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Christian Lindner, FDP
Image: Annegret Hils/REUTERSImage: Annegret Hils/REUTERS

Christian Lindner

Christian Lindner, the head of Germany's neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) became Federal Finance Minister in December 2021.

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All Content on this topic

A shot of a COVID-19 vaccine with liquid dripping from the tip of the injection

Germany scrambles to buy COVID vaccine doses

Health Minister Lauterbach says the country could face shortages early next year if new doses are not acquired.
HealthDecember 15, 2021
Christian Lindner standing in front of a sign for the German finance ministry

German finance minister announces billions for climate

Christian Lindner has made his debut as finance minister by announcing a €60 billion euro injection in the climate.
PoliticsDecember 10, 2021
Designated German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a news conference after the signing of the coalition agreement with two other parties

Scholz pushes for stronger EU, issues warning to Russia

Germany's Olaf Scholz has sent a strong signal about where his new government's foreign policy priorities lie.
PoliticsDecember 7, 2021
Volker Wissing, Annalena Baerbock, Christian Lindner, Robert Habeck (left to right)

Germany's new government: A new style

Germany's new leaders appear in sneakers and unbuttoned shirts. A change in style that also symbolizes a new attitude.
PoliticsDecember 5, 2021
FDP leader Christian Lindner at a national party conference

Has Germany's kingmaker FDP come out on top in coalition?

The FDP is the smallest of the ruling parties, but has landed key ministries. How will it shape the new government?
PoliticsNovember 30, 2021
A smiling Christian Lindner arriving for coalition talks

Who is FDP chief Christian Lindner?

Christian Lindner may be the leader of the smallest party in coalition talks, but he is the new finance minister.
PoliticsNovember 25, 2021
Deutschland Sonnenaufgang im Nebel

Inside Europe: future worlds

Glimpses of possible futures in the company of European change makers.
PoliticsNovember 11, 202154:59 min
Robert Habeck and Christian Lindner

Germany's Finance Ministry has become a battleground

With three-way coalition talks for Germany's next government underway, the role of finance minister is in high demand.
PoliticsOctober 24, 2021
Free Democratic Party leader Christian Lindner talking at a party meeting earlier in the month

Germany's Free Democrats vote to join formal coalition talks

The neoliberal FDP has agreed to start formal coalition talks with the center-left SPD and the Greens.
PoliticsOctober 18, 2021
German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz arrives for coalition talks in Berlin

SPD, Greens and FDP resume German coalition talks

Two weeks after a close election, the SPD have met with the Greens and the FDP in an effort to form a new government.
PoliticsOctober 11, 2021
A traffic light above the Reichstag

Germany: 3-way exploratory coalition talks begin

While the SPD is hopeful, there are still major hurdles to overcome before Angela Merkel's successor can be crowned.
PoliticsOctober 7, 2021
FDP party chairman Volker Wissing, Greens co-leader Annalena Baerbock, FDP chief Christian Lindner and Greens co-leader Robert Habeck

Greens and FDP meet for preliminary two-way talks

The Greens and Free Democrats held their first meeting on the long road to a new German coalition government.
PoliticsSeptember 29, 2021
Annalena Baerbock and Christian Lindner

Can the Greens and neoliberal FDP coexist in a coalition?

Both the Greens and the pro-free market FDP are likely to join a three-party coalition. Can they govern together?
PoliticsSeptember 27, 2021
Christian Lindner on stage at May's party conference

FDP: The return of the kingmaker

Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP) plays a pivotal role again.
PoliticsSeptember 27, 2021
Christian Lindner in DW's Berlin studio, 02.09.2021.

Exclusive: German FDP says Afghans need nearby refuge

FPD lead candidate Christian Lindner told DW Afghans should not take the "long and dangerous journey to Europe."
PoliticsSeptember 2, 2021
Plakataktionen von Klaus Staeck - Greenpeace 1990

Election posters: Underrated eye-catchers

Eyecatching election posters have enjoyed a heady history, and seem set to stay.
HistoryAugust 11, 2021
Eight top representatives for the campaign of six major parties

German election 2021: Meet the parties' top candidates

Who are the candidates from Germany's six biggest parties vying to replace Angela Merkel?
PoliticsMay 25, 20216 images
Linda Teuteberg (L), the liberal FDP's new secretary, predecessor Nicola Beer and Lindner (R)

Germany's FDP rejects women's quota

Germany's opposition FDP liberals have elected a new general secretary, while rejecting women's quotas for party posts.
PoliticsApril 28, 2019
Christian Lindner, FDP

Christian Lindner reelected as FDP head

Christian Lindner helped FDP return to Germany's lower house of parliament, Bundestag, in the 2017 federal elections.
PoliticsApril 27, 2019
Angela Merkel poses with the coalition agreement during a signing ceremony in Berlin, Germany

Moving forward or stuck in another era?

For Germany's opposition parties, plenty of skepticism remains over the new grand coalition agreement.
PoliticsMarch 12, 2018
FDP leader Chrisitan Lindner

'Coalition killer' vows to prop up Merkel

The FDP's former kingmaker, Christian Lindner, also predicted that a minority government wouldn't last very long.
PoliticsFebruary 16, 2018
Chancellor Merkel casts her ballot in the Bundestag

Germany to expand refugee family reunifications

Beginning August, the scheme will allow 1,000 further migrants to temporarily settle in Germany.
PoliticsFebruary 1, 2018
Sarah Wagenknecht, Christian Lindner, Alice Weidel

Good looks win votes

A Düsseldorf sociologists' study has found that good looks win over voters. Top was the Left's Sahra Wagenknecht.
PoliticsJanuary 10, 2018
Deutschland Christian Lindner in Berlin

German right wing AfD has a new hero: FDP head Lindner

His popularity rates have plummeted - but he has found new friends, which may be a long-term strategy.
PoliticsDecember 13, 2017
Angela Merkel in orange

Merkel prefers fresh elections over minority govt

After speaking with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Merkel said she was ready to lead her party to fresh elections.
PoliticsNovember 20, 2017
Lindner pulls the plug on the coalition

The FDP's Christian Lindner: the coalition killer

Meet the man who torpedoed Angela Merkel's proposed Jamaica coalition and threw Germany's future wide open.
PoliticsNovember 20, 2017
Deutschland Bundestagswahl 2017 Wahlplakate Die Grünen FDP CDU

German coalition talks collapse: the press verdict

Almost unanimous in where to lay blame, Germany's press was divided on what should follow the coalition talks' collapse.
PoliticsNovember 20, 2017
Ines Pohl

Germany's political shock

Ines Pohl
Hardly anyone could have imagined that Germany's coalition talks would collapse. So, where do we go from here?
PoliticsNovember 20, 2017
woman with Jamaica shopping bag

What happens if coalition talks fail?

Germany's Free Democrats say that there's no guarantee of a deal for a new government. But are they just bluffing?
PoliticsNovember 6, 2017
Berlin Jamaika-Koalition

What you need to know about Germany's coalition talks

In forming the next government, what do the CDU-CSU, FDP and Greens have in common and what are the sticking points?
PoliticsOctober 18, 2017
Südafrika Weltwirtschaftsforum in Durban Wofgang Schäuble

Schäuble: popular and vilified

Germany's next likely Bundestag president Wolfgang Schäuble is drawing mixed reactions following far-right gains.
PoliticsSeptember 29, 2017
A person holds up a mobile phone on which the word "liberal" is written

FDP: Liberals or libertarians?

The FDP could become Chancellor Angela Merkel's kingmaker. But is the party liberal - or libertarian? DW explains.
PoliticsSeptember 25, 2017
Joachim and Lindner present the FDP refugee policy

FDP migration proposal outlines new refugee status

If FDP head Christian Lindner has his way, war refugees will have to leave Germany as soon as conflict ends.
PoliticsSeptember 11, 2017
Krimtataren Protest in Kiew Flagge

'We cannot afford to freeze the Crimean conflict'

Crimean Tatar leader Refat Chubarov tells DW that the German FDP head's proposal would be disastrous for his people.
PoliticsSeptember 1, 2017
Deutschland wählt DW Interview mit Christian Lindner

FDP's Lindner criticizes Merkel's asylum policy

Liberal party head Christian Lindner set out the key points of his vision for Germany in an interview with DW.
PoliticsAugust 23, 2017
Deutschland LKW nach dem Anschlag am Breitscheidplatz in Berlin

Probe: No gross misconduct in Amri case

A probe aims to dispel accusations of misconduct over state authorities' handling of Berlin attacker Anis Amri.
TerrorismMarch 27, 2017
Deutschland Christian Lindner Traditionelles Dreikönigstreffen der FDP

The FDP: the Lazarus of German politics?

The Free Democratic Party was once part of every conservative German government - then it dropped out of the Bundestag.
PoliticsJanuary 6, 2017
Guido Westerwelle

A final farewell to Guido Westerwelle

Germany's most senior politicians attended a memorial service for former foreign minister Guido Westerwelle in Berlin.
April 4, 2016
Deutschland FDP Parteitag Rede Lindner

The German Free Democrates have confirmed their Party chief

Germany’s pro-business Free Democrats have overwhelmingly reconfirmed Christian Lindner as party leader in Berlin.
May 16, 2015
Christian Lindner speaks at the FDP conference.

Lindner takes German FDP helm

The pro-business Free Democrat party, or FDP, has chosen a new leader. Christian Lindner will be charged with picking the party back up after its worst ever election result, when it failed to win a place in parliament.
December 7, 2013

Listless liberals

Leaders of the free-market FDP struggle to re-establish their self-esteem during a party meeting.
April 23, 2012
The FDP logo

FDP party meeting

As the new coalition stumbles over tax reform, Germany's liberals must re-evaluate their agenda.
January 6, 2010