Friedrich Merz

The CDU leader who won the February 2025 German federal election and formed a coalition with the SPD. His decision to accept AfD votes in the Bundestag to pass constitutional amendments — breaking the post-war 'firewall' — was the most controversial decision in German democratic politics in decades.

Friedrich Merz was born on November 11, 1955, in Brilon. A lawyer and former CDU parliamentary leader who was defeated for party leadership by Armin Laschet in 2021 before winning the leadership in 2022 after the CDU's election defeat. He spent years in private practice and as a BlackRock Germany chair. His politics are distinctly pro-business and fiscally conservative, positioned to the right of Angela Merkel's CDU.