Klaus Lederer is a German politician of The Left who served as Deputy Mayor and Senator for Culture and Europe in the Berlin state government between December 2016 to April 2023. He is also a member of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin since 2001. He previously served as chairman of the Berlin branch of The Left from 2006 to 2016. He was the lead candidate for his party in the 2016, 2021 and 2023 state elections.

The 2016 Berlin state election was held on 18 September 2016 to elect the members to the 18th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. The incumbent grand coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) was defeated, with both parties suffering significant losses. The Left became the third largest party, while the fourth-placed Greens suffered losses. Alternative for Germany (AfD) won seats for the first time. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) re-entered the Abgeordnetenhaus after falling out in the 2011 election. The Pirate Party, which had achieved state-level representation for the first time in the previous election, lost all of its seats.