FACTBOX - Biography Of New CDU Leader Armin Laschet

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2021) Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on Saturday elected Armin Laschet, Minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia, as its leader.

This marks a major step into an era after Chancellor Angela Merkel, since, in German politics, the chief of the ruling party usually becomes head of the Federal government.

Below is a short biography of the new CDU leader, likely to lead Germany after Merkel vacates the chancellery later this year.

Laschet was born in 1961 in the western town of Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia. He studied law and journalism at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich and the University of Bonn through 1988.

Laschet was a member of the German Bundestag between 1994 and 1998. In 1999, he was elected to the European Parliament, where he served until 2005.

After his EU stint, Laschet returned to his native North Rhine-Westphalia and has since occupied a number of ministerial and legislative positions, rising through the ranks of both the state government and the CDU party.

In 2012, he assumed chairmanship of the CDU at the state level after his predecessor Norbert Rottgen left the post. Two years prior, he lost a bid for the position to Rottgen. On Saturday, Rottgen was beaten by Laschet for the CDU leadership at the federal level.

As state party chair, Laschet was one of Merkel's five deputies, alongside Ursula Von Der Leyen who is now President of the European Commission.

Laschet was elected the 11th Minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia in June 2017, with the CDU gaining a slim advantage over the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the state elections. Laschet unseated longtime SPD incumbent Hannelore Kraft and became one of the few CDU leaders in the state's modern history.

Throughout his career, Laschet has been steadfastly loyal to Angela Merkel, defending the chancellor even through her most controversial decisions. He is widely expected to carry on Merkel's policy of unwavering centrism and strive for unity in the party and government.