Christian Lindner
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Christian Wolfgang Lindner (born 7 January 1979) is a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) serving as the Federal Minister of Finance since 8 December 2021. He has been the party leader of the liberal FDP since 2013 and a
Member of the Bundestag Member of the German Parliament (german: Mitglied des Deutschen Bundestages) is the official name given to a deputy in the German Bundestag. ''Member of Parliament'' refers to the elected members of the federal Bundestag Parliament at the Reichs ...
(MdB) for
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
since 2017, previously holding a seat from 2009 until 2012.


Early life and education

Christian Lindner was born in
Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and tow ...
, Germany. His father Wolfgang Lindner is a teacher of mathematics and
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...
at the ''Städtisches Gymnasium'' in
Wermelskirchen Wermelskirchen (; Ripuarian: ''Wärmelßkirrshe'') is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, southeast of Remscheid. It is home to one of Europe's biggest live Christmas trees (measuring 26m). Coat of arms ...
. After graduating from Gymnasium in 1998 and an alternative civilian service, Christian Lindner studied political science at the
University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...
from 1999 to 2006. After eleven semesters he acquired the academic degree of
Magister Artium A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
(M.A). In his magister's thesis at the Institute of Political Science, he dealt with the topic: "Tax competition and revenue sharing. Can the financial constitution be reformed?" In 2006, he began writing his dissertation under supervision from political science professor Frank Decker, which he has so far not completed due to his political activities. While studying Lindner became a reserve officer in the
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
. In 2002, he was promoted to First lieutenant ( Oberleutnant) in the Reserve. In 2008 he was a
liaison officer A Liaison officer is a person who liaises between two or more organizations to communicate and coordinate their activities on a matter of mutual concern. Generally, liaison officers are used for achieving the best utilization of resources, or empl ...
to the state command Landeskommando of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Düsseldorf. Since September 2011 he has held the rank of Captain (
Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...
) in the Reserve.''Verbindungsoffizier zum Landeskommando''. In: ''Rheinische Post.'' 26. Juli 2008. Currently Lindner is a Major in the German Air Forces Reserve.


Early political career

Lindner joined the FDP in 1995. He has been a member of the executive board of the FDP in the state of
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
since 1998 and became Secretary General in 2004 (until February 2010). At the May 2000 election for the
Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia The Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia is the state parliament (''Landtag'') of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which convenes in the state capital of Düsseldorf, in the eastern part of the district of Hafen. The parliament ...
, the 21-year old Lindner was elected, becoming the youngest MP in the history of the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lindner was from 2000 initially 'spokesman for Intergenerational Affairs, Family and Integration' and then from 2005 to 2009 was also vice chairman of the FDP parliamentary group in the parliament and spokesman for Innovation, Science and Technology. In 2007 he also became a member of the executive board of the FDP on federal level. From 2009 Lindner was a member of the German Bundestag. In the negotiations to form a coalition government following the 2009 federal elections, he was part of the FDP delegation in the working group on families, integration of immigrants and culture, led by Maria Böhmer and Hans-Joachim Otto. From December 2009 until his surprise resignation in December 2011, Lindner was also Secretary General of the FDP on federal level, largely under the leadership of party chairman
Guido Westerwelle Guido Westerwelle (; 27 December 1961 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician who served as Foreign Minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice-Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011, being the first openly gay person ...
and later under
Philipp Rösler Philipp Rösler (born 24 February 1973) is a German physician and former politician who served as federal minister of health from 2009–2011 and federal minister of economics and technology as well as vice-chancellor of Germany from 2011 to ...
when Westerwelle had to resign. Lindner's resignation was caused by an internal party vote which had been forced by a group centered around the Eurosceptic FDP parliamentarian Frank Schäffler to determine the FDP's future course on questions pertaining to the
European Stability Mechanism The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is an intergovernmental organization located in Luxembourg City, which operates under public international law for all eurozone member states having ratified a special ESM intergovernmental treaty. It was ...
(ESM). Lindner was later chosen to chair the NRW FDP in the 2012 state election of
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
, succeeding Daniel Bahr. In the election, the FDP received 8.6% of the vote, surpassing all expectations at the time as the party had been fighting overall the country to reach the minimum representation of 5% for years and was losing representation in several states. Following the party's victory at that election he was elected Parliamentary leader of the FDP in the NRW Landtag, succeeding Gerhard Papke on 15 May 2012, and worked in the opposition. In March 2013, he was elected one of Rösler's deputies, alongside
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger ( Leutheusser; born 26 July 1951) is a German politician of the liberal Free Democratic Party and a prominent advocate of human rights in Germany and Europe. Within the FDP, she is a leading figure of the soc ...
and Holger Zastrow.


FDP Chairman

Lindner was elected the new chairman of the FDP following the resignation of Chairman
Philipp Rösler Philipp Rösler (born 24 February 1973) is a German physician and former politician who served as federal minister of health from 2009–2011 and federal minister of economics and technology as well as vice-chancellor of Germany from 2011 to ...
after the
2013 German federal election Federal elections were held on 22 September to elect the members of the 18th Bundestag of Germany. At stake were all 598 seats to the Bundestag, plus 33 overhang seats determined thereafter. The Christian Democratic Union of Germany/ Christian ...
s in which the FDP failed to clear the 5% hurdle to enter the Bundestag for the first time since 1949. Ahead of the 2014 European elections, Lindner and Dutch Prime Minister
Mark Rutte Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010 and Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2006. After a business career working for Unileve ...
served as ‘mediators’ between Olli Rehn and Guy Verhofstadt, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe’s candidates for the
presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...
of the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
; eventually, the candidates agreed to jointly lead the ALDE's campaign for elections, with Verhofstadt running to succeed José Manuel Barroso. At the time, Linder was widely regarded to support Rehn. Lindner was a FDP delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the
President of Germany The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...
in 2017, where he endorsed the government's candidate
Frank-Walter Steinmeier Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician serving as President of Germany since 19 March 2017. He was previously Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017, as well as Vice Chan ...
. That same year, he led his party's successful campaign for the 2017 state elections of
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
, which resulted in the FDP joining the state government of incoming
Minister-President A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. I ...
Armin Laschet Armin Laschet (; born 18 February 1961) is a German politician who served as Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 27 June 2017 to 26 October 2021. He served as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 22 January 2021 to 3 ...
. Lindner himself did not take a position in the new government because of his aim to lead the FDP back to the Bundestag in September 2017, which he achieved with a result of 10.7%. After that success he was elected leader of the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag. In October 2017,
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...
's CDU and
Katrin Göring-Eckardt Katrin Dagmar Göring-Eckardt (born Katrin Dagmar Eckardt; 3 May 1966) is a German politician of the German Green Party (officially known as Alliance 90/The Greens). Starting her political activity in the now-former German Democratic Republic (E ...
's and
Cem Özdemir Cem Özdemir (, ; born 21 December 1965) is a German politician who currently serves as Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture since 2021. He is a member of the Alliance 90/The Greens party. Between 2008 and 2018, Özdemir co-chaired the G ...
's Greens started negotiations with the FDP to form a government, in which Lindner was widely seen as the future Minister of Finance, as the CDU had even nominated the former Minister
Wolfgang Schäuble Wolfgang Schäuble (; born 18 September 1942) is a German lawyer, politician and statesman whose political career has spanned for more than five decades. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he is one of the longest-serving politi ...
as
President of the Bundestag The president of the Bundestag (german: Präsident des Deutschen Bundestages or ) presides over the sessions of the Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany, with functions similar to that of a speaker in other countries. In the German orde ...
to make place for the FDP. Such a coalition was the only realistic possibility to form a government (except for a Grand coalition) but had almost never been used before on any regional level in Germany. In November 2017, after midnight, Lindner and his party left the already prolonged negotiations after four unsuccessful weeks, which led to the longest government formation in German history and finally in March 2018 once more to a Grand Coalition with the
SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...
, which had previously rejected any participation in the new government.


Federal Minister of Finance

Following the 2021 German federal election, the FDP agreed to enter government with the Greens and
Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
, as part of a
traffic light coalition In German politics, a traffic light coalition (german: Ampelkoalition) is a coalition government of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Alliance 90/The Greens. It is named after the parties' tra ...
led by Olaf Scholz. Lindner was named as
Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
, and took office on 8 December 2021. After the G7 countries announced that they would present strong sanctions against Russia, Lindner stated that they should target Russian oligarchs. He stated: “We are working on further sanctions. I am particularly concerned that the oligarchs should be affected. Those who have profited from
Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
and stolen the wealth of the Russian people, including through corruption, should not be allowed to enjoy their prosperity in our Western democracies“. On the night of February 24, 2022, right after Russia started its invasion of Ukraine, Christian Lindner, according to the Ambassador of Ukraine in Germany, told Ukraine's ambassador Andriy Melnyk that "Ukraine has only a few hours" left, so he opposed arms supplies to Kyiv and Russia's disconnection from
SWIFT Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...
. On 17 May 2022, Lindner said he is "politically open to the idea of seizing" the frozen
foreign-exchange reserves Foreign exchange reserves (also called forex reserves or FX reserves) are cash and other reserve assets such as gold held by a central bank or other monetary authority that are primarily available to balance payments of the country, influence ...
of the
Central Bank of Russia The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR; ), doing business as the Bank of Russia (russian: Банк России}), is the central bank of the Russian Federation. The bank was established on July 13, 1990. The predecessor of the bank can ...
—which amount to over $300 billion— to cover the costs of rebuilding Ukraine after the war.


Other activities


International organizations

* European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), ex-officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2021) * European Investment Bank (EIB), ex-officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2021) *
European Stability Mechanism The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is an intergovernmental organization located in Luxembourg City, which operates under public international law for all eurozone member states having ratified a special ESM intergovernmental treaty. It was ...
(ESM), ex-officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2021) * Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), ex-officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2021) *
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
(IMF), ex-officio Alternate Member of the Board of Governors (since 2021)


Corporate boards

*
KfW The KfW, which together with its subsidiaries DEG, KfW IPEX-Bank and FuB forms the KfW Bankengruppe ("banking group"), is a German state-owned investment and development bank, based in Frankfurt. As of 2014, it is the world's largest national d ...
, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Supervisory Directors (since 2021) * RAG-Stiftung, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2021)


Non-profit organizations

*
Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...
, Member of the Business Advisory Board (since 2018) *''Aktive Bürgerschaft'', Member of the Board of Trustees *
Friedrich Naumann Foundation The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (german: Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit) (''FNF''), is a German foundation for liberal politics, related to the Free Democratic Party. Established in 1958 by Theodor Heuss, the first pres ...
, Member of the Board of Trustees * ZDF, Member of the Television Board *
Heinrich Heine University Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...
(HHU), Institut für Deutsches und Internationales Parteienrecht und Parteienforschung, Member of the Board of Trustees * Deutsche AIDS-Stiftung, Member of the Board of Trustees * Walther Rathenau Institute, Member of the Advisory Board * Deutsche Nationalstiftung, Member of the Senate * NRW Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees * Captain in the German Air Forces reserve * Rotary International, Member


Political positions


Foreign policy

In 2022, Lindner called for renewed talks over a free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, aiming to revive discussions on the so-called
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was a proposed trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, with the aim of promoting trade and multilateral economic growth. According to Karel de Gucht, European ...
(TTIP).


Entrepreneurship

In early 2015, an impassioned response to heckling by Lindner, defending entrepreneurs and startup culture made it onto newspaper front pages and became one of the most watched political speeches in months. Lindner was speaking before the state legislature in
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
about the importance of entrepreneurship and how failed entrepreneurs deserve a second chance when a Social Democratic member in the audience heckled: "That ailureis something you have experience in." That was a reference to an Internet company co-founded by Lindner that failed after the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s. Lindner responded with a 2½-minute speech, saying: "If one succeeds, one ends up in the sights of the Social Democratic redistribution machinery and, if one fails, one can be sure of derision and mockery." He added that this particular member preferred to have a secure job in public service for his entire life, rather than daring to found a company, and how the message of that heckling attempt was the total opposite of what had been announced just minutes earlier by the president of the state legislature, who also happened to be an SPD member. '' Bild'', the highest-circulation daily newspaper in Germany, praised Lindner on its front page. The Berlin daily ''
Tagesspiegel ''Der Tagesspiegel'' (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington D.C. and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, ...
'' said the rant offered a welcome contrast to the "persistent fog of alternative-less Merkelism" that characterized debate in the Bundestag. What they were referring to was the situation that because of the narrow defeats of the FDP and the AfD, the opposition in the Bundestag only included left parties. Many policies of Merkel's government directly came from their centre-left coalition partner SPD or were at least negotiated and harmonised with them, and then only left parties reacted on them, who usually criticized that those policies were not enough and advocated for more investment into them or stronger policies but did not oppose them on a principal basis.


Financial policy

Shortly after the
2017 elections The following elections occurred in 2017. Africa *2017 Somali presidential election 8 February 2017 *2017 Gambian parliamentary election 6 April 2017 * 2017 Algerian legislative election 4 May 2017 *2017 Lesotho general election 3 June 2017 *20 ...
, Lindner ruled out taking on new debt to manage the balancing act of cutting income taxes and increasing investment on digital infrastructure. He criticized outgoing Finance Minister
Wolfgang Schäuble Wolfgang Schäuble (; born 18 September 1942) is a German lawyer, politician and statesman whose political career has spanned for more than five decades. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he is one of the longest-serving politi ...
for not being tough enough on
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
and not cutting income taxes for middle-class workers.


Personal life

In 2011, Lindner married journalist
Dagmar Rosenfeld Dagmar Rosenfeld (born 1974 Cologne) is a German journalist. She has been deputy editor-in-chief of ''Die Welt'' since 2016. Life After graduating from the and studying German and history at the University of Cologne The University of C ...
; they had started dating in 2009. On 19 April 2018, they announced their separation. In 2018, he started dating journalist Franca Lehfeldt. whom he married in 2022.


References


External links


German Bundestag - Abgeordneter Christian Lindner
(German)
Lindner's personal website
(mostly in German)
English section on his personal websiteLindner's profile on the party website
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindner, Christian 1979 births Living people Finance ministers of Germany Members of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia Members of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia University of Bonn alumni Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Members of the Bundestag 2009–2013 Members of the Bundestag for the Free Democratic Party (Germany) Landtag group leaders (North Rhine-Westphalia)