Michael Kretschmer

Annett Hoffmann

​

(m. 2020)​

Michael Kretschmer MdL MdBR
Kretschmer in 2022
Deputy Leader of the Christian Democratic Union
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 January 2022 Servingwith Silvia Breher, Andreas Jung, Carsten Linnemann, Karin Prien
Children	2
Residence(s)	Dresden-Klotzsche Waltersdorf
Alma mater	Dresden University of Applied Sciences
Website	michaelkretschmer.de

Michael Kretschmer (born 7 May 1975) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as Minister President of Saxony since December 2017. ^[1] Since 2022, he has been one of four deputy chairs of the CDU, under the leadership of chairman Friedrich Merz. ^[2]

Political career

Member of Parliament, 2002–2017

From 2002 to 2017 Kretschmer was a member of the Bundestag as directly elected representative for Görlitz. He first served on the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment. In the negotiations to form a coalition government under Chancellor Angela Merkel following the 2009 federal elections, he was a member of the working group on economic affairs and energy, led by Annette Schavan and Andreas Pinkwart. ^[3]

From 2009 to 2017 Kretschmer was one of the vice chairs of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, under the leadership of chairman Volker Kauder. ^[4] During his time in parliament, he was also of the German-Russian Parliamentary Friendship Group and the German-Polish Parliamentary Friendship Group.

In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the SPD following the 2013 federal elections, Kretschmer led the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on cultural and media affairs; his counterpart of the SPD was Klaus Wowereit. Over the following years, he co-chaired the CDU's national conventions in Karlsruhe (2015), ^[5] Essen (2016) ^[6] and Berlin (2018). ^[7]

Kretschmer lost reelection in 2017 to Tino Chrupalla of the AfD. ^{[8] [9]}

Minister-President of Saxony, 2017–present

See also: Second Kretschmer cabinet

On 18 October 2017, Stanislaw Tillich announced his resignation as Minister President of Saxony and suggested that Kretschmer should replace him. ^[10] He is only the fourth and also the youngest person to hold that office. ^[8]

As one of Saxony's representatives at the Bundesrat, Kretschmer has been serving as member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs since 2017. In addition, he is a member of the German-Russian Friendship Group set up in cooperation with Russia's Federation Council.

In the negotiations to form a fourth cabinet under Merkel following the 2017 federal elections, Kretschmer co-chaired the working group on transport and infrastructure, alongside Alexander Dobrindt and Sören Bartol.

In December 2021, ZDF journalists discovered a plot by anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown extremists to assassinate Kretschmer, which led to an investigation by Saxon police and searchings for weapons through several houses in Dresden. ^{[11] [12]}

Since 2022, Kretschmer, alongside Karl-Josef Laumann, has been chairing a working group in charge of drafting policies on social security for the CDU's new party platform. ^[13]

Other activities

• Association of German Foundations, member of the Parliamentary Advisory Board
• Development and Peace Foundation (SEF), deputy chairman of the board of trustees ^[14]
• Deutsches Museum, Member of the Board of Trustees ^[15]
• Dresden Frauenkirche, ex officio member of the board of trustees ^[16]
• Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, member of the senate
• Max Planck Society, Member of the Senate ^[17]
• Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Member of the Board of Trustees ^[18]
• Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Member of the Board of Trustees ^[19]
• Senckenberg Nature Research Society, Member of the Board of Trustees ^[20]
• Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst, member of the board of trustees (2009–2013)
• Federal Agency for Civic Education, member of the board of trustees (2002–2005)

Political positions

In June 2017, Kretschmer voted against Germany's introduction of same-sex marriage. ^[21]

While visiting the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2019, Kretschmer met with President Vladimir Putin and later called for the lifting of EU economic sanctions against Russia. ^[22] This was immediately rejected by CDU chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. ^[23]

He was opposed to restrictions during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and even attended an anti-lockdown demonstration, but changed his mind and apologised in December 2020. In November 2021 he disagreed with Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn on ending the nationwide state of emergency. ^[12]

Controversy

During his tenure as secretary general of the CDU in Saxony, Kretschmer faced criticism after reports surfaced in 2010 that personal meetings with party chairman and Minister-President Stanislaw Tillich were offered to potential corporate sponsors in exchange for donations. ^[24]

References

1. "Michael Kretschmer ist neuer Ministerpräsident von Sachsen". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). 13 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
2. Lorenz Hemicker (2 January 2022), Unmut gegenüber Frauen Union? Widmann-Mauz scheitert bei CDU-Präsidiumswahl Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung .
3. "Koalitionsverhandlungen: Wen Union und FDP zum Feilschen schicken". Der Spiegel (in German). Spiegel Online. 6 October 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
4. "Deutscher Bundestag – Kretschmer, Michael". Deutscher Bundestag (in German). Retrieved 4 November 2017.
5. Protokoll: 28. Parteitag der CDU Deutschlands, 14. – 15. Dezember 2015, Karlsruhe Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU).
6. Protokoll: 29. Parteitag der CDU Deutschlands, 6. – 7. Dezember 2016, Essen Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
7. Protokoll: 30. Parteitag der CDU Deutschlands, 26. Februar 2018, Berlin Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
8. Schurig, Jörg; Fischer, Martin (10 December 2017). "Michael Kretschmer – vom Wahlverlierer zum Parteikapitän". Leipziger Volkszeitung (in German). Retrieved 18 December 2021.
9. Lang, Anna-Sophia (9 December 2017). ""Auch ein Besenstiel wäre gewählt worden"". Spiegel Online (in German). Retrieved 18 December 2021.
10. "Merkel Ally Resigns as Saxony's Leader After Losses to AfD". Bloomberg.com. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
11. "Mordkomplott mot tysk politiker efter vaccinutspel". DN.SE (in Swedish). 15 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
12. Schumacher, Elizabeth (8 December 2021). "German police investigating anti-vax assassination plot against Saxony leader Michael Kretschmer". Deutsche Welle . Deutsche Welle . Retrieved 18 December 2021.
13. Robert Roßmann (22 April 2023), "Aus Gründen der Generationengerechtigkeit": Unionspolitiker wollen Rente an Lebenserwartung koppeln Süddeutsche Zeitung .
14. Board of Trustees Development and Peace Foundation (SEF).
15. Board of Trustees Deutsches Museum.
16. Board of Trustees Dresden Frauenkirche.
17. as of July 1, 2020 Max Planck Society.
18. Board of Trustees Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids.
19. Board of Trustees Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems.
20. Board of Trustees Senckenberg Nature Research Society.
21. Diese Unionsabgeordneten stimmten für die Ehe für alle Die Welt , 30 June 2017.
22. Christiane Hoffmann, Timo Lehmann, Veit Medick and Ralf Neukirch (29 July 2019), Relations with Moscow Emerge as German Election Issue Der Spiegel .
23. Merkel party leader rejects call to end Russia sanctions Associated Press , 8 June 2019.
24. Andreas Illmer (27 February 2010), Donation scandal surrounding German conservatives widens Deutsche Welle .

External links

• Personal website