Merz joined the Young Union in 1972 and is reputed to be a member of the Andean Pact, a powerful network formed by politically ambitious members of the Young Union in 1979 during a trip to the Andes. After finishing law school in 1985, he worked as a judge and corporate lawyer before entering full-time politics in 1989 when he was elected to the European Parliament. After serving one term he was elected to the Bundestag, where he established himself as the leading financial policy expert in the CDU. In 2000 he was elected chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the same year as Angela Merkel was elected chairwoman of the CDU, and at the time they were chief rivals for the leadership of the party, which led the opposition together with CSU.[6]
After the 2002 federal election, CDU party leader Angela Merkel claimed the parliamentary group chairmanship for herself, while Merz was elected deputy parliamentary group leader. In December 2004, he resigned from this office, thereby giving up the years-long power struggle with Merkel[7] and gradually withdrewing from politics, focusing on his legal career and leaving parliament entirely in 2009, until his return to parliament in 2021. In 2004 he became a senior counsel with Mayer Brown, where he has focused on mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, and compliance. He has served on the boards of numerous companies, including BlackRock Germany. In 2018, he announced his return to politics. He was elected CDU leader in December 2021, assuming the office in January 2022. He had failed to win the position in two previous leadership elections in 2018,[8][9] and January 2021.[10][11]
As a young politician in the 1970s and 1980s, he was a staunch supporter of anti-communism, the dominant state doctrine of West Germany and a core tenet of the CDU. Merz has described himself as socially conservative and economically liberal, and is seen as a representative of the traditional establishment conservative and pro-business wings of the CDU.[12] His book Mehr Kapitalismus wagen (Venturing More Capitalism) advocates economic liberalism. He has been chairman of the Atlantik-Brücke association which promotes German-American understanding and Atlanticism, and is a staunch supporter of the European Union and NATO, having described himself as "a truly convinced European, a convinced "transatlanticist".[13] Merz advocates a closer union and "an army for Europe".[14]
Merz is Catholic and of French Huguenot descent on his mother's side. His wife, Charlotte Merz, is a judge; they have three children. A corporate lawyer and reputed multimillionaire, he is also a licensed private pilot and owns two airplanes.[15][16]
Background and early life
Sauvigny House in Brilon, Merz' childhood home that belonged to his mother's Sauvigny family, a locally prominent patrician family of French Huguenot ancestry
Joachim-Friedrich Martin Josef Merz was born on 11 November 1955 to Joachim Merz (born 1924) and Paula Sauvigny (born 1928) in Brilon in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in then-West Germany.[17] His father was a judge and a member of the CDU.[18] The Sauvigny family was a locally prominent patrician family in Brilon, of French Huguenot ancestry, and his maternal grandfather was mayor of Brilon. Friedrich Merz is Roman Catholic.[19][20][21][22] Merz was raised in his mother's family home Sauvigny House in Brilon. The house was announced for sale for 2 million euros in 2021.[23][24]
'For German interests in Europe' – Merz as a young Christian Democrat in 1989
In 1972, at the age of seventeen, he became a member of the CDU's youth wing, the Young Union,[17] and he has been described by German media as a member of the "Andean Pact", a supposed network of influential CDU members formed by members of the Young Union during a trip to the South American Andes region in 1979.[27] He became President of the Brilon branch of the Young Union in 1980.
In October 1998 Merz became vice-chairman and in February 2000 Chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group (alongside Michael Glos), succeeding Wolfgang Schäuble. In this capacity, he was the opposition leader in the Bundestag during ChancellorGerhard Schröder's first term.
Ahead of the 2002 elections, Edmund Stoiber included Merz in his shadow cabinet for the Christian Democrats' campaign to unseat incumbent Schröder as chancellor. During the campaign, Merz served as Stoiber's expert for financial markets and the national budget.[28] After Stoiber's electoral defeat, Angela Merkel assumed the leadership of the parliamentary group; Merz again served as vice-chairman until 2004. From 2002 to 2004, he was also a member of the executive board of the CDU, again under the leadership of Merkel.
Between 2005 and 2009, Merz was a member of the Committee on Legal Affairs. In 2006, he was one of nine parliamentarians who filed a complaint at the Federal Constitutional Court against the disclosure of additional sources of income; the complaint was ultimately unsuccessful.[29] By 2007, he announced he would not be running for political office in the 2009 elections.
Business career in the private sector
Upon leaving politics, Merz worked as a corporate lawyer. Since 2004 he has been a Senior Counsel at Mayer Brown's Düsseldorf office,[30] where he works on the corporate finance team; before 2004 he was a senior counsel with Cornelius Bartenbach Haesemann.[31] His work as a lawyer and board member has made him a multimillionaire.[32] He has also taken on numerous positions on corporate boards, including the following:
Robert Bosch GmbH, Member of International Advisory Committee (since 2011)
WEPA Hygieneprodukte GmbH, Chairman of the supervisory board (since 2009)
Deutsche Rockwool, Member of the Supervisory Board
On 25 February 2020, he announced his candidacy in the first 2021 CDU leadership election.[48] His closest competitors were Armin Laschet and Norbert Röttgen.[49][50] After several postponements, the election of the new CDU party president took place at the party congress on 15–16 January 2021, which was the first time in the party's history that it was held fully online. In the first round, Merz received 385 votes, 5 more than Laschet. In the second round, Merz received 466 votes out of 1001 delegates, while Laschet received 521 votes, thus failing to win the party president's post for the second time.[51][52][53][54]
The same day, after losing the leadership election, Merz proposed to "join the current government and take over the Ministry for Economy". The ministry was already headed by his party colleague Peter Altmaier at the time and the proposal was rebuffed.[55] Laschet was quick to placate Merz by recruiting him to his campaign team. Laschet justified this by saying that Merz was "without doubt a team player" and that his economic and financial expertise could provide crucial help in overcoming the huge challenge of the pandemic in a sustainable way.[56]
Ahead of the 2021 German federal election, Patrick Sensburg, Merz's successor in his seat in the Bundestag, failed to secure his party's support for a new candidacy. Merz instead replaced him, returning to the Bundestag after a 12-year absence.[57]
During their short campaign, Merz's rivals positioned themselves as Merkel's heirs. Against them, Merz promised a decisive break with the centrist line Merkel had followed for 16 years.
In total, some 400 000 CDU members were able to vote online or by letter. By 17 December 2021, Merz had already won an absolute majority of 62.1 percent of the membership in the first round of voting, so a second round of voting was not necessary. This meant that at his third attempt, he managed to win the party presidency. Asked for his reaction to the results of the vote, Merz said: "Quietly I just said to myself, 'WOW'; but only quietly, the winning marching songs are far from me."[61][62][63]
Merz was formally elected Chairman of the CDU by its 1001 congress delegates at the virtual federal party congress on 22 January 2022. In the end, 915 out of 983 delegates voted for him, winning 94.6% of the valid votes to become the leader of the largest opposition party in the Bundestag. The vote was formally a so-called "digital pre-vote", the result of which has been confirmed in writing by the delegates.[64][65][66]
Merz has focused on economic, foreign, security, and family policies. He has described himself as socially conservative and economically liberal and is seen as a representative of the traditional establishment conservative and pro-business wings of the CDU.[12]
As a young politician in the 1970s and 1980s, he was a staunch supporter of anti-communism, the dominant state doctrine of West Germany and a core tenet of the CDU. His book Mehr Kapitalismus wagen advocates economic liberalism.
Human rights
In November 2018, Merz said that the introduction of same-sex marriage in Germany was the right thing to do.[67] Also in 2018, Merz rejected the Ludwig Erhard Prize, citing objections to publications by the chairman of the Ludwig Erhard Foundation, Roland Tichy, considered by some to be on the extreme right.[68]
Asylum and migration
In March 2024, in the debate about the capacity to accept refugees in Germany, Merz referred to the statement by Saxony's Minister-President Michael Kretschmer, who had spoken out in favor of accepting a maximum of 60,000 to 100,000 refugees per year. Merz explained that Kretschmer's statement roughly describes "what we can still achieve today with our integration power."[69]
In August 2024 Merz supported stopping migrants from seeking asylum at German borders.[70]
Social policy
Merz rejects the Bürgergeld (unemployment security benefit) and, like the CDU[71], wants to see it abolished and replaced by another system called "New Basic Security".[72] The trade union ver.di described the CDU's plans for basic security as "inhumane and unconstitutional".[73]
Foreign policy
General stance
Merz has been chairman of the Atlantik-Brücke association which promotes German-American understanding and Atlanticism and is a staunch supporter of the European Union and NATO. In 2018, he described himself as "a truly convinced European, a convinced transatlanticist" and said that "I stand for a cosmopolitan Germany whose roots lie in Christian ethics and the European Enlightenment and whose most important political allies are the democracies of the West. I gladly use this expression again: The democracies of the West."[74][13] He advocates a closer union and especially closer relations between Germany and France. In 2018, he co-authored an article in defence of the European project, which among other things called for "an army for Europe."[14]
In 2023, Merz called for Germany to involve key allies, especially France, in negotiations with China as part of a rethink of ties with the country that reflected a global "paradigm shift" in security and foreign policy.[75]
Merz has criticized Donald Trump more harshly than Angela Merkel did and has especially criticized Trump's trade war against Europe.[76] In fall 2024 he said with regards to relations to the US and Russia, he would try to make himself "a little more independent from America," as America is in election mode and "not the regulatory power that we were actually used to."[77] When polls during the 2024 German government crisis predicted that Merz would be the most likely to become the next chancellor, he said that Germany "must go from being a sleeping middle power to becoming a leading middle power again“. Germany "never really articulated and enforced" its "interests well enough [...] The aim is not to benefit only one side, but to make arrangements that are good for both sides. Trump would call it a deal.“[78]
Russia and its invasion of Ukraine
In January 2022, Merz said that sanctioning Russia from SWIFT over Donbas would be a mistake.[79] Following the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Merz adopted strong pro-Ukrainian and anti-Russian positions, urging Chancellor Olaf Scholz to supply Ukraine with weapons and personally travelling to Kyiv in May to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.[80]
While Merz, as opposition leader, had demanded that the German government of Scholz deliver German Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine,[81] he himself said that he would not necessarily deliver Taurus cruise missiles if he were chancellor. As chancellor, he would deliver them if Russia or Vladimir Putin did not comply with Germany's and other European countries request to stop attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and on the condition that France and Great Britain, for their part, lift the range limitation on the weapons they delivered to Ukraine. Merz said he would as chancellor try to bring about a European decision on the matter of the question whether to allow Ukraine to strike against targets deep within russian territory with western weapons. He said he would also signal Putin his willingness to talk beforehand.[77]
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
In 2023, he said, in response to the United States' admonition to Israel to abide by international law, the US had a different relation to Israel than Germany. Despite possible war crimes by Israel in the Gaza Strip, Germany had a historic obligation to help the country "without ifs and buts".[82] In October 2024, Merz successfully urged the German government to resume weapons deliveries to Israel, including spare parts for tanks.[83][84]
Merz has the opinion that the "two-state solution remains the right long-term goal for peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. The Palestinians' recognition of Israel's right to exist is a basic prerequisite on the way there.“[85]
Environmental policy
In April 2023, Merz declared that everyone in the CDU takes the issue of climate change very seriously. However, the issue of climate change is overrated in the political debate, and the population does not see the issue as important as politicians do. Nor is it explicitly the case that time is running out for successful climate change measures. If the right course is set in the next 10 years, the country will be on the right track.[86][87]
In 2023, Merz opposed the proposed EU ban on internal combustion and hybrid vehicles by 2035, stating that the fight for carbon neutrality must be achieved with technology and open mindness, not bans.[88]
Assessment of the right AfD and differentiation
In July 2018, Merz spoke in favor of a "more calm approach" to the Alternative for Germany (AfD): "I would have long since elected an AfD vice president in the Bundestag (federal parliament). [...] This party was elected with 12.6 percent. It has neither been banned nor classified as unconstitutional. It has millions of voters behind it who should not be made to play the victim." However, he believes it is right that the CDU should not cooperate with the AfD.[89] In November 2018, he reiterated that the CDU must clearly distance itself from the AfD, as the latter is (allegedly) openly National Socialist and has anti-Semitic undertones.[90] In December 2021, shortly before taking over the party chairmanship, he said: "The state associations, especially in the east, are getting a crystal clear message from us: If anyone raises a hand to work with the AfD, then a party exclusion procedure will take place the next day."[91]
However, Merz did not take action against the steadily increasing local cooperation between CDU politicians and AfD politicians from 2022 onwards due to the AfD's increasing electoral successes. In June 2023 he declared that such cooperation would only be prohibited in "legislative bodies", by which he meant the EU, federal and state levels. A month later, he was confronted with his "announcement" from December 2021 and its lack of implementation. He repeated his differentiation regarding to political levels and said that in the local parliaments "of course [...] we must look for ways to jointly shape the city, the state and the district".[92][93][94] Merz was criticized by large parts of his own party, who feared a crumbling of the firewall against the far right.[95][94] The Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer (CDU), however, declared that a refusal of cross-party cooperation in substantive decisions at the local level was not sustainable in a democracy.[96]
Secondary activities as a member of the federal parliament
Friedrich Merz was known for his many secondary jobs in several legislative periods. As a member of the Bundestag (federal parliament of Germany), Merz had a total of 18 secondary jobs in the 14th legislative period (2002–2005)[97] and at least eleven secondary jobs in the 15th legislative period (2005–2009).[98] In 2006 alone, Merz was represented on the boards of eight companies.[99][100] In 2007, Manager Magazine wrote about Merz's secondary jobs: "Merz probably earns a nice six-figure sum annually for his work in the law firm. For the year 2006, a conservative estimate shows that Merz's additional income, apart from his lawyer's salary, amounts to a quarter of a million euros."[101][100] His many secondary activities raised the question of whether Merz takes his mandate as a member of the Bundestag seriously and thoroughly.[102] In 2007, Merz wrote a letter to his voters because of the criticism of his secondary activities and tried to defend himself against the criticism.[103]
In 2021, before the federal election and 11 years after he left the Bundestag in 2009, Merz announced that he would no longer pursue any "professional activities outside of politics" if he were to be re-elected to the Bundestag.[104]
Lawsuit against transparency law or against disclosure of additional income
In 2006, there were discussions about conflicts of interest of members of the Bundestag who carried out other activities in addition to their parliamentary mandate. As a result, an agreement was reached that members of parliament should disclose their income from secondary activities in order to give the public an opportunity to assess whether their representatives may be harmfully dependent and influenced by financial contributions from third parties. Merz, who at that time had 18 secondary activities in addition to his parliamentary work according to one source, 11 according to another source and 14 according to the management of the Bundestag,[105][106][107] filed a lawsuit with the Federal Constitutional Court together with eight other members of the German Bundestag against the disclosure of their secondary income. At the hearing in October 2006, Merz pointed out that according to Article 38 of the Basic Law of Germany (constitution), members of parliament are "not bound by instructions and are subject only to their conscience". If the President of the Bundestag could now impose sanctions on them if they violated the obligation to disclose their secondary income, this would be a violation of the constitution. He said that the regulation would drive many MPs into career politics, which is far removed from real life, even though secondary activities are not prohibited, but only the number and amount of their fees should be disclosed. In July 2007, the Federal Constitutional Court rejected the lawsuit by a vote of four to four, on the grounds that the political mandate must be "at the center of the activity" and criticized the risk of bias due to payments from companies.[108][109]
2024 German government crisis
During the 2024 German government crisis, German chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on 6 November 2024 that he would ask the motion of confidence[110] in the first half of January 2025 with the aim of snap elections by March 2025, but Merz insisted on snap elections already in January 2025 and refused participation in talks with Scholz about federal legislation without the prior motion of confidence by Scholz.[111]
Other activities (selection)
Deutsche Nationalstiftung, Member of the Senate[112]
Peace of Westphalia Prize, Member of the Jury[113]
Bayer Foundation for German and International Labor and Business Law, Member of the Board of Trustees (1998–2002)
KfW, Member of the supervisory board (2003–2004)[114]
Friedrich Merz is married to the judge Charlotte Merz. He has three children and resides in Arnsberg in the Sauerland region. In 2005, the couple established the Friedrich und Charlotte Merz Stiftung, a foundation supporting projects in the education sector.[115] He is a Roman Catholic.[116]
^"Merz will Wirtschaftsminister werden". www.faz.net (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. 16 January 2021. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
^Archived(Date missing) at bundestag.de (Error: unknown archive URL), Veröffentlichungspflichtig gemeldet wurden dem Deutschen Bundestag 14 Nebentätigkeiten (siehe auch: Amtliches Handbuch des Deutschen Bundestages (Teil II) von 2007.
^"unreal request of confidence" i.e. a request of a vote of confidence in Bundestag by the German chancellor according to article 68 of the Grundgesetz whereby the chancellor intends to loose it in order to trigger snap elections, see "Unechte Vertrauensfrage". jura-online.de (in German). Retrieved 10 November 2024.
