Hendrik Josef Wüst (born 19 July 1975) is a German
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
currently serving as
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 ...
of 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 inhab ...
. He is a member of the
Christian democratic
Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism.
It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
and
liberal-conservative
Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by lib ...
CDU. In October 2021 he succeeded
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 ...
as state chairman of his party. Under Wüst's leadership, his party won the highest vote share in the
2022 North Rhine-Westphalia state election
The 2022 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 15 May 2022 to elect the 18th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by M ...
.
Early life and education
Wüst was born in 1975 in the town of
Rhede
Rhede () is a municipality in the district of Borken in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the border with the Netherlands, approximately east of Bocholt.
Notable residents
* Thomas Giessing, athlete and Olympic a ...
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 inhab ...
. In 1995, having obtained his ''
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen yea ...
'', he began reading
law at the
University of Münster
The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.
With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of stud ...
, qualifying as a
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...
in 2003.
Political career
Beginnings
At the age of 15, Wüst co-founded the local branch of
Junge Union
The Junge Union Deutschlands (''Young Union of Germany'') or JU is the joint
youth organisation of the two conservative German political parties, CDU and CSU. Membership is limited to individuals between 14 and 35 years of age.
Junge Union cla ...
(JU), the youth wing of the
Christian Democratic Union (CDU), in his hometown.
In 1994, he was elected to the
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
of Rhede. He served as chairman of the JU in North Rhine-Westphalia from 2000 until 2006, which made him part of the CDU leadership in the state under chairman
Jürgen Rüttgers.
Member of the State Parliament, 2005–present
Wüst was first elected to the
State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia in the
2005 elections. In addition to his parliamentary work, he was employed by public affairs agency Eutop from 2000 until 2005.
From 2006, Wüst served as the secretary general of the CDU in the state,
under Rüttgers’ leadership. In 2010, he resigned from the post of secretary general.
He took this step after it became known that the party had given preferential access to Rüttgers, then
Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia
The Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Ministerpräsident des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen), also referred to as Premier or Prime Minister, is the head of government of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (''NRW''). Th ...
, in return for payments.
From 2010 until 2017, Wüst then worked for the North Rhine-Westphalia state chapter of the German Newspaper Publishers Association (BDZV) and for a private broadcaster.
From 2013, Wüst served as state chairman of the , a business lobby within the CDU.
Following the
2017 state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Wüst was part of the CDU team in the negotiations with
Christian Lindner
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 Memb ...
’s FDP on a coalition agreement. He led his party's delegation in the working group on economic affairs and energy policy; his co-chair of the FDP was
Andreas Pinkwart.
In 2017, Wüst was appointed State Minister for Transport in the cabinet of
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 ...
.
Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2021–present
On 5 October 2021, it was reported that Wüst would receive the endorsement of Laschet to succeed him as Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia and state chairman of the CDU.
On 23 October, he was elected to the state chairmanship of his party.
On 27 October 2021, Wüst was elected Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia by the state parliament.
As one of the state's representatives at the
Bundesrat since 2021, Wüst serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Defense. During his first year as Minister-President, he also served as
Commissioner of the Federal Republic of Germany for Cultural Affairs under the Treaty on Franco-German Cooperation.
Wüst was nominated by his party as 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
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...
.
In May 2022, the CDU received the highest vote share in the
2022 North Rhine-Westphalia state election
The 2022 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 15 May 2022 to elect the 18th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by M ...
, making Wüst the frontrunner to continue as the state's Minister-President.
Political positions
According to ''
Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the con ...
'', Wüst is part of the conservative wing of the CDU. In 2007, a group of conservative politicians, including Wüst and the future
Minister President of Bavaria Markus Söder, published a
white paper
A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white pape ...
entitled ('Modern civic conservatism'), which was described as a "token of insubordination" by ''
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...
''.
Other activities
Corporate boards
*RAG-Stiftung, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2021)
Nonprofit organizations
* Development and Peace Foundation (SEF), Ex-Officio Chair of the Board of Trustees (since 2021)
* Heinz Kühn Foundation, Ex-Officio Chair of the Board of Trustees (since 2021)
* Cultural Foundation of the German States (KdL), Member of the Council (since 2021)
* German Federal Cultural Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees
*
Kunststiftung NRW, Ex-Officio Chairman of the Board of Trustees (since 2021)
* North Rhine-Westphalian Foundation for the Environment and Development (SUE), Ex-Officio chairman of the board (since 2021)
* Brost Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees
*
Deutsches Museum
The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science and technology, with about 28,000 exhibited objects from ...
, Member of the Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees
eutsches Museum.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wüst, Hendrik
1975 births
People from Rhede
University of Münster alumni
Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians
Members of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
21st-century German lawyers
Living people