Joachim-Friedrich Martin Josef Merz is a conservative German politician serving as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 31 January 2022 and as leader of the parliamentary group of CDU/CSU as well as the Leader of the Opposition in the Bundestag since 15 February 2022. In September 2024 Merz became Unions designated candidate for Chancellor of Germany for the 2025 federal election.
Wolfgang Tiefensee is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He was the Federal Minister for Transport,Building and Urban Development in the grand coalition cabinet led by Angela Merkel between 2005 and 2009. Since 2014,he has been the State Minister of Economy,Science and the Digital Society in the government of Thuringia's Minister-President Bodo Ramelow.
Nadine Schön is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as a member of the German Parliament since 2009,representing the constituency of St. Wendel.
Marco Wanderwitz is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). From 2018 until 2021,he served as Parliamentary State Secretary in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Peter Beyer is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2009.
Thomas Strobl is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as Deputy Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg since 2016.
Johann David Wadephul is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been a member of the German Parliament since 2009.
Marcus Weinberg is a German politician who served as a member of the Bundestag from 2005 to 2021.
Daniel Günther is a German politician who is a member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU). Since 28 June 2017,he has served as the Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein. From 1 November 2018 to 31 October 2019,he served as President of the Bundesrat,being succeeded by Dietmar Woidke.
Helge Reinhold Braun is a German physician and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Between 2018 and 2021,he served as Head of the Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the fourth coalition government of Chancellor Angela Merkel. He was the Parliamentary Secretary of State for Bureaucracy Reduction and Federal-State Relations at the Chancellery between 2013 and 2018.
Maria Franziska Flachsbarth is a German veterinarian and politician of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) who served as Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in the fourth coalition government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021. Since 2011,she has also served as the president of the German Catholic Women's Association.
Kai Wegner is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as Governing Mayor of Berlin since April 2023. He served as a member of the Bundestag,the German federal parliament,from 2005 to 2021. In 2019,he became the chairman of the CDU in Berlin.
Christian Hirte is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as member of the German Bundestag since 2008. From 2020 to 2022,he has been the chairman of the CDU in Thuringia and co-deputy Chairman since then.
Christoph Ploß is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Hamburg since 2017.
Tankred Schipanski is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Thuringia from 2009 until 2021.
Johannes Steiniger is a German teacher and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate since 2013.
Peter Weiß is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Baden-Württemberg from 1998 until 2021.
Marian Wendt is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Saxony from 2013 until 2021.
The 2020 Thuringian government crisis,also known as the Thuringia crisis,was triggered by the election of Thomas Kemmerich (FDP) as Thuringian Minister President with votes from the AfD,CDU and FDP on February 5,2020. The election attracted considerable national and international attention because,for the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany,a Minister President was elected with votes from a far-right populist party,in this case the AfD.
Tilman Moritz Kuban is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as a member of the German Bundestag since 2021. He was also the chairman of the CDU’s youth organisation,the Young Union (JU),from 2019 until 2022.
