Thomas Markus Kufen (born 5 August 1973, in Essen) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Life Kufen was a member of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2000 to 2005 and again from 2012 until 21 October 2015. Between 2005 and 2010, he served as Commissioner for Integration in the state government of Minister-President Jürgen Rüttgers.
Since 2015 Kufen has been Lord mayor of German city Essen.Website by Essen: Election results 2015
Kufen has also been part of the CDU leadership in North Rhine-Westphalia under party chairman Armin Laschet since 2014. Following the 2017 state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Kufen was part of Laschet's team in the negotiations with the Free Democrats (FDP) on a coalition agreement. He served in the working group on municipal policy.
On the national level, Kufen was a CDU delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2004 and 2017.
Other activities (selection) Corporate boards NRW.Bank, Member of the Advisory Board (since 2022)2022 Annual Report NRW.Bank. RWE, Member of the Supervisory Board (since 2021)Stefan Schulte (October 25, 2021), Essens OB Kufen wird RWE-Aufsichtsrat, er gibt die Bezüge ab Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. Essen/Mülheim Airport, Ex-Officio Member of the Supervisory BoardMandates of the Lord Mayor City of Essen. Essen Marketing GmbH (EMG), Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory BoardMandates of the Lord Mayor City of Essen. Essener Versorgungs- und Verkehrsgesellschaft, Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory BoardMandates of the Lord Mayor City of Essen. Messe Essen, Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory BoardMandates of the Lord Mayor City of Essen. RAG-Stiftung, Member of the Board of Trustees RWE Power AG, Ex-Officio Member of the Supervisory BoardMandates of the Lord Mayor City of Essen. Sparkasse Essen, Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory BoardMandates of the Lord Mayor City of Essen.
Non-profits Center for Turkish Studies, University of Duisburg-Essen, Member of the Board of TrusteesBoard of Trustees Center for Turkish Studies, University of Duisburg-Essen. European Centre for Creative Economy (ECCE), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of TrusteesMandates of the Lord Mayor City of Essen. Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft (JRF), Member of the Board of TrusteesBoard of Trustees Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft (JRF). Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe (JUH), Member of the Advisory BoardMandates of the Lord Mayor City of Essen. Museum Folkwang, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of TrusteesMandates of the Lord Mayor City of Essen. Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of TrusteesMandates of the Lord Mayor City of Essen.
Political positions Ahead of the Christian Democrats’ leadership election in 2021, Kufen publicly endorsed Armin Laschet to succeed Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as the party’s chair.Wolfgang Kintscher (January 7, 2020), Vier von fünf Essener Delegierten für Laschet als CDU-Chef Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.
Personal life Kufen is since 2015 married with fellow politician David Lüngen.Der Westen.de: Thomas Kufen hat geheiratet (German) In December 2017, he officiated the wedding of Jens Spahn and Daniel Funke at Borbeck Palace in Essen.Kati Degenhardt (23 December 2017), Merkels bester Mann: Jens Spahn hat heimlich geheiratet BILD.
References
External links
Website by Thomas Kufen