2020 Christian Democratic Union of Germany leadership election facts for kids

The 2020 Christian Democratic Union leadership election was set to take place during the Christian Democratic Union party's 33rd Congress in Berlin on the 25 April 2020, following Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's decision in February 2020 to resign as Leader of the party. However, the election was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Background

After her announcement, Norbert Röttgen surprisingly announced on the 18 February his intention to run for the leadership. This was followed by a joint announcement on the 25 February by Armin Laschet and Jens Spahn, in which Spahn endorsed Laschet for the leadership and Laschet announced his intention to stand.

A couple of hours later on the 25 February Friedrich Merz in turn announced his intention to stand for the leadership of the party.

Candidates

Declared

	Name	Offices held	State	Announcement date
	Armin Laschet	Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia (2017-present) Deputy Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (2012-present) Leader of the Christian Democratic Union in North Rhine-Westphalia (2012-present)	North Rhine-Westphalia	25 February 2020
	Friedrich Merz	Leader of CDU/CSU Group in the Bundestag/Leader of the Opposition (2000-2002) Member of the Bundestag (1994-2009) Member of the European Parliament (1989-1994)	North Rhine-Westphalia	25 February 2020
	Norbert Röttgen	Chair of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee (2014-present) Member of the Bundestag (1994-present) Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (2009-2012) Deputy Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (2010-2012) Leader of the Christian Democratic Union in North Rhine-Westphalia (2010-2012)	North Rhine-Westphalia	18 February 2020

See also

In Spanish: Elección de liderazgo de la Unión Demócrata Cristiana de Alemania de enero de 2021 para niños