Christian Lindner

Christian Wolfgang Lindner is a German retired politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) who was the Federal Minister of Finance from 2021 until his dismissal in 2024 during a government crisis. Serving from 2013 to 2025, Lindner was the longest-serving party-leader of the FDP and a Member of the Bundestag (MdB) for North Rhine-Westphalia from 2017 to 2025, having previously held a seat from 2009 until 2012. Lindner resigned as party leader and announced his retirement from active politics after the FDP dropped out of parliament as a result of the 2025 federal election. His decision to withdraw from the Scholz cabinet is often considered the main catalyst for the party's inability to enter the Bundestag in the election.