# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/friedrich-merz
# Generated: 2026-08-31T13:54:57.314Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/friedrich-merz"
name: "Friedrich Merz"
slug: "friedrich-merz"
description: "Germany's current chancellor came back from the wilderness—twice. A corporate lawyer and multimillionaire who lost a decade-long power struggle with Angela Merkel, left politics entirely, then clawed his way to the CDU leadership on the third try and into the top job this May."
tagline: "German politician, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/2025-02-23_Bundestagswahl_%E2%80%93_Wahlabend_CDU_by_Sandro_Halank%E2%80%93070.jpg"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "Germany"
  isoCode: "DE"
category:
  name: "Politicians"
  slug: "politicians"
profileType:
  name: "Politician"
  slug: "politician"
birthDate: "1955-11-11"
livingStatus: "LIVING"
scores:
  popularity:           79.57
  momentum:             11.04242706032779
  historical:           31.448616
  currentAttention:     42.35133456352435
  sourceConfidence:     100
  profileCompleteness:  90
  trendDirection:       "RISING"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  37
  category: 120
totalFollowers: 17000
tags:
  - name: "Politicians"
    slug: "politicians"
  - name: "Politician"
    slug: "politician"
  - name: "Politics"
    slug: "politics"
  - name: "Law"
    slug: "law"
  - name: "Germany"
    slug: "germany"
  - name: "Europe"
    slug: "europe"
  - name: "20th Century"
    slug: "20th-century"
platforms:
  - platform:  "WEBSITE"
    url:       "https://www.friedrich-merz.de/"
  - platform:  "INSTAGRAM"
    url:       "https://www.instagram.com/merzcdu/"
    handle:    "merzcdu"
  - platform:  "TIKTOK"
    url:       "https://www.tiktok.com/@merzcdu"
    handle:    "merzcdu"
  - platform:  "X"
    url:       "https://x.com/_FriedrichMerz"
    handle:    "_FriedrichMerz"
  - platform:  "FACEBOOK"
    url:       "https://www.facebook.com/MerzCDU"
    handle:    "MerzCDU"
  - platform:  "LINKEDIN"
    url:       "https://www.linkedin.com/in/friedrich-merz/"
    handle:    "friedrich-merz"
  - platform:  "IMDB"
    url:       "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1502402/"
    handle:    "nm1502402"
  - platform:  "YOUTUBE"
    url:       "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUIfJOicxiseWjszdN-LGEQ"
    handle:    "@friedrichmerzcdu"
    followers: 17000
sources:
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q566257"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Friedrich%20Merz"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://als.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Friedrich Merz"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://an.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Friedrich Merz"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%B4_%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%AA%D8%B3"
    title: "فريدرش ميرتس"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%B4_%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%AA%D8%B3"
    title: "فريدرش ميرتس"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridrix_Merts"
    title: "Fridrix Merts"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be_x_old.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D1%8B%D0%B4%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%85_%D0%9C%D1%8D%D1%80%D1%86"
    title: "Фрыдрых Мэрц"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D1%8B%D0%B4%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%85_%D0%9C%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%86"
    title: "Фрыдрых Мерц"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%85_%D0%9C%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%86"
    title: "Фридрих Мерц"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%AB%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A1%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%96_%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8E%E0%A6%B8"
    title: "ফ্রিডরিখ মেরৎস"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Friedrich Merz"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Friedrich Merz"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Friedrich Merz"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cv.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%86_%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%85"
    title: "Мерц Фридрих"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Friedrich Merz"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Friedrich Merz"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://dsb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Friedrich Merz"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A6%CF%81%CE%AF%CE%BD%CF%84%CF%81%CE%B9%CF%87_%CE%9C%CE%B5%CF%81%CF%84%CF%82"
    title: "Φρίντριχ Μερτς"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Friedrich Merz"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Friedrich Merz"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Friedrich Merz"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Friedrich Merz"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://he.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%93%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9A_%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%A5"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://pl.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AF%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%B4_%D9%85%DB%8E%D8%B1%D8%AA%D8%B3"
    title: "فریدریش مێرتس"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Born in Brilon on 11 November 1955, Merz joined the Young Union at seventeen and built his early career on anti-communism and pro-business conservatism. He finished law school in 1985, worked as a judge and corporate lawyer, then entered the European Parliament in 1989. A term later he moved to the Bundestag, where he became the CDU's leading financial policy expert and won the parliamentary group chairmanship in 2000—the same year Merkel took the party chair, setting up a rivalry that defined the next phase of his life. After the 2002 election Merkel claimed his post; he stayed on as deputy until December 2004, when he resigned and began a slow exit, leaving parliament in 2009 to practice law at Mayer Brown and sit on corporate boards including BlackRock Germany. He returned in 2018, failed twice to win the CDU leadership, finally won in December 2021, and became opposition leader. In September 2024 the Union named him chancellor candidate; the CDU/CSU won a plurality in the election and formed a coalition with the SPD. On 6 May 2025, after two rounds of voting—a first in German history—he became chancellor. In office he has tightened borders, stressed fiscal d