German Chancellor Reshuffles Government Members After CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group Leader Resigns

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz/DOK The White House

JAKARTA - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced personnel changes in the German government following the resignation of Jens Spahn, head of the parliamentary group of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) in parliament.

Spahn announced his resignation on July 18 after a scandal emerged within the CDU regarding Spahn and his husband paying a woman for surrogacy services in the United States.

Other members of the CDU/CSU bloc, including Chancellor Friedrich Merz, condemned the move, as surrogate motherhood is illegal in Germany.

"[CSU Chairman] Markus Söder and I quickly reached an agreement to propose the candidacy of [Head of the Federal Chancellery] Thorsten Frei for the position of new leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in parliament," Merz said at a press conference reported by ANTARA from Sputnik, Friday, July 24.

"I propose [German Health Minister] Nina Warken as a replacement for Frei," he added.

In addition to leading the Chancellery, Warkenakan served as Germany's Special Affairs Minister, a position previously held by Frei, the chancellor added.

After Warken moves on to head the Chancellery, the current CDU general secretary, Carsten Linnemann, will become the new health minister, said Merz.

The vote on Frei's nomination as the new parliamentary group leader will take place on July 29, the chancellor added.

Merz also announced the appointment of the current parliamentary secretary of state at the German Ministry of Digital Affairs, Philipp Amthor, as the new state minister for relations between the federal government and the federal states in the Chancellor's office.