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David McAllister (politician)
Encyclopedia
David James "Mac" McAllister (born 12 January 1971) is a German politician of the conservative Christian Democratic Union
(CDU). On 1 July 2010 he was elected Minister-President of the state
of Lower Saxony
, succeeding Christian Wulff
, who resigned following his election as President of Germany
. McAllister heads a coalition government with the liberal FDP
, the Cabinet McAllister
.
A lawyer by profession, he has served as the chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in the Landtag of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2010 and was elected chairman of the state party in 2008. Since 2010, he is also a member of the supervisory board
of Volkswagen
.
McAllister was born in West Berlin
on 12 January 1971 to a Scottish
father and a German mother. His father, James Buchanan McAllister, was a British civil servant, originally from Glasgow
(where the family still has relatives), stationed in West Berlin since 1969, where he was attached to the Royal Corps of Signals
. His mother, Mechthild McAllister, is a music teacher. David McAllister was raised bilingual and attended a British primary school in Berlin.
After his parents moved to the small town of Bad Bederkesa in Lower Saxony
in 1982, he went to the Lower Saxon Internatsgymnasium (boarding school) in Bederkesa, where he took his Abitur
in 1989. From 1989 till 1991, McAllister served as a soldier in the Bundeswehr
, in Panzerbataillon 74 in Cuxhaven. From 1991–96 he studied law with a scholarship of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
at the University of Hanover. In 1994, McAllister became local chairman of the CDU youth organisation, Junge Union
, in the Cuxhaven district
.
David McAllister holds both German and British citizenship, although he has stated that he's "more or less completely German. I've lived in Germany all my life. I did all my school in Germany and my military service in Germany." His upbringing in West Berlin, however, he describes as "very British" with "British network, British schools". Holding dual citizenship, he could have relinquished his German citizenship to avoid compulsory military service in Germany (the UK does not have compulsory military service), but opted to serve instead.
McAllister has said that "my upbringing in West Berlin may have had an impact on my resentment towards communists. I became a member of the CDU when I was 17 – it was a birthday present. My parents said, ‘What do you want for your birthday?’ I said I wanted to become a member of the CDU", explaining that his father was a Conservative, although none of his parents were involved in party politics.
council (Kreistag). He served as mayor of his hometown of Bad Bederkesa from 2001 to 2002. From 2002 to 2003, he also was secretary general of the CDU in Lower Saxony. Since 2003, McAllister has served as the leader of the CDU parliamentary party group in the Parliament of Lower Saxony, of which he has been a member since 1998. McAllister succeeded Christian Wulff
as party chairman of the CDU in Lower Saxony in June 2008, winning the election by a record margin. In the United Kingdom, McAllister is a supporter of the Conservative Party
.
In 2005, Chancellor Angela Merkel
offered him the position of Secretary General of the CDU, but McAllister declined, arguing he did not want to rise too far too fast.
as Minister-President of Lower Saxony, if the latter was to be elected President of Germany
on 30 June. After the election of Wulff as President, David McAllister was elected the new Minister-President of Lower Saxony the following day. He was subsequently also appointed to the supervisory board
of Volkswagen
, the largest company of Lower Saxony and of which the state of Lower Saxony is a major stockholder.
McAllister proposed to his wife at Loch Ness
, and married in August 2003, wearing a kilt
. He later explained it was a family tradition. He supports Rangers FC
and Hannover 96
.
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
(CDU). On 1 July 2010 he was elected Minister-President of the state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, succeeding Christian Wulff
Christian Wulff
Christian Wilhelm Walter Wulff is the President of Germany and a politician of the Christian Democratic Union. He was elected President on 2010 and publicly swore the oath of office on . A lawyer by profession, he served as Premier of the state of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2010.-Early life and...
, who resigned following his election as President of Germany
President of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
. McAllister heads a coalition government with the liberal FDP
Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
, the Cabinet McAllister
Cabinet McAllister
The Cabinet McAllister is the current state government of the German state of Lower Saxony. It took office on 1 July 2010.The Cabinet is headed by Prime Minister David McAllister...
.
A lawyer by profession, he has served as the chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in the Landtag of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2010 and was elected chairman of the state party in 2008. Since 2010, he is also a member of the supervisory board
Supervisory board
A supervisory board or supervisory committee, often called board of directors, is a group of individuals chosen by the stockholders of a company to promote their interests through the governance of the company and to hire and supervise the executive directors and CEO.Corporate governance varies...
of Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
.
Biography
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
on 12 January 1971 to a Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
father and a German mother. His father, James Buchanan McAllister, was a British civil servant, originally from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
(where the family still has relatives), stationed in West Berlin since 1969, where he was attached to the Royal Corps of Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army...
. His mother, Mechthild McAllister, is a music teacher. David McAllister was raised bilingual and attended a British primary school in Berlin.
After his parents moved to the small town of Bad Bederkesa in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
in 1982, he went to the Lower Saxon Internatsgymnasium (boarding school) in Bederkesa, where he took his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
in 1989. From 1989 till 1991, McAllister served as a soldier in the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
, in Panzerbataillon 74 in Cuxhaven. From 1991–96 he studied law with a scholarship of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation is a German political party foundation associated with the centre-right Christian Democratic Union . The foundation's headquarters are located in Saint Augustine and Berlin. Globally, the KAS has 78 offices and runs programs in over 100 countries...
at the University of Hanover. In 1994, McAllister became local chairman of the CDU youth organisation, Junge Union
Junge Union
The Junge Union Deutschlands or JU is the jointyouth organisation of the two conservative German political parties CDU and CSU...
, in the Cuxhaven district
Cuxhaven (district)
Cuxhaven is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Stade, Rotenburg, Osterholz and Wesermarsch, the city of Bremerhaven and the North Sea.- History :...
.
David McAllister holds both German and British citizenship, although he has stated that he's "more or less completely German. I've lived in Germany all my life. I did all my school in Germany and my military service in Germany." His upbringing in West Berlin, however, he describes as "very British" with "British network, British schools". Holding dual citizenship, he could have relinquished his German citizenship to avoid compulsory military service in Germany (the UK does not have compulsory military service), but opted to serve instead.
McAllister has said that "my upbringing in West Berlin may have had an impact on my resentment towards communists. I became a member of the CDU when I was 17 – it was a birthday present. My parents said, ‘What do you want for your birthday?’ I said I wanted to become a member of the CDU", explaining that his father was a Conservative, although none of his parents were involved in party politics.
Political career
From 1996 till 2010, McAllister was a member of the Cuxhaven districtCuxhaven (district)
Cuxhaven is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Stade, Rotenburg, Osterholz and Wesermarsch, the city of Bremerhaven and the North Sea.- History :...
council (Kreistag). He served as mayor of his hometown of Bad Bederkesa from 2001 to 2002. From 2002 to 2003, he also was secretary general of the CDU in Lower Saxony. Since 2003, McAllister has served as the leader of the CDU parliamentary party group in the Parliament of Lower Saxony, of which he has been a member since 1998. McAllister succeeded Christian Wulff
Christian Wulff
Christian Wilhelm Walter Wulff is the President of Germany and a politician of the Christian Democratic Union. He was elected President on 2010 and publicly swore the oath of office on . A lawyer by profession, he served as Premier of the state of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2010.-Early life and...
as party chairman of the CDU in Lower Saxony in June 2008, winning the election by a record margin. In the United Kingdom, McAllister is a supporter of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
offered him the position of Secretary General of the CDU, but McAllister declined, arguing he did not want to rise too far too fast.
Minister-President of Lower Saxony
On 4 June 2010, he was designated by his party to succeed Christian WulffChristian Wulff
Christian Wilhelm Walter Wulff is the President of Germany and a politician of the Christian Democratic Union. He was elected President on 2010 and publicly swore the oath of office on . A lawyer by profession, he served as Premier of the state of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2010.-Early life and...
as Minister-President of Lower Saxony, if the latter was to be elected President of Germany
President of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
on 30 June. After the election of Wulff as President, David McAllister was elected the new Minister-President of Lower Saxony the following day. He was subsequently also appointed to the supervisory board
Supervisory board
A supervisory board or supervisory committee, often called board of directors, is a group of individuals chosen by the stockholders of a company to promote their interests through the governance of the company and to hire and supervise the executive directors and CEO.Corporate governance varies...
of Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
, the largest company of Lower Saxony and of which the state of Lower Saxony is a major stockholder.
Personal life
He is married to Dunja McAllister, née Kolleck, who is also a lawyer. They have two daughters named Jamie Elizabeth and Mia Louise. He lives in Bad Bederkesa in the district of Cuxhaven.McAllister proposed to his wife at Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. Its surface is above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie"...
, and married in August 2003, wearing a kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
. He later explained it was a family tradition. He supports Rangers FC
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
and Hannover 96
Hannover 96
Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96, Hannover or simply 96, is a German association football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony.-Foundation to WWII:...
.