Marie Schlei  Marie Schlei (26 November 1919 – 21 May 1983) was a German politician and a member of Social Democratic Party (SPD). She served as minister of economic cooperation from 1976 to 1978, being the first female head of the ministry. Schlei was a member of SPD. She was the parliamentary state secretary in the premier's office from 1974 to 1976. She was appointed minister of economic cooperation to the cabinet led by Prime Minister Helmut Schmidt on 15 December 1976, replacing Egon Bahr in the post. Her appointment was not welcomed by German media due to being a woman. On 16 February 1978, she was replaced by Rainer Offergeld in the post. In 1984, the Marie Schlei Association was founded in Hamburg for her memory to help women in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The association develops projects to this end.