Helge Braun
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Helge Reinhold Braun (born 18 October 1972) is a German physician and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Between 2018 and 2021, he served as Head of the Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the fourth coalition government of
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
Angela Merkel. He was the Parliamentary Secretary of State for Bureaucracy Reduction and Federal-State Relations at the Chancellery between 2013 and 2018. Braun, who was thought of as a party insider, loyal to moderate Merkel, ran in the December 2021 CDU leadership election, but only came in a distant third.


Early life and education

After passing the ''
Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
'' in 1992 at the Liebigschule in
Giessen Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the Germany, German States of Germany, state () of Hesse, capital of both the Giessen (district), district of Giessen and the Giessen (region), administrative region of Giessen. The population is appro ...
, Braun studied medicine at the Justus-Liebig University in Giessen. From 2001 until 2009, he was a scientific assistant at the Clinic for Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Analgesic Therapy of the University Hospital of Giessen and Marburg. He speaks German and some English.


Political career

From 1989 until 2007 Braun was a member of the Young Union (JU). He was the district leader of the JU Giessen from 1992 till 1997 and from 1998 until 2001 he was the regional leader of the JU Mittelhessen. He has been a member of the Christian Democratic Union since 1990.


Member of Parliament

Braun first served as a member of the Bundestag from October 2002 to September 2005. From 2003 until 2005 he was the deputy leader of the Hessian Members of the Bundestag. He also served on the Committee on Education and Research, the Committee on Environment, Nuclear Safety and Nature Conservation and on the Parliamentary Advisory Board for Sustainable Development. Braun lost his seat in the 2005 federal elections. He was able to re-enter the Bundestag in
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
, winning the constituency of his home town of Gießen with a majority of 59,441 votes or 36.7%. After the election, he was again elected as deputy leader of the Hessian MPs. In the subsequent federal elections of
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
and
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
he was able to defend his seat. In Merkel's
second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
, Braun was Parliamentary Secretary of State for Education and Research, serving alongside Thomas Rachel under successive ministers Annette Schavan (2009–2013) and Johanna Wanka (2013). During his time in office, he notably stepped up Germany's activities on research into
neglected tropical diseases Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of tropical infections that are common in low-income populations in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. They are caused by a variety of pathogens, such as viruses, bacteri ...
. In the negotiations to form a ''
Grand Coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political party, political parties of opposing political spectrum, political ideologies unite in a coalition government. Causes of a grand coali ...
'' of Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the
Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...
following the 2013 federal elections, Braun was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on education and research policy, led by Johanna Wanka and Doris Ahnen. Merkel subsequently appointed him as Parliamentary Secretary of State for Bureaucracy Reduction and Federal-State Relations, serving directly under her in the Federal Chancellery. In that capacity, he was one of the officials co-ordinating Germany's response to the
European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...
in 2015. After the 2017 elections and the successful coalition talks between the CDU/CSU and SPD in February 2018, Braun became the designated Head of the Chancellery and Federal Minister of Special Affairs in the fourth Merkel government. On 14 March 2018, he succeeded Peter Altmaier. For the 2021 elections, Braun was elected to lead the CDU campaign in Hesse. He lost his constituency to the Social Democratic Party but was re-elected on the state list. On November 12, 2021, Braun announced his candidacy for the Christian Democratic Union leadership, joining opponents Norbert Röttgen and
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 ...
in the race to succeed Armin Laschet; the position ultimately went to Merz. Since late 2021, Braun has been chairing the Budget Committee. In this capacity, he also serves as his parliamentary group’s rapporteur on the
annual budget Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...
of the Federal Ministry of Health. In 2022, he also joined the Subcommittee on Global Health. In November 2024, Braun announced that he would not stand in the 2025 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term. In January 2025, Braun was one of 12 CDU lawmakers who opted not to back a draft law on tightening immigration policy sponsored by their own leader
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 ...
, who had pushed for the law despite warnings from party colleagues that he risked being tarnished with the charge of voting alongside the far-right
Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...
.


Life after politics

In November 2024, Braun was appointed as president of the University of Lübeck. As of January 1st 2025, he also serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the private Hertie School in Berlin.


Other activities


Government agencies

* German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ), Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2022)


Non-profit organizations

* Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), Member of the Board (since 2022) * German Network against Neglected Tropical Diseases (DNTDs), Member of the Parliamentary Advisory Board (since 2022) * Loewe Center for Novel Drug Targets against Poverty-Related and Neglected Tropical Infectious Diseases (DRUID), Member of the Advisory Board * Friends of the University of Giessen, Member of the Governing Board * Sepsis-Stiftung, Member of the Board of Trustees * German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Vice Chairman of the council (2018–2021) * Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC),
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres () is the largest scientific organisation in Germany. It is a union of 18 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centers. The official mission of the Association is "solving the g ...
, Member of the Board of Trustees (2009–2013) * German Foundation for Peace Research (DSF), Ex-Officio Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees (2009–2013) * Stiftung Lesen, Member of the Board of Trustees (2009–2013)


Recognition

* 2015: Global Sepsis Award


Personal life

Braun is a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and is married. In April 2023, Braun was one of the 22 guests at the ceremony in which Angela Merkel was decorated with the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit for special achievement by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Schloss Bellevue in Berlin.Kati Degenhardt (17 April 2023)
Merkels emotionaler Dank: "Er hatte Vieles auszuhalten"
''
T-Online t-online.de is a German news portal, owned and published by digital multi-channel media company Ströer. It reaches over 179 million visits per month coming from 29 million unique visitors. The editorial team is located in Berlin. History In ...
''.


References


External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Helge 1972 births Living people People from Giessen Members of the Bundestag for Hesse Federal government ministers of Germany German Roman Catholics Heads of the German Chancellery Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Members of the Bundestag 2013–2017 Members of the Bundestag 2009–2013 Members of the Bundestag 2002–2005 Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany