Lars Klingbeil
Lars Klingbeil | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Klingbeil in 2025 | |
| Vice Chancellor of Germany | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2025 | |
| Chancellor | Friedrich Merz |
| Preceded by | Robert Habeck |
| Minister of Finance | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2025 | |
| Chancellor | Friedrich Merz |
| Preceded by | Jörg Kukies |
| Leader of the Social Democratic Party | |
| Assumed office 11 December 2021 Serving with Saskia Esken | |
| Deputy | Klara Geywitz Hubertus Heil Thomas Kutschaty Serpil Midyatli Anke Rehlinger |
| General Secretary | Kevin Kühnert Matthias Miersch |
| Preceded by | Norbert Walter-Borjans |
| Leader of the Social Democratic Party in the Bundestag | |
| In office 26 February 2025 – 6 May 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Rolf Mützenich |
| Succeeded by | Matthias Miersch |
| General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party of Germany | |
| In office 8 December 2017 – 11 December 2021 | |
| Leader | Martin Schulz Andrea Nahles Saskia Esken Norbert Walter-Borjans |
| Preceded by | Hubertus Heil |
| Succeeded by | Kevin Kühnert |
| Member of the Bundestag for Lower Saxony | |
| Assumed office 24 October 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Reinhard Grindel |
| Constituency | Rotenburg I – Heidekreis |
| In office 27 October 2009 – 24 October 2017 | |
| Preceded by | multi-member district |
| Succeeded by | multi-member district |
| Constituency | See list |
| In office 24 January 2005 – 18 October 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Jann-Peter Janssen |
| Succeeded by | multi-member district |
| Constituency | See list |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lars Klingbeil 23 February 1978 Soltau, Lower Saxony, West Germany |
| Political party | Social Democratic |
| Spouse |
Lena-Sophie Müller (m. 2019) |
| Alma mater | Leibniz University Hannover (AB, MA) |
Lars Klingbeil ([ˈlaʁs ˈklɪŋbaɪl]; born 23 February 1978) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has served as the vice chancellor of Germany since 6 May 2025. He has served as the SPD's Co-Leader since 2021, together with Saskia Esken.
Previously Klingbeil was the General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party from December 2017 to December 2021.[1] Since 2001 he has been a member of the City Council of Munster and a member of the District Council of Heide. He was a Member of the Bundestag for about nine months in 2005 and has been a member again since the 2009 Federal Election. From 2003 till 2007, Klingbeil was the Deputy Leader of the Jusos, the SPD youth wing. Klingbeil is a member of the Seeheim Circle,[2][failed verification] the more right-leaning faction of the SPD, which shares many similarities with Tony Blair's New Labour.
Early life and education
[edit]The son of a soldier, Klingbeil was born into a working-class family in Soltau.[3] He has a sister.[4]
After graduating from school with his Abitur in Munster and completing his alternative civilian service, in 1999 Klingbeil began studying political science at Leibniz University Hannover, graduating in 2004 with a M.A. degree. From 2001 to 2004 he received a scholarship from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES); in 2001, he completed an internship in the foundation's New York office and witnessed the September 11 attacks.[5][6]
Political career
[edit]Whilst at university, Klingbeil worked in the constituency offices of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Heino Wiese from 2001 until 2003. After finishing his studies he worked as youth education advisor for the Social Democratic Party in North Rhine-Westphalia.[7]
Member of Parliament
[edit]From 24 January 2005 until 18 October 2005 Klingbeil was a Member of the Bundestag following the resignation of Jann-Peter Janssen. During these nine months Klingbeil was a member of the Committee on European Affairs, the Health Committee and a deputy member of the Defence Committee of the Bundestag.
Leaving office after the 2005 national elections, Klingbeil worked as chief of staff to the chairman of the Social Democratic Party in Lower Saxony Garrelt Duin. Furthermore, Klingbeil was a member of the SPD leadership's International Commission from 2004 until 2007, and since 2006 he has been the deputy leader of the SPD in the Soltau-Falingbostel regional council.
Klingbeil stood in the 2009 federal elections in the constituency Rotenburg I – Soltau Fallingbostel, however, he lost with 35.2% of the vote against the CDU's candidate Reinhard Grindel who had won 40.2% of the vote. He did manage to enter the Bundestag as a List MP for Lower Saxony.
Klingbeil has been a member of the Defence Committee since 2009 as well as being a deputy member of the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Media. Since 2013, he has also been leading the Bundestag group of SPD parliamentarians from Lower Saxony, the second largest delegations within the SPD parliamentary group. In addition to his committee assignments, he served as deputy chairman of the German-Russian Parliamentary Friendship Group from 2010 until 2013.
Klingbeil managed to win the constituency of Rotenburg I – Heidekreis in the 2017 elections, winning with 41.2% of vote. He contested the same constituency at the 2021 German federal election.
Secretary General of the SPD
[edit]On 19 October 2017, Social Democratic Party chairman Martin Schulz nominated Klingbeil as secretary general. He was confirmed on 8 December 2017 with 70.62% of the vote at the SPD Party Conference in Berlin, succeeding Hubertus Heil who had announced his resignation after the SPD disastrous loss in the 2017 election. In the negotiations to form a fourth cabinet under Chancellor Angela Merkel following the elections, he was part of the leadership team of his party's delegation. He also led the working group on digital policy, alongside Helge Braun and Dorothee Bär.
Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Finance (2025–present)
[edit]On 30 April 2025, Klingbeil was announced as the next Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Finance in Friedrich Merz's cabinet.[8] He was sworn in on 6 May 2025.
Other activities
[edit]Corporate boards
[edit]- FC Bayern, Member of the Advisory Board (since 2022)[9]
- Deutsche Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft (DDVG), Ex-Officio Member of the supervisory board (since 2017)[10]
- Stadtwerke Munster-Bispingen, Member of the supervisory board (2009–2017)
Regulatory bodies
[edit]- Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway (BNetzA), Alternate Member of the advisory board (2013–2018)
Non-profit organizations
[edit]- Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Member of the Political Advisory Board (since 2018)[11]
- St Barbara Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees[12]
- Liquid Democracy, Member of the Board of Trustees[13]
- 2017 German Computer Games Award, Member of the Jury
- German Association for Defence Technology (DWT), Member of the Presidium (2013–2017)
- Soldiers and Veterans Foundation (SVS), Member of the Board of Trustees (2009–2017)
- German Welfare Society (SoVD), Member
- IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie (IG BCE), Member
- Lions Club, Member
Personal life
[edit]Klingbeil has been married to Lena-Sophie Müller since 2019.[14] In 2024, Müller gave birth to the couple's son.[15] In a 2025 interview, Klingbeil revealed that he had undergone treatment against oral cancer in 2014.[16]
Klingbeil is an avid supporter of FC Bayern soccer team and played in a punk rock band "Sleeping Silence" in his youth.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ "Personen". Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD) (in German). Retrieved 9 February 2018.
- ^ SPD, Seeheimer Kreis in der (2 February 2018). "Start". Seeheimer Kreis (in German). Retrieved 9 February 2018.
- ^ Maria Martinez (30 April 2025), New German finance minister Klingbeil is champion of higher defence spending Reuters.
- ^ Jochen Wegner and Christoph Amend (25 April 2025), Podcast: Alles gesagt? Lars Klingbeil, können Sie Vizekanzler? Die Zeit.
- ^ Jochen Wegner and Christoph Amend (25 April 2025), Podcast: Alles gesagt? Lars Klingbeil, können Sie Vizekanzler? Die Zeit.
- ^ Mona Jaeger (1 May 2025), Künftiger Vizekanzler: Die zwei Facetten des Lars Klingbeil Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
- ^ "Lars Klingbeil". Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD) (in German). Retrieved 9 February 2018.
- ^ "Germany's center-left leader will be finance minister in the Merz government". POLITICO. 30 April 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ Ulrich Möller-Arnsberg (21 March 2022), "Mein Verein": SPD-Chef Klingbeil übernimmt Amt beim FC Bayern Bayerischer Rundfunk.
- ^ Supervisory Board Archived 2 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine Deutsche Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft (DDVG).
- ^ Bernd Westphal wird neuer Beirats-Vorsitzender beim Wirtschaftsforum der SPD Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, press release of 7 June 2018.
- ^ Board of Trustees Archived 24 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine St Barbara Foundation.
- ^ Board of Trustees Liquid Democracy.
- ^ SPD-Generalsekretär Klingbeil heiratet in der Heide Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, 25 August 2019.
- ^ Florian Kain and Nikolaus Harbusch (8 March 2025), SPD-Chef ist Vater geworden: Baby-Glück für Lars Klingbeil Bild.
- ^ Jochen Wegner and Christoph Amend (25 April 2025), Podcast: Alles gesagt? Lars Klingbeil, können Sie Vizekanzler? Die Zeit.
- ^ Maria Martinez (30 April 2025), New German finance minister Klingbeil is champion of higher defence spending Reuters.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1978 births
- Living people
- Chairmen of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
- Members of the Bundestag for Lower Saxony
- People from Heidekreis
- University of Hanover alumni
- 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 Social Democratic Party of Germany
- Members of the Bundestag 2025–2029
- Vice-chancellors of Germany