Friedrich Merz
Chancellor of Germany from May 2025 and leader of the CDU from January 2022.
At a glance
Roles
Christian Democratic Union of Germany (party leader)
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- Friedrich Merz is a German politician who became Chancellor of Germany on 6 May 2025 and has led the Christian Democratic Union from January 2022.
- He was a Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1994 and of the Bundestag from 1994 to 2009, and chaired the CDU/CSU parliamentary group from 2000 to 2002.
- Between his two spells in politics he was a corporate lawyer at Mayer Brown and sat on company boards, including BlackRock Germany.
- He returned to the Bundestag in 2021.
Key facts
- Office
- Chancellor of Germany, from 6 May 2025 (as of 2026)1
- Party
- Leader of the CDU, from January 20221
- Earlier
- MEP from 1989 to 1994; Bundestag from 1994 to 2009 and again from 2021; Leader of the Opposition from 2022 to 20251
- Law and business
- Senior counsel at Mayer Brown from 2004; boards including BlackRock Germany1
- Born
- 11 November 1955, Brilon1
Roles
Leads
- Christian Democratic Union of GermanyOrganization
party leader · since 31 Jan 2022 source on Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Links
Sources
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