Gerald Ullrich (born 23 December 23 1962 in

Schmalkalden Schmalkalden () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwest of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. , the town had a popul ...

) is a German electronics engineer and politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) who served as a member of the

German Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the lower house of the German federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic Law for ...

from 2017 to 2025.

Early life and career

Ullrich obtained an intermediate school-leaving certificate at a polytechnic school in 1979. Then he trained as an electrician for three years, before he studied at Hermsdorf Technical College for Electrical Engineering and Ceramics from 1983 to 1986. After he completed the 18 months of

compulsory military service Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

in the

National People's Army The National People's Army (, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (DDR) from 1956 until 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) and the (Bord ...

of the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

he worked for one year as an engineer and from 1989 to 1990 as a project manager of a large-scale project. Shortly after the

Peaceful Revolution The Peaceful Revolution () – also, in German called ' (, "the turning point") – was one of the peaceful revolutions of 1989 at the peak of the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s. A process of sociopolitical change that led to, am ...

he founded a family-run plastics processing company, which he managed until 2017.

Political career

In 2014 Ullrich joined the FDP. He is member of the executive committee of the FDP in Thuringia since 2014 and its deputy chairman since 2016. He is also chairman of the FDP Schmalkalden-Meiningen county branch since 2015 and Chairman of the Thuringia branch of the Liberal Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses since 2016.

Member of the Bundestag, 2017–2025

Ullrich became a member of the German

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

in the 2017 federal elections, representing the constituency Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen – Sonneberg alongside

Frank Ullrich Frank Ullrich (, ; born 24 January 1958) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, SPD and former biathlete and athletic trainer, trainer of the German national team. Since 2021 German federal election, 2021, he has bee ...

. He served on the Committee on European Affairs, the Committee on Petitions and as substitute member on the Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy. On the Committee on European Affairs, he was his parliamentary group's

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...

on climate protection and served since November 2019 also as coordinator of his parliamentary group. In addition to his committee assignments, Ullrich served as deputy chairman of the German-Portuguese-Spanish Parliamentary Friendship Group.

other activities

Ullrich is founder chairman of the Floh-Seligenthal business association.

Personal life

Ullrich is Protestant, married, has two sons and lives in

Floh-Seligenthal Floh-Seligenthal is a municipality in the district Schmalkalden-Meiningen, in Thuringia, Germany. Notable people Born in Floh-Seligenthal * Johann Michael Bach III, (1745 - 1820) German composer, lawyer and music theorist * Carola Anding, (* 196 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ullrich, Gerald Members of the Bundestag for Thuringia Living people 1962 births 20th-century German engineers German electrical engineers 21st-century German engineers Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Members of the Bundestag for the Free Democratic Party (Germany) People from Schmalkalden Engineers from Thuringia