Welcome Friends of the CDU/CSU
We are friends of the CDU/CSU in London. Our active network of conservative minded British, German or international expats likes to discuss topics on global and German current affairs to Brexit.
We organise regular meetings and invite German, British or European politicians when they are visiting London. Our club is a great opportunity to connect with the German and European community in London.
Interested in networking or meeting friends of the CDU/CSU in London? Sign up and join us at one of our next meetings in London.
Meet the Executives
Juergen Schuhmacher
Chairman
Juergen has been working in international finance and capital markets in the City of London.
Martin Roeger
Deputy Chairman
Martin works as a researcher for a British university.
Felix Dane
Council Member – Politics
Felix is the Director of a think tank in London.
Stefan Wachsmuth
Council Member – Treasury
Stefan works as a banker in London and he serves as treasurer since 2016.
Felix Strasser
Council Member – IT
Felix works for a big IT company in London.
Matthias Barner
Council Member by Office
Matthias functions as the Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Office UK and Ireland.
History
The Friends of the CDU group was founded in June 1991 by 3 members of the CDU in London Dr Bernd Atenstaedt (Federation of German Industry), Hans Murmann (Metallgesellschaft) and Helmut Wegener (German Embassy) to take an active part in the work of the CDU.
Some 30 senior executives of German manufacturing companies and financial institutions in the UK became members.
They had many meetings, lunches and dinners at their homes and in the Reform Club in London SW1 with German and British politicians over the years.
To mention but a few:
Peter Altmaier MdB Hugh Dykes MP
Patrick Döring MdB Stephen Dorrell MP
Peter Hintze MdB Paul Farrelly MP
Hermann Gröhe MdB Greg Hand
Manfred Grund MdB
Stephan Mayer MdB
Dr Thomas de Maiziere MdB
David McAllister MEP
Günther Öttinger MEP
Katherina Reiche MdB
Christian Schmidt MdB
Dr Norbert Röttgen MdB
Detlef Seif MdB
Arnold Vaatz MdB
Philipp Amthor MdB
Tankred Schipanski MdB
Prof. Dr. Guenther Krings MdB
Detlef Seif MdB
Ralph Brinkhaus MdB
One of the highlights was a meeting organised together with KAS London in June 2003 at the Savoy Hotel in London W1 with Dr Angela Merkel MdB, at the time Chairman of the CDU.
Members also spent many weekends in European capitals; meeting German ambassadors who were members of the CDU, in Madrid, Oslo, Paris, Rome and Vienna. They also visited Berlin and Dresden soon after Reunification and met with the General Secretary of the CDU and the Prime Minister of Saxony Dr Georg Milbradt MdL.
Dr Atenstaedt looked after the Friends of the CDU for more than 20 years having been elected chairman in 1991 and every year afterwards. He was very much supported over the years by Hans Murmann, Manfred Graf von Roon and Roger Wolf. He retired in 2012 and became honorary chairman.
Claudia Crawford (KAS London) previously MdB and Member of the German Government took over from him followed by Jürgen Schuhmacher in 2013 when Claudia was posted to KAS Moscow.
In early 2020 we were honoured to welcome our former Party-Chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as our guest.