Leader of the Free Democratic Party (Germany)

The Leader of the Free Democratic Party (German: Vorsitzender der Freien Demokratischen Partei) is the most senior and leading political figure within the Free Democratic Party (FDP), a centre-right and liberal political party in Germany with parliamentary representation. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) is, historically, also one of the most significant political parties in Germany. Since 6 December 2013, the office has been held by Christian Lindner, who succeeded Philipp Rösler.^[1]

Leader of the Free Democratic Party
Vorsitzender der Freien Demokratischen Partei
Incumbent Christian Lindner since 7 December 2013
Member of	Federal Executive Presidium
Formation	12 December 1948
First holder	Theodor Heuss
Website	Christian Lindner's official website

The Leader of the Free Democratic Party is supported by a General Secretary who, since 19 September 2020, has been Volker Wissing.

List

Leaders of the Free Democratic Party

Portrait		Name (Born–Died)	Term of office			State	Chancellor
			Took office	Left office	Days
1		Theodor Heuss (1884–1963)	12 December 1948	12 September 1949	274 days	Baden-Württemberg	None Konrad Adenauer
2		Franz Blücher (1896–1959)	12 September 1949	6 March 1954	4 years, 175 days	North Rhine-Westphalia	Konrad Adenauer
3		Thomas Dehler (1897–1967)	6 March 1954	26 January 1957	2 years, 326 days	Bavaria	Konrad Adenauer
4		Reinhold Maier (1889–1971)	26 January 1957	28 January 1960	3 years, 2 days	Baden-Württemberg	Konrad Adenauer
5		Erich Mende (1916–1998)	28 January 1960	30 January 1968	8 years, 2 days	North Rhine-Westphalia	Konrad Adenauer Ludwig Erhard Kurt Georg Kiesinger
6		Walter Scheel (1919–2016)	30 January 1968	1 October 1974	6 years, 244 days	North Rhine-Westphalia	Kurt Georg Kiesinger Willy Brandt Helmut Schmidt
7		Hans-Dietrich Genscher (1927–2016)	1 October 1974	23 February 1985	10 years, 145 days	North Rhine-Westphalia	Helmut Schmidt Helmut Kohl
8		Martin Bangemann (1934–2022)	23 February 1985	8 October 1988	3 years, 228 days	Baden-Württemberg	Helmut Kohl
9		Otto Graf Lambsdorff (1926–2009)	8 October 1988	11 June 1993	4 years, 246 days	North Rhine-Westphalia	Helmut Kohl
10		Klaus Kinkel (1936–2019)	11 June 1993	10 June 1995	1 year, 364 days	Baden-Württemberg	Helmut Kohl
11		Wolfgang Gerhardt (1943–2024)	10 June 1995	4 May 2001	5 years, 328 days	Hesse	Helmut Kohl Gerhard Schröder
12		Guido Westerwelle (1961–2016)	4 May 2001	13 May 2011	10 years, 9 days	North Rhine-Westphalia	Gerhard Schröder Angela Merkel
13		Philipp Rösler (born 1973)	13 May 2011	7 December 2013	2 years, 208 days	Lower Saxony	Angela Merkel
14		Christian Lindner (born 1979)	7 December 2013	Incumbent	10 years, 350 days	North Rhine-Westphalia	Angela Merkel Olaf Scholz

References

1. "Parteitag: Christian Lindner führt die FDP in die Apo". WELT. Retrieved 18 March 2022.