Matthias Zimmer (3 May 1961 – 19 July 2023) was a German author and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as a member of the

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 ...

from the state of

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

from 2009, winning a constituency in Frankfurt am Main for three terms until 2021.

Political career

Zimmer became a member of the Bundestag in the

2009 German federal election The 2009 German federal election was held in Germany on 27 September 2009 to elect the members of the 17th Bundestag. The Christian Democratic Union (Germany), Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Uni ...

. In parliament, he was a member of the Committee on Labour and Social Affairs and the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid, the latter of which he chaired from 2017 until 2018. In addition to his committee assignments, Zimmer co-chaired the German-Canadian Parliamentary Friendship Group. In an internal vote on the CDU candidate for the 2021 elections, Zimmer lost against Axel Kaufmann.

Political positions

In June 2017, Zimmer voted against his parliamentary group's majority and in favor of Germany's introduction of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

. In 2019, Zimmer joined 14 members of his parliamentary group who, in an open letter, called for the party to rally around

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

and party chairwoman

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (; Kramp; born 9 August 1962), sometimes referred to by her initials of AKK, is a retired German politician who served as Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany), Minister of Defence from 2019 to 2021 and as Leader of th ...

amid criticism voiced by conservatives

Friedrich Merz Joachim-Friedrich Martin Josef Merz (; ; born 11November 1955) is a German politician serving as Chancellor of Germany since 6 May 2025. He has also served as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since January 2022, leading the CDU/CSU ...

and Roland Koch.

Death

Matthias Zimmer died on 19 July 2023, at the age of 62.

Selected publications

* Nationales Interesse und Staatsräson. Zur Deutschlandpolitik der Regierung Kohl 1982–1989. Paderborn 1992 * with Udo Margedant: Eigentum und Freiheit. Eigentumstheorien im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert. Idstein 1993 * Ed.: Germany – Phoenix in Trouble? Edmonton 1997 * Ed. with Angelika Sauer: A Chorus of Different Voices. German-Canadian Identities. New York 1998 * Moderne, Staat und Internationale Politik. Wiesbaden 2008 * with Thomas Scheben: Der Hund am Fallschirm. Streifzüge durch die Frankfurter Geschichte. Frankfurt am Main 2009 * Ed. with Michael Thielen: Die Zukunft der Arbeit. Christlich-Soziale Perspektiven. Berlin 2013 * Nachhaltigkeit! Für eine Politik aus christlicher Grundüberzeugung. Freiburg 2015 * Am Rande der Politik. Frankfurt am Main 2016 * Person und Ordnung. Einführung in die Soziale Marktwirtschaft. Freiburg 2020. * Alte Werte in neuer Zeit. Christliche Verantwortung und praktische Politik. Frankfurt am Main 2021 * Morandus. Frankfurt am Main 2021 * Abenteuer Bundestag. Norderstedt 2022 * Der tote Bundestagsabgeordnete. Frankfurt am Main 2022 * Calixt. Frankfurt am Main 2023

References

External links

*
Bundestag biography
1961 births 2023 deaths Members of the Bundestag for Hesse Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Members of the Bundestag 2013–2017 Members of the Bundestag 2009–2013 Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany Academic staff of the University of Cologne People from Marburg {{Germany-CDU-politician-stub