Marco Wanderwitz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parliamentary State Secretary forthe New States | |
| In office 8 February 2020 – 8 December 2021 | |
| Minister | Peter Altmaier |
| Preceded by | Christian Hirte |
| Succeeded by | Carsten Schneider (as Minister of State for East Germany and Equivalent Living Conditions) |
| Parliamentary State Secretary forBuilding, Housing and Urban Development | |
| In office 14 March 2018 – 8 February 2020 | |
| Minister | Horst Seehofer |
| Preceded by | Günter Krings |
| Succeeded by | Volkmar Vogel |
| Member of theBundestag forSaxony | |
| In office 17 October 2002 – 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Constituency | Chemnitzer Umland – Erzgebirgskreis II (Chemnitzer Land – Stollberg; 2002–2009) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1975-10-10)10 October 1975 (age 50) |
| Political party | CDU |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Marco Wanderwitz (born 10 October 1975)[1] is a German lawyer and politician of theChristian Democratic Union (CDU). From 2018 until 2021, he served asParliamentary State Secretary in thegovernment ofChancellorAngela Merkel.
After graduating from in 1994 Wanderwitz did his military service. As of 1995, he studied of law at the Technical University ofDresden passed his firstStaatsexamen in this discipline at the University of Potsdam in 2000. Subsequent to his internship in 2002, he passed the second state examination and has been a registered lawyer inLeipzig as of 2003.
Wanderwitz joined theJunge Union in 1990 and the CDU party in 1998. He is a Chairman of the CDU district department in Zwickau and he belongs to the board of the protestant working group in Chemnitz and Chemnitz district. He is a member of the local political association of Chemnitz-Mittweida-Zwickau.
Since 2004 Wanderwitz has been a part of the City Council of the major district townHohenstein-Ernstthal.
From the2002 elections, Wanderwitz was a member of the GermanBundestag, representing theChemnitzer Umland – Erzgebirgskreis II district. Following his term as vice chairman of the Young Group within theCDU/CSU parliamentary group from 2002 until 2005, he later served as the group's chairman from 2005 until 2014.
Wanderwitz always entered the German Bundestag as directly elected deputy. In the2005 elections he reached 37.5 percent of primary votes. He was also a candidate from CDU party for the federal electoral district of Chemnitz Umland/Erzgebirge District II in 2009, when he reached 41.2% of the primary vote in the general election of the 2009.
In 2006, Wanderwitz joinedFriedrich Merz and eight other parliamentarians who filed a complaint at theFederal Constitutional Court against the disclosure of additional sources of income; the complaint was ultimately unsuccessful.[2]
In the negotiations to form acoalition government of the Christian Democrats (CDU together with the BavarianCSU) and theFDP following the2009 federal elections, Wanderwitz was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on social affairs and labor policy, led byRonald Pofalla andDirk Niebel.[3]
In the negotiations to form aGrand Coalition of the Christian Democrats and the SPD following the2013 federal elections, Wanderwitz was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on cultural and media affairs, led byMichael Kretschmer andKlaus Wowereit. From January 2014 he served as chairman of theCDU/CSU working group for culture and media and thereby a speaker of cultural and media policy of this group.[4] He was also a full member of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Consumer Protection.
Ahead of the2021 elections, Wanderwitz was elected to lead the CDU's campaign in Saxony.[5]
After leaving government following the2021 elections, Wanderwitz joined the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Media again.
In November 2024, Wanderwitz announced that he would not stand in the2025 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.[6] He said he no longer wanted to run for the Bundestag given the increasing “hatred and agitation”.[7]
In thefourth government underChancellorAngela Merkel, Wanderwitz served as Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior under the leadership of MinisterHorst Seehofer from 2018 until 2020. Following the dismissal ofChristian Hirte in 2020, he moved to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy under the leadership of ministerPeter Altmaier.
In context of theEuropean debt crisis, Wanderwitz emphasized in the interview “Give away your islands” thatGreece could privatize islands if the country cannot meet its obligations.[11] In the summer of 2010 he suggested that citizens with unhealthy nutrition should be involved more in the financing of health insurance because this way they would consciously be aware of the cost of funds.[12] In February 2012 he called for higher social security contributions from childless citizens to allow relief for families with children.[13]
In June 2017, Wanderwitz voted against Germany’s introduction ofsame-sex marriage.[14]
Ahead of the Christian Democrats’leadership election in 2018, Wanderwitz publicly endorsedAnnegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to succeed Angela Merkel as the party’s chair.[15] In 2019, Wanderwitz joined 14 members of his parliamentary group who, in an open letter, called for the party to rally around Merkel and Kramp-Karrenbauer amid criticism voiced by conservativesFriedrich Merz andRoland Koch.[16]
In 2020, Wanderwitz expressed support forMarkus Söder as the Christian Democrats' candidate to succeedChancellorAngela Merkel in the2021 national elections.[17][18]
Together withCarmen Wegge,Till Steffen andMartina Renner, Wanderwitz was one of the initiators of a 2024 cross-party initiative to request that theFederal Constitutional Court issue a ban of the far-rightAlternative for Germany party.[19]
In January 2025, Wanderwitz 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 Alternative for Germany.[20][21]
OnNew Year's Eve in 2021, Wanderwitz’s offices inZwönitz were vandalized.[22]
Wanderwitz is married and has three children.[1] Since 2018, he has been in a relationship withYvonne Magwas.[23]
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| People | |
