Christian Democratic Union of Germany

centre-right political party in Germany


The Christian Democratic Union of Germany or Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands (CDU) is one of the two main right of centre political parties in Germany. It describes itself as a Christian democratic and conservative party.

Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands
AbbreviationCDU
LeaderFriedrich Merz
Founded1870 (Centre Party)
1945 (CDU)
HeadquartersKlingelhöferstraße 8
10785 Berlin
IdeologyChristian democracy, Conservatism
Political positionCentre-right
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
International affiliationChristian Democrat International and International Democrat Union
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party - European Democrats
ColoursBlack, Orange
Website
http://www.cdu.de
Party headquarters,
the CDU haus in Berlin

In November 2005 the Federal leader of the CDU Angela Merkel became the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany; she left office in December 2021. It is currently led by General Secretary Carsten Linnemann, who was given his position in July 2023.[1] The party's president is Friedrich Merz.

History

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The CDU was founded after World War II. The first German Chancellor was Konrad Adenauer, a member of the CDU. He ruled from 1949 to 1963. During the Government of Helmut Kohl (1982-1998), Germany was reunited.

The CDU was the Government Party for most of the younger German history, only from 1969 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2005 there have been Chancellors from different parties.

Members

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The CDU has more than 400,000 members. It has 255 of 631 Members of Parliament in the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) and 34 of 99 Members of European Parliament of Germany.

References

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  1. Bauer, Bence (2023-07-16). "Change of Leadership in the CDU — German Conservatives at a Crossroads".