David McAllister facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
David McAllister
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McAllister in 2016
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| Chair of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee | |
| Assumed office 1 February 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Elmar Brok |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| Assumed office 1 July 2014 |
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| Constituency | Germany |
| Vice President of the European People's Party | |
| Assumed office 3 October 2015 |
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| President | Joseph Daul Donald Tusk |
| Preceded by | Michel Barnier |
| Minister-President of Lower Saxony | |
| In office 1 July 2010 – 19 February 2013 |
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| Deputy | Jörg Bode |
| Preceded by | Christian Wulff |
| Succeeded by | Stephan Weil |
| Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union of Lower Saxony | |
| In office 19 June 2008 – 12 November 2016 |
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| Preceded by | Christian Wulff |
| Succeeded by | Bernd Althusmann |
| Leader of the Christian Democratic Union in the Landtag of Lower Saxony | |
| In office 4 February 2003 – 1 July 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Christian Wulff |
| Succeeded by | Björn Thümler |
| Member of the Landtag of Lower Saxony for Hadeln/Wesermünde (Hadeln; 2003–2008) (CDU List; 1998–2003) |
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| In office 30 March 1998 – 26 March 2014 |
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| Preceded by | Birgit Meyn-Horeis |
| Succeeded by | Aygül Özkan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
David James McAllister
12 January 1971 West Berlin, West Germany |
| Citizenship | Germany United Kingdom |
| Political party |  German:Christian Democratic Union  EU:European People's Party |
| Spouse | Dunja Kolleck |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Leibniz University Hannover |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Germany |
| Branch/service |  Bundeswehr |
| Years of service | 1989–1991 |
| Unit |  Army (Heer) / Panzerbataillon 74 |
David James McAllister, born on January 12, 1971, is a German politician. He has been a member of the European Parliament since 2014. He belongs to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in Germany. This party is part of the larger European People's Party in Europe.
Currently, David McAllister is the Vice President of the European People's Party. He also serves as the Vice Chairman of the International Democrat Union. Since February 2017, he has been the Chair of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee. This committee deals with how the European Union works with other countries around the world.
From 2010 to 2013, McAllister was the Minister-President of Lower Saxony, a state in Germany. He took over this role from Christian Wulff. He led a government with another party, the FDP. In 2014, he was chosen to represent the CDU in the European elections.
David McAllister is a lawyer. Before becoming Minister-President, he led the CDU group in the Lower Saxon Parliament from 2003 to 2010. He was also the head of the CDU party in Lower Saxony from 2008 to 2016. He has both German and British citizenship.
Many people saw him as a rising star in his party. Some even thought he might become a future leader like Angela Merkel. He was also considered for a role as a European Commissioner. However, this did not happen because Ursula von der Leyen, also from Germany, became the President of the European Commission in 2019.
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Early Life and Education
David McAllister was born in West Berlin on January 12, 1971. His father was Scottish, and his mother was German. His father, James Buchanan McAllister, was from Glasgow, Scotland. He worked for the British government in West Berlin. David's mother, Mechthild McAllister, is a music teacher.
David grew up speaking both German and English. He went to a British primary school in Berlin. In 1982, his family moved to Bad Bederkesa in Lower Saxony. He attended a boarding school there and finished his high school education (called Abitur in Germany) in 1989.
After school, from 1989 to 1991, McAllister completed his military service in the Bundeswehr (the German armed forces). He served in a tank battalion in Cuxhaven. From 1991 to 1996, he studied Law at Leibniz University Hannover. He received a scholarship from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. In 1994, he became the local leader of the CDU's youth group, Junge Union, in the Cuxhaven district.
McAllister has both German and British citizenship. He speaks both languages very well. He has said that he feels "more or less completely German" because he has lived in Germany his whole life. However, he describes his childhood in West Berlin as "very British" due to the British schools and community. He chose to do his military service in Germany, even though he could have avoided it because of his dual citizenship.
He joined the CDU party when he was 17. He explained that his father was a conservative, which influenced him.
Political Journey
From 1996 to 2010, David McAllister was a member of the local council in the Cuxhaven district. He also served as the mayor of his hometown, Bad Bederkesa, from 2001 to 2002. From 2002 to 2003, he was the general secretary for the CDU party in Lower Saxony.
Since 1998, McAllister has been a member of the Parliament of Lower Saxony. From 2003 to 2010, he led the CDU group in this parliament. He became the chairman of the CDU party in Lower Saxony in June 2008, taking over from Christian Wulff. He held this position until November 2016, when Bernd Althusmann took over. In the United Kingdom, McAllister supports the Conservative Party.
In 2005, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, offered him a high position in the CDU party. However, McAllister turned it down. He felt it was too soon for such a big step. He was also a delegate (a chosen representative) for the election of the President of Germany several times.
Leading Lower Saxony (2010–2013)
On July 1, 2010, David McAllister was elected as the new Minister-President of Lower Saxony. This happened after Christian Wulff was elected as the President of Germany. As Minister-President, McAllister also joined the board of Volkswagen, a very large company in Lower Saxony. The state of Lower Saxony owns a lot of shares in Volkswagen. He was on this board until 2013.
In December 2012, McAllister led the CDU's national meeting in Hanover.
In the 2013 Lower Saxony state election, the CDU-FDP government led by McAllister lost its majority. This meant they could no longer form the government. On February 19, 2013, Stephan Weil from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) became the new Minister-President. McAllister stepped down in March 2014 to get ready for the European Parliament election. He was the main candidate for the CDU/CSU parties in that election.
After the 2013 German elections, McAllister was part of the CDU/CSU team. They talked with the SPD to form a new government.
Work in the European Parliament (2014–Present)
As a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), David McAllister leads the group that works with the United States. He is also a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In this role, he is the Parliament's main person for issues related to Serbia. He is also part of a group that supports small and medium-sized businesses.
In 2014, he became the Vice Chairman of the International Democrat Union. In October 2015, he was elected Vice President of the European People's Party. In this role, he helps lead the EPP's group that focuses on European policy.
Since 2017, McAllister has been the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He took over from Elmar Brok. In this position, he also helps lead the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group. This group watches over elections in other countries. Within his own political group, he has also been co-chairing the EPP Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting since 2017.
After the 2017 federal elections, McAllister was part of the CDU/CSU team that discussed European policy. These talks were about forming a new government.
After the 2019 elections, McAllister was part of a group from different parties. Their job was to create the European Parliament's plan for foreign policy for the next four years.
Other Activities
David McAllister is involved in several other organizations:
- He was a member of the Supervisory Board for Volkswagen from 2010 to 2013.
- He is on the Board of Trustees for Friends of Europe (since 2020).
- He is a member of the Presidium for the German Council on Foreign Relations (since 2019).
- He is a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
- He is a member of the European Leadership Network (ELN).
- He is on the Board of Trustees for the European Youth Parliament – Germany.
- He is a member of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Political Views
After Brexit (when the UK left the European Union), McAllister joined other politicians in asking for a special EU-UK Parliament group. In 2021, he also worked with other MEPs to ask the European Commission to let Scotland and Wales rejoin the Erasmus+ student exchange program.
In 2021, before the 47th G7 summit, McAllister joined many other lawmakers from Europe, the US, and Japan. They wrote a letter asking their leaders to be firm with China. They also asked leaders to avoid relying too much on China for technology like artificial intelligence and 5G.
Personal Life
David McAllister is married to Dunja McAllister, who is also a lawyer. They live in Bad Bederkesa in the Cuxhaven district. He supports two football clubs: Rangers FC from Scotland and Hannover 96 from Germany.
Awards and Recognition
- He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh in 2012.
- He received the MEP Award - Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.
See also
In Spanish: David McAllister para niños
- List of people from Berlin
