Christiane Schenderlein, a member of the Bundestag from Saxony, has been appointed Minister of State for Sport and Volunteering in Friedrich Merz's new cabinet. The CDU politician, who lives in Taucha, is one of the party's two government representatives from eastern Germany together with Katherina Reiche.
The newly created office was initiated by Friedrich Merz as part of the coalition negotiations. Schenderlein will not be a minister with her own portfolio, but will be part of the Federal Chancellery as a high-ranking government representative. The aim of the new state ministry is to significantly enhance the political status of sport, voluntary work and social commitment in Germany.
Originally, Schenderlein was also being discussed as a possible Minister of State for Culture, but this area was surprisingly taken over by publisher Wolfram Weimer, a political scientist and former editor-in-chief of Cicero and Die Welt.
In addition to other CDU representatives such as Katherina Reiche as Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, the cabinet includes a total of twelve ministers and ministers of state from the CDU/CSU ranks, including those responsible for digitalization, health and the foreign ministry.
