Armin Laschet facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Armin Laschet MdB
Laschet in 2023
Chair of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 May 2025
Preceded by	Michael Roth
Leader of the Christian Democratic Union
In office 22 January 2021 – 31 January 2022
Deputy	Jens Spahn Thomas Strobl Volker Bouffier Julia Klöckner Silvia Breher
General Secretary	Paul Ziemiak
Preceded by	Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
Succeeded by	Friedrich Merz
Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia
In office 27 June 2017 – 26 October 2021
Deputy	Joachim Stamp
Preceded by	Hannelore Kraft
Succeeded by	Hendrik Wüst
Other political offices 2005–⁠2021 Deputy Leader of the Christian Democratic Union In office 5 December 2012 – 22 January 2021 Serving with Volker Bouffier, Julia Klöckner, Silvia Breher and Thomas Strobl Leader Angela Merkel Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer General Secretary Bodo Löttgen Josef Hovenjürgen Preceded by Norbert Röttgen Succeeded by Jens Spahn Leader of the Christian Democratic Union in North Rhine-Westphalia In office 20 June 2012 – 23 October 2021 Deputy Ralph Brinkhaus Karl-Josef Laumann Jan Heinisch Ina Scharrenbach Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker Preceded by Norbert Röttgen Succeeded by Hendrik Wüst Minister for Federal Affairs, Europe and the Media In office 9 March 2010 – 15 July 2010 Ministers-President Jürgen Rüttgers Preceded by Andreas Krautscheid Succeeded by Angelica Schwall-Düren Minister for Generations, Family, Women and Integration of North Rhine-Westphalia In office 22 June 2005 – 15 July 2010 Ministers-President Jürgen Rüttgers Preceded by Birgit Fischer (Health, Social affairs, Women and Family) Ute Schäfer (School, Youth and Children) Succeeded by Guntram Schneider (Work, Integration and Social affairs) Ute Schäfer (Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport)
Parliamentary constituencies Member of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia Incumbent Assumed office 26 October 2021 Preceded by multi-member district Constituency Christian Democratic Union list Member of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia In office 1 June 2017 – 27 October 2021 Preceded by Daniela Jansen Succeeded by Rainer Spiecker Constituency Aachen II In office 9 June 2010 – 1 June 2017 Preceded by multi-member district Succeeded by multi-member district Constituency Christian Democratic Union list Member of the European Parliament for Germany In office 20 July 1999 – 29 June 2005 Preceded by multi-member district Succeeded by Jürgen Zimmerling Member of the Bundestag for Aachen I In office 10 November 1994 – 26 October 1998 Preceded by Hans Stercken Succeeded by Ulla Schmidt
Personal details
Born	(1961-02-18) 18 February 1961 (age 64) Aachen, West Germany
Political party	Christian Democratic Union
Spouses	Susanne Malangré ​ ​ (m. 1985)​
Children	3
Residence	Burtscheid
Alma mater	University of Munich University of Bonn
Occupation	Politician Lawyer
Signature
Website

Armin Laschet (born 18 February 1961) is a German politician. He was the Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, a large German state, from 2017 to 2021. He also led the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) political party from 2021 to 2022. Since 2021, he has been a member of the Bundestag, which is Germany's national parliament.

Before becoming a full-time politician, Laschet studied law and worked as a journalist. He first joined the Bundestag in 1994. Later, in 1999, he became a member of the European Parliament. In 2005, he started working in state politics in North Rhine-Westphalia. He became the leader of the CDU party in that state in 2012. In 2017, he was elected as the Minister President of the state. His government included members from his own CDU party and the Free Democratic Party (FDP).

In January 2021, Laschet was chosen to be the leader of the CDU party. He won the election against Friedrich Merz. In April 2021, he was confirmed as the candidate for Chancellor of Germany for the CDU/CSU parties in the 2021 federal election.

Armin Laschet comes from a Roman Catholic family. His family has roots in Belgium. He is married to Susanne Malangré. They met as children in a church choir. Susanne's family is also well-known in politics in Aachen. In February 2024, he received an honorary doctorate degree from TED University. He also teaches political science at the University of Munich.

Early Life and Education

Armin Laschet was born in Burtscheid, a part of Aachen, Germany. This area is close to the borders of Belgium and the Netherlands. He grew up in a Roman Catholic family. His father was a mining engineer and later a school headmaster. The Laschet family originally came from Belgium. His grandparents moved to Aachen from Belgium in the 1920s. Because of this, the family had relatives in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Laschet still has strong connections to Belgium.

He went to the Pius-Gymnasium school in Aachen. He then studied law at the universities of Bonn and Munich. He finished his first law exam in 1987. From 1986 to 1988, he also studied journalism. In Munich, he joined a Catholic student group called K.D.St.V. Aenania München. Laschet speaks French very well.

From 1986 to 1994, Laschet worked as a journalist and in publishing. He was a reporter in Bonn for Bayerischer Rundfunk. He also served as the editor-in-chief for a Catholic newspaper, KirchenZeitung Aachen. From 1995 to 1999, while also a member of parliament, he was the CEO of a Catholic publishing company.

Political Career

Serving in the German Parliament (1994–1998)

After working for the President of the Bundestag, Laschet became a member of the German Bundestag in 1994. The Bundestag is like Germany's main parliament. He was elected from the Aachen I area. He worked on committees dealing with economic cooperation and European Union matters. He was also part of an informal group called the "Pizza-Connection." This group included young members from his party (CDU) and the Green Party. This showed he was seen as a more moderate member of his party. He lost his seat in the 1998 election.

Serving in the European Parliament (1999–2005)

From 1999 to 2005, Armin Laschet was a Member of the European Parliament. This parliament works for the whole European Union. He served on committees that handled budgets and foreign affairs. He also worked on reports about how the EU worked with the United Nations.

Key Roles in State Politics

Armin Laschet in 2021

In North Rhine-Westphalia, Laschet held important roles in the state government. From 2005 to 2010, he was the State Minister for Generations, Family, Women, and Integration. From 2010, he was the State Minister for Federal Affairs, Europe, and Media. In 2012, he became the leader of the CDU party in North Rhine-Westphalia. In December 2012, he was also chosen as one of the five deputy leaders of the national CDU party.

Laschet is still a member of the state parliament (Landtag) in North Rhine-Westphalia. He also leads the CDU's state branch there. From 2014 to 2016, he was part of a group looking at changes to the state's constitution.

In 2013, he was part of the CDU/CSU team that talked with the Social Democrats (SPD) to form a new government. He focused on energy policy. In November 2015, Laschet visited a refugee camp in Jordan. He wanted to learn more about Syrians who had to leave their homes because of war. He also led an expert group on refugee policy.

In November 2016, Laschet was chosen as the main candidate for the North Rhine-Westphalia state elections in May 2017. He won these elections, which was a surprise to many. He was also a delegate for choosing the President of Germany in 2017. In December 2016, Laschet led the CDU's national meeting in Essen.

Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia (2017–2021)

Armin Laschet served as the 11th Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2017 to 2021. This role is similar to a state governor. His government was a partnership between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP). As a representative for his state, he was also a member of the Federal Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Defence Committee in the Bundesrat.

Leader of the CDU (2021–2022)

In February 2020, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced she would step down as CDU party leader. Laschet then announced he would run for the party leadership. He also aimed to become the candidate for Chancellor. He chose Jens Spahn as his running mate. His main competitors were Friedrich Merz and Norbert Röttgen.

Some polls showed that people were not happy with how Laschet handled the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany in his state. The election for the new CDU party leader happened in January 2021. It was the first time the party held a fully digital meeting. On January 16, 2021, Laschet won the election. He became the new president of the CDU.

After his party lost the federal elections in 2021, he resigned from the party leadership on October 7. Friedrich Merz took his place as party leader in December 2021.

CDU/CSU Candidate for Chancellor

Even though Laschet became CDU leader, there were discussions about who should be the candidate for Chancellor. Many people thought Markus Söder, the leader of the smaller CSU party, would be a better choice. Polls showed Söder was much more popular.

However, Söder decided not to push his own candidacy. On April 19, 2021, he said that the CSU would accept the CDU's decision. Later that day, the CDU leadership voted. Laschet received 77.5 percent of the votes, while Söder received 22.5 percent. This meant Armin Laschet would be the CDU/CSU candidate for Chancellor in the September 2021 election. Laschet said he remembered being given low chances in the 2017 state election against Hannelore Kraft, but he still won.

Campaign for Chancellorship

Laschet tried to use the popularity of his rival, Merz, by asking him to join his campaign team. He said Merz's knowledge of economics would be very important. In May 2021, Laschet said that the Greens would be their main political opponent in the election. He wanted to prevent a coalition of the SPD, Left, and Greens.

At first, Laschet's campaign for Chancellor seemed to struggle. However, his party's win in the Saxony-Anhalt elections was seen as a positive sign for him. Laschet presented the CDU/CSU election plan with Söder on June 21, 2021. They said their goals were to fight the pandemic, address climate change, and protect Germany's economy and freedom. They wanted Germany to be open to the world and to focus on modernization and green policies.

During a visit to a town hit by floods, Laschet was seen laughing on camera. This caused a lot of criticism, even though he apologized later. This incident hurt his party's standing in opinion polls. The SPD then took the lead. Laschet also faced accusations of plagiarism regarding a book he wrote in 2009. He admitted his "mistake" and apologized.

Federal Election Outcome

In the 2021 German federal election on September 26, Laschet ran for Chancellor against Olaf Scholz of the SPD. He did not run in a specific local area. His home area of Aachen I voted for the Greens.

The election results matched the predictions from polls. The SPD won the most votes (25.7%), while the CDU/CSU had their worst result ever (24.1%). The Greens came in third with 14.8%, and the FDP was fourth with 11.5%. The Greens and FDP became the "kingmakers," meaning they would decide which party to form a government with. Two months later, the SPD, Greens, and FDP formed a coalition, and Olaf Scholz became Chancellor. After the election, Laschet took personal responsibility for his party's loss.

After Party Leadership

After the election, Laschet resigned as Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia on October 25, 2021. He returned to his role as a member of the Bundestag. He also resigned as the Leader of the CDU. Friedrich Merz replaced him after winning the leadership contest. Laschet remained a member of the Bundestag and served on several subcommittees. He was nominated as the CDU's candidate for his former constituency of Aachen I in the 2025 German federal election.

Since May 21, 2025, Laschet has been the chairman of the German Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Political Views

Environment and Climate Change

Laschet has faced criticism for being slow to act on climate change. As Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, he said the state was a "pioneer" in climate protection. However, environmental groups disagreed. During his time, the growth of wind power slowed down in North Rhine-Westphalia. His government also allowed three coal-fired power plants to operate until 2038, the latest possible date.

In 2018, Laschet supported a decision to close the state's department for environmental crimes. This happened shortly after he became Minister President. A public broadcaster reported that this department had been investigating issues at a farm owned by his environment minister's family.

During the 2021 floods in Germany, he said, "One does not change one's politics because today is such a day." This comment also drew criticism.

European Cooperation

Laschet believes in making the European Union stronger. He thinks it should work more closely on issues like fighting international terrorism, organized crime, and energy policy. He also wants the President of the European Commission to be chosen directly by EU voters.

During the European debt crisis, Laschet called for open discussions to find solutions. He suggested that Eurobonds could be part of the answer. He argued that if Greece left the Eurozone, it could cause problems in southern Europe. He said, "An exit could lead to instability in a NATO member state." In October 2011, he signed a letter supporting more EU involvement in the currency crisis.

In 2020, Laschet met with French President Emmanuel Macron three times. Macron invited Laschet to the Bastille Day celebrations in Paris. This was a thank you for his help to French citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic in France. Macron even invited Laschet into the Élysée Palace gardens, which is an honor for special guests.

Social Policies

Laschet strongly supported Chancellor Merkel's policies on migration during the European migrant crisis in 2015. In 2016, he called proposals for a burqa ban a "phony debate." However, his party later adopted this policy.

Before a vote in June 2017, Laschet was against Germany allowing same-sex marriage. He even said it would be against the constitution. However, during the 2021 federal election campaign, he changed his position. He said he would have voted for same-sex marriage.

In 2018, Laschet described the treehouses protesting the destruction of Hambach forest as "illegally occupied areas." He stated that the company RWE had the right to clear the forest. He said the government's job was to make sure the law was followed.

Foreign Policy

Laschet believes Germany is not ready enough for global political challenges. He thinks the country needs to be more independent in its foreign policy, not relying too much on countries like Russia or the US. He also hopes the EU will think and act more strategically in global politics.

In 2015, Laschet was criticized for not defending German interests. This happened when it was revealed that US intelligence agencies were spying on German citizens and businesses. Despite these revelations, Laschet supported Angela Merkel's policy, which was to "sit out" the public pressure.

Some critics see Laschet as being too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin's government. Laschet has supported the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and closer ties with China. He is also against excluding Huawei from Germany's 5G network. Germany's Federal Office for Information Security has supported Laschet's view. They said investigations into Huawei's technology found no evidence of wrongdoing. Laschet has also been against "demonizing" Putin for the Russian annexation of Crimea.

At the same time, Laschet said Germany should spend more on its military. He believes Germany should take on more responsibility in NATO. He argued that the German army (Bundeswehr) should do more in Africa, around the Mediterranean, and in Mali.

In 2018, Laschet canceled his appearances at the Ruhrtriennale arts festival. This was because the festival allowed supporters of the BDS movement to perform. In 2021, he promised support for Israel, saying, "We stand by Israel's side without reservation."

In 2013, Laschet criticized Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle for supporting rebels in the Syrian civil war. He said it was "absurd" to support terrorist groups in Syria that Germany was fighting elsewhere. He also criticized Westerwelle for demanding the release of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Laschet argued that minorities and Christians had suffered under Morsi.

Laschet described the chaotic withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan in August 2021 as the "biggest disaster that NATO has suffered since its founding."

In November 2023, Laschet criticized the German government for not voting against a UN resolution. In December 2023, he criticized the UN Secretary-General António Guterres for using a special article (Article 99) due to the 2023 Gaza humanitarian crisis. Laschet said this showed double standards. He pointed out that this article was not used when many people died in Syria, when Russia attacked Ukraine, or during the war in Yemen.

Personal Life

Armin Laschet is married to Susanne Malangré. They met as children in a Catholic children's choir. They got married in 1985. They have two sons and one daughter. The family lives in the Burtscheid area of Aachen. His wife's family is also well-known in Aachen politics and has Belgian roots. His son, Johannes ("Joe") Laschet, studies law and is known as a fashion blogger and model on Instagram. Armin Laschet is a Roman Catholic.

Other Activities

Armin Laschet is involved in several organizations outside of his political roles:

• RAG-Stiftung: He has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2017 and became Chair in 2022.
• Heinz-Kühn-Stiftung: Member of the Board of Trustees since 2023.
• Tarabya Cultural Academy: Member of the advisory board since 2022.
• Leo Baeck Foundation: Member of the Board of Trustees since 2022.
• Atlantik-Brücke: Member.
• Bonner Akademie für Forschung und Lehre praktischer Politik (BAPP): Member and Joint President of the Board of Trustees.
• Campus Symposium of the Business and Information Technology School: Member of the Advisory Board.
• Central Committee of German Catholics: Member.
• Charlemagne Prize: Member of the board of directors.
• European Academy of Sciences and Arts: Member.
• European Foundation for the Aachen Cathedral: Member of the Board of Trustees.
• Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA): Policy Fellow.
• Karl Arnold Foundation: Member of the Board.
• Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Member of the Planning Committee.
• Peace of Westphalia Prize: Member of the Jury.
• missio: Member of the Supervisory Board.
• St. Maria zur Wiese: Member of the Board of Trustees.
• United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN): Member of the Presidium.

See also

In Spanish: Armin Laschet para niños