Between 2008 and 2018, Özdemir was one of two main persons of the Green Party, together with Claudia Roth and later Simone Peter. He has been a Member of the German Bundestag since 2013. He was a Member of the German Bundestag in 1994–2002 too. He was a member of the European Parliament in 2004–2009 too. He was a one of two main Greens candidates for the 2017 German federal election. Since 2018, he has been the Leader of the Committee on Transport.