Friedrich Merz

Friedrich Merz (born 11 November 1955) is a German lawyer and politician. He is the Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2022. He was a Member of the European Parliament 1989 to 1994, a member of the Bundestag from 1994 to 2009, and as the chairman of CDU/CSU parliamentary group from 2000 to 2002. 
In 2018 he announced his candidacy in the CDU leadership election in December 2018. He lost the election to Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. In February 2020, he announced his second candidacy for the party's 2021 leadership election. He lost the race on 16 January 2021 after losing to Armin Laschet in the second round.
In March 2020, Merz was tested positive for COVID-19 during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
On 15 November 2021, Merz announced his candidacy in the second 2021 CDU leadership election to replace Armin Laschet. He ran against Norbert Röttgen and Helge Braun. On 17 December 2021, he was elected leader in a landslide victory.