altona, Hamburg, where she completed her schooling.

After graduating from high school, Eralp studied law at the University of Hamburg from 2001 to 2007. She completed her studies with the First State Examination in Law. She then completed her legal traineeship, which included placements at the , the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Berlin, the German Embassy in Ottawa, and a law firm specializing in immigration and asylum law. In 2009, she completed her legal training with the Second State Examination in Law in Hamburg.

In 2021, the Berlin branch of Die Linke nominated Eralp for a direct mandate in the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg 2 constituency and for the promising seventh spot on the state list for the 2021 Berlin state election. One of the goals of the state party and its chairwoman, Katina Schubert, was to include "new faces" among the top ten candidates on the list. Although she lost to incumbent Green candidate Marianne Burkert-Eulitz with 28.5% of the vote against 38.5%, her seventh place on the state list nevertheless allowed her to enter the Berlin House of Representatives, where she joined Die Linke's faction. She was re-elected in 2023.

Personal life Eralp is married and a mother of two children.