1. Christian Lindner resigned as party leader and announced his retirement from active politics after the FDP dropped out of parliament as a result of the 2025 federal election.
28 Facts About Christian Lindner
1. 2.
Christian Lindner's father Wolfgang Lindner is a teacher of mathematics and computer science at the Stadtisches Gymnasium in Wermelskirchen.
3.
Christian Lindner has been a member of the executive board of the FDP in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 1998 and became Secretary General in 2004.
4.
At the May 2000 election for the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, the 21-year old Christian Lindner was elected, becoming the youngest MP in the history of the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia.
5.
Christian Lindner was from 2000 initially 'spokesman for Intergenerational Affairs, Family and Integration' and then from 2005 to 2009 was vice chairman of the FDP parliamentary group in the parliament and spokesman for Innovation, Science and Technology.
6.
From 2009 Christian Lindner was a member of the German Bundestag.
7.
From December 2009 until his surprise resignation in December 2011, Christian Lindner was Secretary General of the FDP on federal level, largely under the leadership of party chairman Guido Westerwelle and later under Philipp Rosler when Westerwelle had to resign.
8.
Christian Lindner's resignation was caused by an internal party vote which had been forced by a group centered around the Eurosceptic FDP parliamentarian Frank Schaffler to determine the FDP's future course on questions pertaining to the European Stability Mechanism.
9.
Christian Lindner was later chosen to chair the North Rhine-Westphalian FDP in the 2012 state election of North Rhine-Westphalia, succeeding Daniel Bahr.
10.
At the time, Christian Lindner was widely regarded to support Rehn.
11.
Christian Lindner was a FDP delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2017, where he endorsed the government's candidate Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
12.
Christian Lindner himself did not take a position in the new government because of his aim to lead the FDP back to the Bundestag in September 2017.
13.
In October 2017, Angela Merkel's CDU and Katrin Goring-Eckardt's and Cem Ozdemir's Greens started negotiations with the FDP to form a government, in which Christian Lindner was widely seen as the future Minister of Finance, as the CDU had even nominated the former Minister Wolfgang Schauble as President of the Bundestag to make place for the FDP.
14.
In 2021 Christian Lindner was re-elected federal chairman of the FDP with 93 percent of the vote and at the same time was chosen as the party's top candidate for the federal election.
15.
Christian Lindner was named as Finance Minister, and took office on 8 December 2021.
16.
The GdP warned of fragmented responsibilities and authorities at federal and state levels; rather, Christian Lindner should strengthen the existing Federal Customs Office.
17.
Christian Lindner has been a staunch defender of the constitutionally-enshrined debt brake and seen as reluctant to agree another suspension in 2024.
18.
In July 2024 Christian Lindner argued that Germany would need to halve its aid to Ukraine.
19.
In September 2024, Christian Lindner agreed with an FDP position paper that proposed cuts to the social benefits for asylum seekers, as well as designating some North African countries as "safe" for ease of repatriation.
20.
On 6 November 2024, Christian Lindner's dismissal was proposed by Olaf Scholz, citing loss of trust.
21.
Christian Lindner's removal led to the collapse of the governing coalition, with two other FDP members resigning from their ministries and a third minister leaving the FDP.
22.
Christian Lindner led the FDP in the 2025 German federal election.
23.
Shortly after the announcement of the projected election results, Christian Lindner announced his retirement from politics and resignation as FDP leader.
24.
In 2022, Christian Lindner called for renewed talks over a free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, aiming to revive discussions on the so-called Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
25.
In early 2015, an impassioned response to heckling by Christian Lindner, defending entrepreneurs and startup culture, made it onto newspaper front pages and became one of the most watched political speeches in months.
26.
Shortly after the 2017 elections, Christian Lindner ruled out taking on new debt to manage the balancing act of cutting income taxes and increasing investment on digital infrastructure.
27.
Christian Lindner criticized outgoing Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble for not being tough enough on Greece and not cutting income taxes for middle-class workers.
28.
In 2011, Christian Lindner married journalist Dagmar Rosenfeld; they had started dating in 2009.