Mario Czaja
Mario Czaja | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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President of the German Red Cross Berlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Assumed office 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senator for Health, Care and Equality of Berlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 24 November 2011 – 8 December 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Governing Mayor | Klaus Wowereit Michael Müller | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Katrin Lompscher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Elke Breitenbach (Integration, Labour and Social Issues) Dilek Kalayci (Health, Nursing and Equality) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senator for Justice and Consumer Protection of Berlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 12 December 2011 – 12 January 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Governing Mayor | Klaus Wowereit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Michael Braun | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Thomas Heilmann | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | East Berlin, East Germany (now Germany) | 21 September 1975||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | German | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | CDU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Residence | Marzahn-Hellersdorf, Berlin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alma mater | Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation |
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Website | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mario Czaja (born 21 September 1975) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) who has been serving as a member of the German Bundestag since the 2021 elections. From 2006 until 2021, he was a member of the State Parliament of Berlin.
Early life and career[]
Czaja was born 1975 in East Berlin, the capital of the GDR, and studied business administration.[1] From 1997 until 2000, he worked at insurance company Nürnberger Versicherung.
Political career[]
Career in state politics[]
Czaja entered the CDU in 1993 and became member of the State Parliament of Berlin in the 1999 state elections. He served as his parliamentary group’s spokesperson on health policy from 2009 until 2010.[2]
From 2011 to 2016 Czaja was also member of the Senate of Berlin, the government body of Berlin, with responsibility for health care and social issues. [3][4] At the time, he was the youngest member of the state government led by Governing Mayor Michael Müller.[5] During his time in office, he appointed former state government members Eberhard Diepgen, Heidi Knake-Werner, Ingrid Stahmer and as advisors on the city’s migration policies in 2014.[6]
From 2018 until 2021, Czaja served as his parliamentary group's deputy chair, under the leadership of Burkard Dregger. During that time, he was also a member of the Committee on Education, Youth and Families.[7]
Member of the German Parliament, 2021–present[]
Czaja won the Berlin Marzahn – Hellersdorf district in the 2021 German federal election – a seat held by members of the PDS or The Left since the 1990 German federal election (the first to be held in East Berlin).[8]
Ahead of the Christian Democrats’ leadership election in 2022, Czaja publicly endorsed Friedrich Merz to succeed Laschet as the party’s chair and joined his campaign team.[9]
Other activities[]
Corporate boards[]
- Vivantes Hospital Group, Ex-Officio Member of the Supervisory Board (2011–2016)[10]
Non-profit organizations[]
- German Red Cross (DRK) – Berlin Chapter, President[11]
- German Heart Center, Ex-Officio Member of the Council (2011–2016)
- 1. FC Union Berlin, Member[12]
Political positions[]
Within the CDU, Czaja is considered an ally of Jens Spahn. When the CDU/CSU entered into a coalition government with the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) on the national level following the 2013 elections, he joined a group of young party members – including Günter Krings, Michael Kretschmer and Spahn – in signing an open letter which called for changes in the CDU’s policies and leadership.[13] For the 2021 national elections, he joined Spahn in endorsing Armin Laschet as the Christian Democrats' joint candidate to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel.[14]
Also in 2021, Czaja publicly criticized the chairman of the CDU in Berlin, Kai Wegner, as being too right-wing, arguing that he was “closer to Hans-Georg Maaßen than Angela Merkel and Armin Laschet.”[15]
Controversy[]
In 1997, a court ordered Czaja – who was 21 years old at the time – to pay a fine of 2,000 Deutsche Mark for desertion after he had twice failed to report for duty in the German Armed Forces. The prosecution had originally demanded a suspended sentence of four months.[16]
References[]
- ^ "Richter bestätigt Urteil gegen Mario Czaja: CDU-Politiker muß Geldstrafe bezahlen".
- ^ Julius Betschka and Hannes Heine (16 November 2021), Mario Czaja im Team von Friedrich Merz: Berliner Ex-Senator könnte Generalsekretär der Bundes-CDU werden Der Tagesspiegel.
- ^ "Berlins CDU sucht ihre Zukunft".
- ^ Melissa Eddy and Katarina Johannsen (November 26, 2015), Migrants Arriving in Germany Face a Chaotic Reception in Berlin New York Times.
- ^ Marina Mai (5 February 2013), Der nette Senator von nebenan Die Tageszeitung.
- ^ Thomas Lackmann (24 November 2014), Debatte um Flüchtlinge: Ehemalige Senatsmitglieder bilden Beirat für Zusammenhalt Der Tagesspiegel.
- ^ Mario Czaja State Parliament of Berlin.
- ^ Rebekka Wiese (19 October 2021), Mario Czaja: "Ich möchte die Menschen aus Marzahn vertreten" Die Zeit, 30 July 1997.
- ^ Julius Betschka and Hannes Heine (16 November 2021), Mario Czaja im Team von Friedrich Merz: Berliner Ex-Senator könnte Generalsekretär der Bundes-CDU werden Der Tagesspiegel.
- ^ Senat entsendet Mario Czaja in den Aufsichtsrat der Vivantes GmbH Senate of Berlin, press release of December 6, 2011.
- ^ Caroline Copley (July 5, 2021), Germany worried about COVID-19 vaccination 'no shows' Reuters.
- ^ Mario Czaja State Parliament of Berlin.
- ^ Robin Alexander (8 December 2013), Brandbrief: Das Manifest der jungen CDU gegen die Spitze Welt am Sonntag.
- ^ Julius Betschka and Hannes Heine (16 November 2021), Mario Czaja im Team von Friedrich Merz: Berliner Ex-Senator könnte Generalsekretär der Bundes-CDU werden Der Tagesspiegel.
- ^ Hannes Heine (4 May 2021), Maaßen-Streit erreicht Berliner CDU: Mario Czaja greift Spitzenkandidat Kai Wegner für „riskanten Rechtskurs“ an Der Tagesspiegel.
- ^ Richter bestätigt Urteil gegen Mario Czaja: CDU-Politiker muß Geldstrafe bezahlen Berliner Zeitung, 30 July 1997.
- 1975 births
- Living people
- People from East Berlin
- Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians
- 21st-century German politicians
- Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025
- German politician stubs