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Helge Reinhold Braun (born 18 October 1972) is a German physician and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Between 2018 and 2021, he served as Head of the Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the fourth coalition government of Chancellor Angela Merkel. He was the Parliamentary Secretary of State for Bureaucracy Reduction and Federal-State Relations at the Chancellery between 2013 and 2018.
Braun, who was thought of as a party insider, loyal to moderate Merkel, ran in the December 2021 CDU leadership election, but only came in a distant third.
He has been a member of the Christian Democratic Union since 1990.
Braun lost his seat in the 2005 federal elections. He was able to re-enter the Bundestag in 2009, winning the constituency of his home town of Gießen with a majority of 59,441 votes or 36.7%. After the election, he was again elected as deputy leader of the Hessian MPs. In the subsequent federal elections of 2013 and 2017 he was able to defend his seat.
In Merkel's second coalition government, Braun was Parliamentary Secretary of State for Education and Research, serving alongside Thomas Rachel under successive ministers Annette Schavan (2009–2013) and Johanna Wanka (2013). During his time in office, he notably stepped up Germany's activities on research into neglected tropical diseases.Lina Hoffman (29 December 2011), Germany intensifies fight against neglected diseases Deutsche Welle.
In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition of Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the Social Democrats following the 2013 federal elections, Braun was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on education and research policy, led by Johanna Wanka and Doris Ahnen. Merkel subsequently appointed him as Parliamentary Secretary of State for Bureaucracy Reduction and Federal-State Relations, serving directly under her in the Federal Chancellery. In that capacity, he was one of the officials co-ordinating Germany's response to the European migrant crisis in 2015.Tobias Buck (25 February 2018), Angela Merkel offers critic Jens Spahn cabinet post Financial Times.
After the 2017 elections and the successful coalition talks between the CDU/CSU and SPD in February 2018, Braun became the designated Head of the Chancellery and Federal Minister of Special Affairs in the fourth Merkel government. On 14 March 2018, he succeeded Peter Altmaier.
For the 2021 elections, Braun was elected to lead the CDU campaign in Hesse.Robert Maus (June 12, 2021), Parteitag in Gießen: Helge Braun soll Hessen-CDU zum Sieg führen Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He lost his constituency to the Social Democratic Party but was re-elected on the state list.
On November 12, 2021, Braun announced his candidacy for the Christian Democratic Union leadership, joining opponents Norbert Röttgen and Friedrich Merz in the race to succeed Armin Laschet; the position ultimately went to Merz. Glückwünsche und Spott nach Mitgliederentscheid: Braun verpasst CDU-Vorsitz deutlich - und sagt Merz Unterstützung zu Hessenschau, 17 December 2021.
Since late 2021, Braun has been chairing the Budget Committee. Neuaufstellung der Union: Spahn ist jetzt Stellvertreter des Fraktionsvorsitzenden Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 13 December 2021. In this capacity, he also serves as his parliamentary group’s rapporteur on the annual budget of the Federal Ministry of Health. In 2022, he also joined the Subcommittee on Global Health.
In November 2024, Braun announced that he would not stand in the 2025 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.Mayya Chernobylskaya (4 November 2024), Gießener CDU-Urgestein: Helge Braun kündigt Abschied aus der Politik an Frankfurter Rundschau.
In January 2025, Braun was one of 12 CDU lawmakers who opted not to back a draft law on tightening immigration policy sponsored by their own leader Friedrich Merz, who had pushed for the law despite warnings from party colleagues that he risked being tarnished with the charge of voting alongside the far-right Alternative for Germany.Thomas Escritt and Christian Kraemer (31 January 2025), German parliament rejects migration bill, dealing blow to election frontrunner Reuters.Helen Bielawa, Marcel Pauly and Rina Wilkin (1 February 2025), Zustrombegrenzungsgesetz: So haben die einzelnen Abgeordneten abgestimmt Der Spiegel.
In April 2023, Braun was one of the 22 guests at the ceremony in which Angela Merkel was decorated with the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit for special achievement by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Schloss Bellevue in Berlin.Kati Degenhardt (17 April 2023), Merkels emotionaler Dank: "Er hatte Vieles auszuhalten" T-Online.
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