Jens Spahn

Jens Spahn
Spahn in 2023
Leader of the CDU/CSU in the Bundestag
Assumed office
5 May 2025
First DeputyAlexander Hoffmann
Chief WhipSteffen Bilger
Preceded byFriedrich Merz
Minister of Health
In office
14 March 2018 – 8 December 2021
ChancellorAngela Merkel
Preceded byHermann Gröhe
Succeeded byKarl Lauterbach
Deputy Leader of the Christian Democratic Union
In office
16 January 2021 – 20 January 2022
LeaderArmin Laschet
Preceded byArmin Laschet
Succeeded byCarsten Linnemann
Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance
In office
3 July 2015 – 14 March 2018
ChancellorAngela Merkel
MinisterWolfgang Schäuble
Peter Altmaier (acting)
Preceded bySteffen Kampeter
Succeeded byChristine Lambrecht
Member of the Bundestag
for Steinfurt I – Borken I
Assumed office
17 October 2002
Preceded byConstituency established
Personal details
Born
Jens Georg Spahn

(1980-05-16) 16 May 1980 (age 45)
Ahaus, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
(now Germany)
Political partyCDU (since 1997)
Spouse
(m. 2017)
Alma materUniversity of Hagen
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Bank teller
  • Lobbyist
[1]
WebsiteOfficial website

Jens Georg Spahn (born 16 May 1980) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been a member of the lower house of the federal parliament, the Bundestag (German: Mitglied des Deutschen Bundestages, MdB), for Steinfurt I – Borken I since 2002. Since 2025, he has been leading the joint CDU/CSU (Union) parliamentary group in the 21st Bundestag, making him the majority leader.[2] He served as Federal Minister of Health in the fourth cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021, including during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.

At the time of his first election in 2002, Spahn – at age 22 – was the youngest member of the CDU in the German parliament. He has since been one of the main sponsors of pension reform in Germany. He was a member of the Committee of Health of the 17th Bundestag and the CDU/CSU parliamentary group's spokesperson on health.

When Chancellor Angela Merkel stated her intention not to seek re-election for the CDU party leadership in 2018, Spahn announced his intention to stand for election as her successor in December 2018.[3] He was eliminated in the first round of voting; the position instead went to Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.[4] Following Kramp-Karrenbauer's decision to resign in February 2020, he announced that he would not run for the party's leadership but instead endorse candidate Armin Laschet.[5] His alliance with Laschet proved successful, as his ally became CDU party leader on 16 January 2021[6][7] and candidate for chancellor of the CDU/CSU party alliance on 19 April 2021.[8]

  1. ^ Knight, Ben (26 February 2018). "Angela Merkel's new coalition 'won't address lobbying in Germany'". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  2. ^ Tina Handel (5 May 2025), Neuer Unionsfraktionschef: Kann Spahn auch loyal? Tagesschau.
  3. ^ "Merz will CDU-Chef werden: 'Wir brauchen in der Union Aufbruch und Erneuerung'". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  4. ^ Connolly, Kate (7 December 2018). "Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer elected Merkel's successor as CDU leader". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  5. ^ SPIEGEL, DER (25 February 2020). "'Es kann nur einen Parteichef geben' – DER SPIEGEL – Politik". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  6. ^ SPIEGEL, DER (16 January 2021). "Armin Laschet zum neuen CDU-Vorsitzenden gewählt". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  7. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche, Merkels Getreuer – Armin Laschet ist neuer CDU-Chef | DW | 16 January 2021 (in German), retrieved 20 June 2021
  8. ^ Lohse, Eckart; Berlin. "Machtkampf mit Markus Söder: CDU-Vorstand deutlich für Laschet als Kanzlerkandidat". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 20 June 2021.

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