Jens Georg Spahn (born 16 May 1980) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has represented the constituency of Steinfurt I – Borken I in the Bundestag since 2002. From May 2025 until his resignation in July 2026, he served as leader of the joint CDU/CSU (Union) parliamentary group in the 21st Bundestag.Tina Handel (5 May 2025), Neuer Unionsfraktionschef: Kann Spahn auch loyal? Tagesschau.
Spahn served as Federal Minister of Health in Chancellor Angela Merkel's fourth cabinet from 2018 to 2021, overseeing Germany's health policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to that, he was appointed Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance in 2015.
Elected to the Bundestag at the age of 22 in 2002, Spahn was the youngest CDU member of the German parliament at the time.
Early life and career Spahn was born on 16 May 1980 in Ahaus, North Rhine-Westphalia. He grew up as the eldest of three children in the nearby village of Ottenstein.Jens Spahn, Lebenslauf
https://www.jens-spahn.de/profil In 1999, he graduated from the Episcopal Canisius School in Ahaus. In 2001, Spahn completed an apprenticeship as a bank clerk at Westdeutsche Landesbank in Münster and worked in the banking sector until his election to the Bundestag in 2002. He was exempted from compulsory military service.
After becoming a member of the Bundestag, Spahn began studying political science at the University of Hagen in 2003. He earned a bachelor's degree in the field in 2008 and later completed a master's degree in political science in 2017.
Political career Early party positions Spahn joined the Junge Union (JU), the youth organization of the CDU, in 1995 at the age of 15 and became a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in 1997. He has served on the Ahaus City Council since 1999. From 1999 to 2006, he was chairman of the Borken district branch of the Junge Union, and in 2005 he became chairman of the Borken district CDU.
In December 2014, Spahn ran for a seat on the CDU's national executive committee against then-Federal Health Minister Hermann Gröhe in a contest widely viewed as reflecting generational tensions within the party. His candidacy was supported by then-Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble.Stefan Wagstyl (7 December 2014), Political upstart challenges Germany's greying leaders Financial Times. Shortly before the vote at the CDU's annual party conference, Gröhe withdrew his candidacy, and Spahn was subsequently elected to the party leadership body.Stefan Wagstyl (9 December 2014), Merkel eyes relief for German taxpayers Financial Times.
Member of the Bundestag, 1999–present Spahn was first elected to the Bundestag in the 2002 elections, representing the constituency of Steinfurt I – Borken I through a direct mandate. He successfully defended his seat in the 2005 and 2009 elections and has remained a member of parliament since then.
From 2005, Spahn held several key positions in the Bundestag's health policy structures, serving as deputy chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group's health working group and chairing its Health Committee delegation. After the 2009 election, he became the group's health policy spokesman and led its working group on health affairs. He was also a member of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group's Young Group and co-founded a cross-party initiative promoting intergenerational fairness in Germany's Basic Law. Between 2005 and 2014, he held leadership roles in the German–Dutch Parliamentary Friendship Group and represented the CDU/CSU in health policy coalition negotiations after the 2013 federal election.
Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance, 2015–2018 In 2015, Spahn was appointed Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance under Minister Wolfgang Schäuble in Chancellor Angela Merkel's third cabinet. At the ministry, he was responsible for overseeing parts of the annual budget process and represented Germany in negotiations concerning the annual budget of the European Union.Quentin Ariès (15 November 2015), A grim conclusion to EU budget talks Politico Europe.
Federal Minister of Health, 2018–2021 In March 2018, Spahn became Federal Minister of Health in Merkel's fourth cabinet. During his tenure, he played a central role in Germany's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and chaired the meetings of the EPP Health Ministers ahead of sessions of the EU's Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO).Council of the EU and Ministerial meetings European People's Party (EPP). When Germany held the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2020, Spahn chaired EPSCO meetings. In 2019, he travelled to several countries in sub-Saharan Africa to observe efforts to combat Ebola.Guy Chazan (4 November 2019), Hyperactive German minister revels in Merkel succession spotlight Financial Times. In 2020, alongside North Rhine-Westphalia Minister-President Armin Laschet, he was invited by French President Emmanuel Macron to attend the Bastille Day celebrations in Paris in recognition of their assistance to French citizens during the COVID-19 crisis.Maximilian Plück (14 July 2020), Zeremonie in Paris: Macron lädt Laschet und Spahn zum Nationalfeiertag ein Rheinische Post. In 2021, Spahn accompanied Macron during his state visit to South Africa as part of the German delegation.Initiative für Impfstoff-Produktion in Afrika: Spahn reist nach Südafrika RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland, 27 May 2021.
Spahn's tenure as health minister was also marked by several controversies. In October 2020, shortly after warning publicly about private gatherings and social events as major sources of COVID-19 infections, he attended a dinner with CDU donors. Reports later raised questions about whether the event complied with pandemic restrictions and whether Spahn may have been infectious at the time. In March 2021, the so-called "Burda mask affair" became a political controversy after it emerged that the Federal Ministry of Health had purchased half a million medical masks from Burda, a company where Spahn's husband, Daniel Funke, had previously worked as an editor-in-chief and lobbyist.
CDU leadership election Spahn was considered a potential successor to Angela Merkel and entered the CDU leadership race in 2018 after Merkel announced she would step down as party leader. At the CDU leadership convention, he received 157 votes in the first round, finishing behind Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Friedrich Merz, and was eliminated from the contest.
Following Kramp-Karrenbauer's resignation as CDU leader in 2020, Spahn decided not to run for the position and instead supported Armin Laschet. Laschet won the CDU leadership election in January 2021 and was later chosen as the CDU/CSU candidate for chancellor in the 2021 federal election.
Deputy Chair of CDU/CSU Group, 2021–2025 From December 2021, Spahn served as one his parliamentary group's deputy chairs, under the leadership of successive chairs Ralph Brinkhaus (2021–2022) and Friedrich Merz (2022–2025).CDU-Fraktion: Unmut über Ansprüche ehemaliger Minister Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 14 December 2021. In this capacity, he oversaw the group's legislative activities on economic affairs and climate protection.Daniela Vates (13 December 2021), Unionsfraktion: Wenige Frauen auf herausgehobenen Posten RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland. In the negotiations to form a coalition government of the CDU and Green Party under Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrik Wüst following the 2022 state elections, Spahn led his party's delegation in the working group on economic affairs, energy and climate protection; his co-chair from the Green Party was Mona Neubaur.Maximilian Plück (30 May 2022), Koalitionsverhandlungen für Schwarz-Grün: Diese Politiker verhandeln für die CDU Rheinische Post. Following the birth of his son with his husband via surrogacy in the United States, a scandal erupted as both the CDU and Spahn himself have opposed legalizing surrogacy in Germany, leading to him resigning as leader of the CDU in the Bundestag following the scandal.Unions-Fraktionschef Spahn tritt zurück, tagesschau.de, 18 July 2025
Political positions Spahn is generally considered part of the conservative wing of the CDU, and has described himself as “liberal-conservative.” He has faced criticism over accusations that he supports a closer approach between the CDU/CSU and the AfD. In 2025, he argued that the AfD should be treated like any other opposition party in parliamentary procedures and committee work, a position that drew criticism from within and outside the Union. Spahn later rejected claims that he sought cooperation with the AfD, stating that he would not work with the party in its current form.
In June 2026, a data leak revealed that Spahn had participated in several meetings of the Dialog organisation, founded by U.S. entrepreneur Peter Thiel. According to the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Spahn attended events in Ireland (2018), Italy (2019), Portugal (2022), Spain (2023), and Germany (2024). Some of the meetings took place during his time as Parliamentary State Secretary and Federal Health Minister. Spahn said he had no personal contact with Thiel at these events and was unfamiliar with the term “Dialog-Society.” His participation drew criticism from opposition parties and advocacy groups, who questioned his links to libertarian and conservative networks.
Social and human rights issues An economic liberal and openly gay Roman Catholic, Spahn has combined a platform of lower taxes and less red tape with support for same-sex marriage. In 2012, he and twelve other CDU/CSU MPs united in their call for defending tax-law equality for couples registered in a civil union. In a public vote in June 2012, he pushed for such legislation as well as to open marriage to same-sex partners, but the bill was denied by his own party and eventually defeated.Endgültiges Ergebnis der Namentlichen Abstimmung Nr. 3, 187. Sitzung des Deutschen Bundestages am 28 June 2012. By 2013, Spahn and others considered signing on to a "group petition," in which they would publicly side with the opposition on expanding the rights of registered same-sex partnerships to include all the tax benefits given to married heterosexual couples.Same-Sex Marriage Debate: Rogue Conservatives Mull Pro-Gay Petition Der Spiegel, 11 March 2013. As health minister, he introduced a law in 2019 to ban conversion therapy on under-18s, or coercing, deceiving or threatening anyone older into such treatment. Violators can be punished by up to a year in prison, while advertising or offering conversion therapy carry a fine of up to 30,000 euros.Rachel Savage (4 November 2019), German health minister submits law banning conversion therapy Reuters.
During the European migrant crisis, Spahn emerged as a vocal critic of Chancellor Angela Merkel's refugee policy, arguing that their party had "perhaps put too much emphasis on the humanitarian approach".Michelle Martin (20 March 2016), Merkel ally says Germany has changed course in refugee crisis Reuters. In August 2024, Spahn supported a stop of asylum migration at German borders.FAZ.net: War der Täter von Solingen wirklich untergetaucht?, August 2024
Pension policy