Joachim-Friedrich Martin Josef Merz is a German politician serving as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 31 January 2022 and as leader of the Union parliamentary group as well as the Leader of the Opposition in the Bundestag since 15 February 2022.
Merz in 2023
Sauvigny House in Brilon, Merz' childhood home that belonged to his mother's family Sauvigny, a locally prominent patrician family of French Huguenot ancestry
'For German interests in Europe' – Merz as a young Christian Democrat in 1989
Friedrich Merz, at the Munich International Press Club (2017)
Leader of the Christian Democratic Union
The Leader of the Christian Democratic Union is the most senior political figure within the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. Since 31 January 2022, the office has been held by Friedrich Merz, who succeeded Armin Laschet.
Leader of the Christian Democratic Union
Image: Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild F078072 0004, Konrad Adenauer
Image: Einde bezoek bondskanselier dr Ludwig Erhard en gaf persconferentie in het Haag, Bestanddeelnr 916 1330
Image: Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild F024017 0001, Oberhausen, CDU Parteitag Rheinland, Kiesinger.jpg (cropped)