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2018 Christian Democratic Union of Germany leadership election facts for kids

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The 2018 Christian Democratic Union leadership election was held in Hamburg, Germany, on December 7, 2018. This election happened because Angela Merkel, who had been the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party for a long time, decided not to run again. She made this decision in October 2018 after the party didn't do well in the 2018 Hessian state election and had low support in national polls.

On October 29, 2018, two people announced they wanted to be the new leader: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who was the CDU's General Secretary (a top administrative role), and Jens Spahn, who was the Federal Minister of Health. The next day, October 30, Friedrich Merz, who had been a political rival of Angela Merkel, also announced he would run.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was chosen as the new leader. She won with 45.05% of the votes. Friedrich Merz came in second with 39.24%, and Jens Spahn received 15.72% of the votes.

Candidates for Leader

Here are the people who ran to become the new leader of the CDU party:

  • Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer — She was the General Secretary of the CDU from 2018. Before that, she was the Minister-President of Saarland (like a state governor) from 2011 to 2018. She also held other important jobs in Saarland, like Minister for Family and Social Affairs, Education, and the Interior. Many people from the CDU in Saarland supported her.
  • Friedrich Merz — He was a Member of Parliament (Bundestag) from 1994 to 2009. He also led the opposition group in Parliament for the CDU from 2000 to 2002. Before that, he was a Member of the European Parliament. Local CDU groups in Fulda and Hochsauerland supported him.
  • Jens Spahn — He was the Minister for Health from 2018. Before that, he worked as a Parliamentary Secretary of State for Finance. He has been a Member of Parliament (Bundestag) since 2002. The local CDU group in Borken supported him.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Elección de liderazgo de la Unión Demócrata Cristiana de Alemania de 2018 para niños

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