Henning Otte | |
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| Armed Forces Commissioner of theBundestag | |
| Assumed office 21 May 2025 | |
| President | Julia Klöckner |
| Preceded by | Eva Högl |
| Member of theBundestag | |
| In office 2005–2025 | |
| Nominated by | CDU |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1968-10-27)27 October 1968 (age 57) |
| Citizenship | German |
| Political party | CDU |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | University of Hamburg |
Henning Otte (born 1968) is a Germanpolitician and member of theChristian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) who has been serving as Parliamentary Commissioner for theArmed Forces of Germany since 2025.[1]
Otte was born on 27 October 1968 inCelle,Lower Saxony. After taking his A levels (Abitur) in the Christian Gymnasium inHermannsburg Otte did hismilitary service as a short service volunteer with theBundeswehr and also underwent training as areserve officer. Subsequently, he passed his training as abanker withSparkasse Celle before studyinglaw at theUniversity of Hamburg. Otte was last employed as a company lawyer (Prokurist) in a medium-sized steel construction firm.
Otte joined the CDU in 1994 and has belonged since 1999 to the board of the CDU district association in Celle. Since 2006 he has been a member of the board of theEuropean People's Party (EVP) and since 2007 deputy chairman of the CDU District Association of Northeast Lower Saxony.
Since 1996 Otte has been atown councillor (Stadtrat) forBergen, a parish councillor (Ortsrat) forEversen and a member of the district council (Kreistag) for the district or county ofCelle. He is currently the deputy head of the district authority (Landrat) for the district of Celle.
In the2005 elections, Otte first became amember of parliament in the GermanBundestag, where he was on the state list forLower Saxony. In 2009 he was given the direct mandate for the constituency of Celle – Uelzen with 44.2% of first votes, defeatingKirsten Lühmann of theSocial Democratic Party who has since entered the Bundestag on the Lower Saxon state list.
In parliament, Otte was a member of the Defence Committee and deputy member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He also served as the CDU/CSU group's spokesperson on defence policy.
In addition to his committee assignments, Otte served as a member of the German delegation to theNATO Parliamentary Assembly from 2014 to 2025, where he was part of the Defence and Security Committee.[2] Between 2009 and 2013, he was also part of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Relations with the Baltic States as well as of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Relations with the States of South America. From 2019, he was a member of the German delegation to theFranco-German Parliamentary Assembly.[3]
In the negotiations to form acoalition government following the2013 federal elections, Otte was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on foreign affairs, defense policy and development cooperation, led byThomas de Maizière andFrank-Walter Steinmeier. In the coalition talks following the2017 federal elections, he was again appointed to the working group on foreign policy, defense and development, this time led byUrsula von der Leyen,Gerd Müller andSigmar Gabriel.
In his capacity as member of the Defence Committee, Otte traveled extensively to visitBundeswehr troops on their missions abroad, including inKabul (2012),Mazar-i-Sharif (2012, 2013) andGao (2016) and at theIncirlik Air Base (2016). In 2015, he accompanied GermanMinister of DefenceUrsula von der Leyen to meetings withKingAbdullah II ofJordan andPresidentBeji Caid Essebsi ofTunisia, among others.[4]
Otte isprotestant, married and a father of four.[5]
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