Child of refugees becomes Germany’s first black female cabinet minister

Aminata Toure vows to tackle racism in the country as minister for social affairs in the state of Schleswig-Holstein

A woman who spent her childhood years living in German refugee quarters, haunted by uncertainty over how long her family would be allowed to stay in the country, has now become its first black female cabinet minister.

Aminata Toure, whose parents arrived from war-torn Mali in 1992 - she was born shortly afterwards - has just taken up her post as minister for social affairs in the Christian Democrat-Green coalition government in Kiel in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein.