Friedrich Merz

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 u…