Martin Schulz born in Hehlrath,in the border area between Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. After attending the school, Schulz trained to be a bookseller and then he worked for a number of publishing houses and bookshops, before opening his own bookshop in Würselen in 1982.
In 1974 Schulz joined the SPD, became involved with the Young Socialists and in 1984 was elected to the Würselen Municipal Council, becoming mayor in 1987 and holding his office until 1998.
Between 1994 and 2017 he was member of the European Parliament. During that period he was member, Vice-Chair and member of the Bureau of the Group of the Party of European Socialists, Chair of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, Chair and member of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament. Schulz was Chair of the Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean, Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, Vice-Chair of the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, member of the Subcommittee on Human Rights. He was member of the Committee on Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs, member of the Delegation for relations with the countries of South America, member of the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, member of the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, member of the Delegation to the EU-Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committees, member of the Conference of Presidents, member of the Conference of Delegation Chairs. Schulz was President of the Conference of Presidents, President of the Parliament's Bureau and President of the European Parliament between 2012 and 2014 and between 2014 and 2017.