Saturday, December 18, 2021

Friedrich Merz elected new leader of Germany’s CDU party

Friedrich Merz is the new leader of Germany’s CDU political party. It is his third attempt at becoming leader of the party, the party that Angela Merkel led for most of her 16 years as German chancellor.

The 66-year-old lawyer received  64 per cent of the vote. It was the first time that all members of the party were eligible to vote.

He was born in North Rhine Westphalia. Hie father, who was a judge, was also in the CDU. 

His maternal grandfather was a member of the the Nazi party.

Merz is seen as a conservative in the party. He cuts a patrician figure. A highly intelligent man, who speaks English, French and German

He studied law and like his father was also a judge before working as a lawyer with the German chemical industry.

Merz was born into a Catholic family and as a student was a member of the Catholic student organisation KDStV, which grants scholarships to gifted students.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/17/friedrich-merz-german-rightwinger-cdu-leader-members-vote


No comments:

Featured Post

BBC reporter first journalist to get copy of Belfast Agreement

An obituary in The Irish Times yesterday. It makes for a lovely read. His comment on John Hume is worth noting. Stephen Grimason, who has di...