Tanja Gönner was born in 1969 in Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
After completing her legal clerkship, she studied law at the Eberhard-Karls University in Tübingen.
From 1996 to 1999, Tanja Gönner worked as an associate in a law firm. After being admitted to the bar, she became a partner in 1999.
From 2002 to 2004, Tanja Gönner was a member of the German Bundestag. From 2004 to 2011, she held various ministerial positions in the state of Baden-Württemberg: Minister of Social Affairs, Minister of the Environment, Minister of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport, and, from 2011 to 2012, Member of the State Parliament.
From 2012 to 2022, Tanja Gönner was Spokesperson of the Board of Directors of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
Since November 2022, she has been Director General of the Federation of German Industries (BDI e.V.).
She also holds a number of honorary positions. She is a member of the German Council for Sustainable Development, the German Committee for UNICEF, and several other organizations.
Tanja Gönner has been a member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) since 1987 and was a member of the CDU Federal Executive Committee from 2000 to 2012.