Political Career

since 1974
Member of the Christian Social Union (CSU)

1981 - 1991
Borough Chair of the Junge Union for Central Franconia

1984 - 1990
Town Council in Obernzenn and District Council in Neustadt an der Aisch-Bad Windsheim

since 1990
Member of the German Bundestag

• Member of the Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development (12th legislative period))
• Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and spokesperson for foreign and security policy of the Bundestag group of CSU parliamentarians (12th – 14th legislative period)
• Chair of the German-Israeli (13th legislative period) and the German-British Parliamentary Friendship Groups (14th/15th legislative period)
• Member of the Defence Committee and spokesperson for defence policy of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag (15th legislative period)

1999 - 2009
District Chair of the CSU Association for Fürth-Stadt

since 2011
Deputy Chair of the CSU

2005 - 2013
Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Defence

2013 bis 2014
Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development

since February 2014
Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture

since October 2017
Acting Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

Education and Professional History

1976
Abitur (higher education entrance qualification) at Steller grammar school in Bad Windsheim, then military service

1977 - 1985
Studied law in Erlangen and Lausanne (CH), first and second State Examination in Law

from 1985
Lawyer, specialist areas: labour law (currently not practising)

Honorary position

since 2006
President of the German Atlantic Society