Daniel_Günther

Daniel Günther

Daniel Günther

German politician (born 1973))


Daniel Günther (born 24 July 1973) is a German politician who is a member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU). Since 28 June 2017, he has served as the Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein.[1] From 1 November 2018 to 31 October 2019, he served as President of the Bundesrat,[2] being succeeded by Dietmar Woidke.[3]

Quick Facts Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein, Deputy ...

Early life and education

Günther studied politics and psychology at University of Kiel.

Career

Career in state politics

Günther has been a member of Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein.[4] since the 2009 state elections. In parliament, he was a member of the Committee on Education (2009–2014) and the Finance Committee (2009–2012). From 2014 until 2017, he served as chairman of the CDU parliamentary group. In this capacity, he was also a member of the Council of Elders.

When Ingbert Liebing resigned in late 2016 from his role as leading candidate for the 2017 state elections after consistently bad polling results,[5] Günther was elected by the party members to lead the party into the election.[6] After assuming the leadership, Günther led the party to a victory with 30.8% of the vote.[7]

Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein, 2017–present

Günter first became the Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein on 28 June 2017. He was his party's lead candidate for the 2022 Schleswig-Holstein State Election in which the party was the lead vote-getter with 43.4%.[8]

As one of the state's representatives at the Bundesrat, Günther also serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Role in national politics

Günther was a CDU delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2017 and 2022.[9] In the – failed – negotiations to form a coalition government with the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Green Party following the 2017 national elections, he was part of the 19-member delegation of the CDU. In the ensuing negotiations with the Social Democrats, he led the working group on transport and infrastructure, this time alongside Thomas Strobl and Sören Bartol.

Together with Bernd Althusmann, Monika Grütters, Michael Kretschmer and Armin Laschet, Günther co-chaired the CDU’s national convention in Berlin in February 2018.[10]

Other activities

  • Deutsches Museum, Member of the Board of Trustees[11]
  • Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Ex-Officio chairman of the board of Trustees (since 2017)[12]
  • State Agency for Civic Education, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2012)
  • Stadtwerke Eckernförde, Member of the Supervisory Board (1998–2005)

Political positions

Ahead of the Christian Democrats’ leadership election in 2018, Günther publicly endorsed Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to succeed Merkel as the party's chair.[13] For the 2021 leadership election, he later endorsed Armin Laschet,[14] and supported him as the Christian Democrats' joint candidate to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel in the 2021 national elections.[15]

Personal life

Günther is married to a pediatrician. The couple have two daughters.[16]

See also


References

  1. (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Will states' complicated coalitions shape German election outcome? | News | DW | 28 June 2017". DW.COM. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  2. "Tief Bernd Besonders im Westen Hochwasser und Schäden". Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  3. "The President and Presidium". Bundesrat. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  4. "Endgültiges Landesergebnisse zur Wahl des 19. Schleswig-Holsteinischen Landtags" (PDF) (in German). Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  5. NDR (20 April 2022), "Hoch hinaus": CDU-Spitzenkandidat Daniel Günther im Gespräch (in German), retrieved 26 April 2022
  6. Daniel Günther zum zweiten Mal Vater. Lübecker Nachrichten, 14. Oktober 2018, S. 7.

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