Kai Wegner

Kai Wegner (born 15 September 1972) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as Governing Mayor of Berlin since April 2023. He served as a member of the Bundestag, the German federal parliament, from 2005 to 2021. In 2019, he became the chairman of the CDU in Berlin.

Not to be confused with Kai Wagner.

Kai Wegner
MdB
Wegner in 2023
Governing Mayor of Berlin
Assumed office
27 April 2023
DeputyFranziska Giffey
Preceded byFranziska Giffey
Leader of the Christian Democratic Union in Berlin
Assumed office
18 May 2019
Preceded byMonika Grütters
Member of the Bundestag
for Berlin
In office
18 October 2005 – 26 October 2021
Preceded bySwen Schulz
Succeeded bySwen Schulz
Constituency
Personal details
Born (1972-09-15) 15 September 1972
West Berlin, West Germany
Political partyChristian Democratic Union
Children2
Military service
Allegiance Germany
Branch/service Bundeswehr
Years of service1993-1994
Unit Air Force (Luftwaffe)

Early life and education

Wegner was born 1972 in the Western part of Berlin and became an insurance salesman.[1][2]

Political career

Member of the German Parliament, 2005–2021

Wegner joined the CDU already in 1989 and served as vice chair of the party in Berlin from 2000 to 2002.[3]

Wegner was a member of the German Bundestag from the 2005 until 2021, representing Berlin's Spandau district. In parliament, he served on the Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy from 2005 until 2013 before moving to the Committee on Building, Housing, Urban Development and Local Government and the Committee on the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. In this capacity, he was his parliamentary group's spokesperson on building and housing since 2018.

From 2011 until 2016, Wegner served as secretary general of the CDU in Berlin, under the leadership of chairman Frank Henkel. In May 2019 he succeeded Monika Grütters as chair of the CDU in Berlin.[4]

Member of the State Parliament of Berlin, 2021–present

In October 2020, Wegner announced his candidacy for Governing Mayor of Berlin in the 2021 state elections;[5] he eventually lost against Franziska Giffey. He has since been serving as his parliamentary group's chairperson and thereby the leader of the opposition.[6]

Wegner was appointed as CDU delegate to the Federal Conventions for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2022.[7]

Other activities

Political positions

In June 2017, Wegner voted against his parliamentary group's majority and in favor of Germany's introduction of same-sex marriage.[10]

Ahead of the Christian Democrats' leadership election, Wegner first endorsed in 2020 Friedrich Merz and later Jens Spahn to succeed Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as the party's chair.[11][12] For the 2021 national elections, he later endorsed Markus Söder as the Christian Democrats' joint candidate to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel.[13]

Personal life

Wegner lives in Spandau, Berlin.[14] He is Evangelical, divorced, and has two children.

References
  1. "Kai Wegner". CDU/CSU-Fraktion. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  2. "Deutscher Bundestag - Kai Wegner". Deutscher Bundestag. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  3. Fahrun, Joachim (22 March 2019). "Berlins CDU-Vize Kai Wegner bestätigt seine Kandidatur um den Landesvorsitz offiziell". www.morgenpost.de (in German). Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  4. "Deutscher Bundestag – Kai Wegner". Deutscher Bundestag (in German). Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  5. Sam Fleming and Guy Chazan (9 October 2020), Kai Wegner: „Ja, ich will Regierender Bürgermeister werden" Berliner Morgenpost.
  6. Sabine Bieler (30 September 2021), Vier Tage nach der Abgeordnetenhauswahl: Saleh und Wegner als Fraktionschefs in Berlin wiedergewählt Der Tagesspiegel.
  7. Wahl des Bundespräsidenten: Berliner CDU-Fraktion bestimmt Mitglieder für Bundesversammlung Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, 20 December 2021.
  8. Board of Trustees Development and Peace Foundation (SEF).
  9. Council Foundation for the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace.
  10. Diese Unionsabgeordneten stimmten für die Ehe für alle Die Welt, 30 June 2017.
  11. Jan Heidtmann (13 February 2020), Vorsitz der Bundespartei: Berliner CDU-Chef spricht sich für Merz aus Süddeutsche Zeitung.
  12. Hans Monath (25 July 2020), Berliner CDU gibt Empfehlung ab: Spahn und Söder – ein Führungsduo in der Union? Der Tagesspiegel.
  13. Kanzlerkandidatur der Union: Machtkampf auf der Zielgeraden Tagesschau, 19 April 2021.
  14. Christine Richter (18 May 2019), Kai Wegner – das ist der Mann, der Berlin einen will Berliner Morgenpost.
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