Kai Whittaker (born 10 April 1985) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...

since 2013.

Education and early career

Born in

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with Fra ...

to a British father and German mother, Whittaker completed his Abitur at the ''Markgraf-Ludwig-Gymnasium'' in 2004. Following his ''

Zivildienst Zivildienst is the German denomination for the alternative civilian service for conscripted persons who are conscientious objectors to fulfill their national service, typically in the fields of social work (e.g. hospitals, retirement homes, em ...

'', he studied Economics and Management at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, graduating in 2008. After a year working for Leoni AG, Whittaker then pursued a master's degree in European Political Economy at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

, graduating in 2010. Between 2011 and 2013, he worked for

Herrenknecht Herrenknecht AG is a German company that manufactures tunnel boring machines, headquartered in Allmannsweier, Schwanau, Baden-Württemberg. It is the worldwide market leader for heavy tunnel boring machines. Roughly two-thirds of its 5,000 employ ...

Political career

Whittaker was directly elected to the Bundestag in 2013 with 53.5% of the vote in the

Rastatt Rastatt () is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50,000 (2011). Rastatt was a ...

district. He has since been a member of the Committee on Labor and Social Affairs, serving as his parliamentary group's

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...

on public procurement, social welfare and the effects of digitization of work. In 2018, he also joined the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Sustainable Development.

Positions

In June 2017, Whittaker voted against his parliamentary group's majority and in favor of Germany's introduction of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. Ahead of the 2021 Christian Democratic Union of Germany leadership election, Whittaker publicly endorsed

Norbert Röttgen Norbert Alois Röttgen (born 2 July 1965) is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He was Federal Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel f ...

to succeed

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (; Kramp; born 9 August 1962), sometimes referred to by her initials of AKK, is a retired German politician who served as Minister of Defence from 2019 to 2021 and as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from ...

as the party’s chair. He is a member of the ''Union der Mitte'', a centrist caucus of the CDU.

References

Living people 1985 births Members of the Bundestag for Baden-Württemberg People from Baden-Baden German people of British descent Members of the Bundestag 2013–2017 Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany People associated with the London School of Economics Alumni of the University of Bristol {{Germany-CDU-politician-stub