Thomas Heilmann | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Heilmann in 2023 | |
| Member of theBundestag | |
| Assumed office 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Karl-Georg Wellmann |
| Senator for Justice and Consumer Protection of Berlin | |
| In office 12 January 2012 – 8 December 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Mario Czaja |
| Succeeded by | Dirk Behrendt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1964-07-16)16 July 1964 (age 60) Dortmund,West Germany |
| Political party | Christian Democratic Union |
Thomas Heilmann (born 16 July 1964) is a German politician of theChristian Democratic Union (CDU). Born inDortmund,North Rhine-Westphalia, he has served as a member of theBundestag from the state ofBerlin since 2017.
From 2001 until 2008, Heilmann was a partner and CEO ofScholz & Friends. In 2001, he was nominated to join the supervisory board ofAxel Springer SE; however, he was replaced by Axel Sven Springer before the vote.[1]
At the request ofFederal Minister of Labour and Social AffairsUrsula von der Leyen, Heilmann negotiated a high-profile agreement between investorNicolas Berggruen and other shareholders on the sale of embattled department house chainKarstadt in 2010.[2]
From 2011 until 2012, Heilmann briefly served as chair of the board atSave the Children Germany.[3]
From 2012 until 2016, Heilmann served asState Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection in thecoalition governments of successiveGoverning Mayors of BerlinKlaus Wowereit (2012–2014) andMichael Müller (2014–2016).
In 2012, Heilmann – together fellow state ministersMario Czaja andFrank Henkel – unsuccessfully advocated for a reduction in the penalty-freepersonal use of cannabis from 15 to six grams.[4]
In the negotiations to form aGrand Coalition ofChancellorAngela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU together with the BavarianCSU) and theSocial Democrats (SPD) following the2013 German elections, Heilmann was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on digital policy, led byDorothee Bär andBrigitte Zypries.
In the2016 state elections, Heilmann unsuccessfully ran for a seat in theState Parliament.
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Heilmann became a member of the Bundestag in the2017 German federal election, representing Berlin'sSteglitz-Zehlendorf district.[5] In parliament, he has served on the Committee on Labour and Social Affairs (2018–2021), the Committee on the Digital Agenda (2018–2021)[6][7] and the Committee on Economic Affairs and Climate Action (since 2021). In his first term, he was his parliamentary group'srapporteur onblockchain.[8]
Within the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Heilmann has been leading the group of CDU parliamentarians from Berlin since 2021.
In the negotiations to form acoalition government between the CDU and theSocial Democratic Party (SPD) under the leadership ofKai Wegner following Berlin's2023 state elections, Heilmann was part of his party's delegation to the working group on mobility, climate action and environmental protection.[9]
In July 2023, Heilmann made news headlines when theFederal Constitutional Court issued an injunction blocking parliament from considering a plan submitted by the government ofChancellorOlaf Scholz to encourage home owners to replace fossil fuel heating systems with cleaner alternatives. This way, the court ruled in favor of Heilmann’s emergency petition in which he had argued that his rights as a lawmaker would be violated by it being pushed through without an opportunity for more detailed consideration.[10][11]
Ahead of the Christian Democrats'leadership election in 2018, Heilmann publicly endorsedAnnegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to succeedAngela Merkel as the party's chair.[25]
In January 2025, Heilmann was one of 12 CDU lawmakers who opted not to back a draft law on tightening immigration policy sponsored by their own leaderFriedrich Merz, who had pushed for the law despite warnings from party colleagues that he risked being tarnished with the charge of voting alongside the far-rightAlternative for Germany.[26][27]
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