Michael Kretschmer

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Michael Kretschmer
MdL MdBR
File:2022-03-28 Empfang des Sächsischen Ministerpräsidenten für die Teilnehmenden der Olympischen Winterspiele 2022 by Sandro Halank–030.jpg
Kretschmer in 2022
Deputy Leader of the Christian Democratic Union
Assumed office
20 January 2022
Serving with Silvia Breher, Andreas Jung, Carsten Linnemann and Karin Prien
Leader Friedrich Merz
Minister-President of Saxony
Assumed office
13 December 2017
Deputy Martin Dulig
Wolfram Günther
Preceded by Stanislaw Tillich
Leader of the Christian Democratic Union in Saxony
Assumed office
9 December 2017
Deputy Barbara Klepsch
Preceded by Stanislaw Tillich
General Secretary of the Christian Democratic Union in Saxony
In office
1 December 2004 – 9 December 2017
Leader Georg Milbradt
Stanislaw Tillich
Preceded by Hermann Winkler
Succeeded by Alexander Dierks
Member of the Landtag of Saxony
for Görlitz 2
Assumed office
1 October 2019
Preceded by Octavian Ursu
Member of the Bundestag
for Görlitz
(Löbau-Zittau – Görlitz – Niesky; 2002–2005)
In office
17 October 2002 – 24 October 2017
Preceded by Georg Janovsky
Succeeded by Tino Chrupalla
Personal details
Born Michael Kretschmer
(1975-05-07) 7 May 1975 (age 49)
Görlitz, East Germany (now Germany)
Political party Christian Democratic Union
Spouse(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Annett Hoffmann (m. 2020)
Children 2
Alma mater <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>

Michael Kretschmer (born 7 May 1975) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as Minister President of Saxony since 13 December 2017.[1] Since 2022, he has been one of four deputy chairs of the CDU, under the leadership of chairman Friedrich Merz.[2]

Political career

Member of Parliament, 2002–2017

From 2002 to 2017 Kretschmer was a member of the Bundestag as directly elected representative for Görlitz. He first served on the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment. In the negotiations to form a coalition government under Chancellor Angela Merkel following the 2009 federal elections, he was a member of the working group on economic affairs and energy, led by Annette Schavan and Andreas Pinkwart.[3]

From 2009 to 2017 Kretschmer was one of the vice chairs of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, under the leadership of chairman Volker Kauder.[4] During his time in parliament, he was also of the German-Russian Parliamentary Friendship Group and the German-Polish Parliamentary Friendship Group.

In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the SPD following the 2013 federal elections, Kretschmer led the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on cultural and media affairs; his counterpart of the SPD was Klaus Wowereit. Over the following years, he co-chaired the CDU’s national conventions in Karlsruhe (2015),[5] Essen (2016)[6] and Berlin (2018).[7]

Kretschmer lost reelection in 2017 to Tino Chrupalla of the AfD.[8][9]

Minister-President of Saxony, 2017–present

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See also: Second Kretschmer cabinet

On 18 October 2017, Stanislaw Tillich announced his resignation as Minister President of Saxony and suggested that Kretschmer should replace him.[10] He is only the fourth and also the youngest person to hold that office.[8]

As one of Saxony's representatives at the Bundesrat, Kretschmer has been serving as member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs since 2017. In addition, he is a member of the German-Russian Friendship Group set up in cooperation with Russia's Federation Council.

In the negotiations to form a fourth cabinet under Merkel following the 2017 federal elections, Kretschmer co-chaired the working group on transport and infrastructure, alongside Alexander Dobrindt and Sören Bartol.

In December 2021 ZDF journalists discovered a plot by anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown extremists to assassinate Kretschmer, which led to an investigation by Saxon police and searchings for weapons through several houses in Dresden.[11][12]

Other activities

Political positions

In June 2017, Kretschmer voted against Germany's introduction of same-sex marriage.[18]

While visiting the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2019, Kretschmer met with President Vladimir Putin and later called for the lifting of EU economic sanctions against Russia.[19] This was immediately rejected by CDU chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.[20]

He was opposed to restrictions during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and even attended an anti-lockdown demonstration, but changed his mind and apologised in December 2020. In November 2021 he disagreed with Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn on ending the nationwide state of emergency.[12]

Controversy

During his tenure as secretary general of the CDU in Saxony, Kretscher faced criticism after reports surfaced in 2010 that personal meetings with party chairman and Minister-President Stanislaw Tillich were offered to potential corporate sponsors in exchange for donations.[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lorenz Hemicker (2 January 2022), Unmut gegenüber Frauen Union? Widmann-Mauz scheitert bei CDU-Präsidiumswahl Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Protokoll: 28. Parteitag der CDU Deutschlands, 14. – 15. Dezember 2015, Karlsruhe Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU).
  6. ↑ Protokoll: 29. Parteitag der CDU Deutschlands, 6. – 7. Dezember 2016, Essen Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
  7. ↑ Protokoll: 30. Parteitag der CDU Deutschlands, 26. Februar 2018, Berlin Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Board of Trustees Development and Peace Foundation (SEF).
  14. ↑ Board of Trustees Dresden Frauenkirche.
  15. ↑ as of July 1, 2020 Max Planck Society.
  16. ↑ Board of Trustees Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids.
  17. ↑ Board of Trustees Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems.
  18. ↑ Diese Unionsabgeordneten stimmten für die Ehe für alle Die Welt, June 30, 2017.
  19. ↑ Christiane Hoffmann, Timo Lehmann, Veit Medick and Ralf Neukirch (July 29, 2019), Relations with Moscow Emerge as German Election Issue Der Spiegel.
  20. ↑ Merkel party leader rejects call to end Russia sanctions Associated Press, June 8, 2019.
  21. ↑ Andreas Illmer (February 27, 2010), Donation scandal surrounding German conservatives widens Deutsche Welle.

External links

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