Christian Lindner, the “007 of the FDP”

For the now 39-year-old politician this is a feat, the FAZ Online wrote about him. But who really is Christian Lindner?

He was born on January 7th, 1979 in Wuppertal, where his grandparents run a bakery. He however, calls his Wermelskirchen in Bergisches Land home. There he grew up “in the countryside”, went to school and took his first office as student council at the local high school.

If there was a discussion there was Christian Lindner

He says of himself that he has always been interested in political issues and philosophy. Unsurprisingly, we think today. His teachers, he smiles, found his tendency to want to discuss everything, quite annoying sometimes. But he, Christian Lindner, has always been like that.

Because he wanted to stand on his own two feet as early as possible, “with his own car and his own apartment”, independence followed soon after his graduation in form of self-employment as a small advertising agency. He also founded the Young Liberals with friends in Wermelskirchen. The political program of the FDP spoke to him the most.

Although politics was no more than a hobby for him at the time, he quickly found his voice. At a state party convention in 1998, he called for an opening of the FDP in North Rhine-Westphalia to address the concerns of young people. Many thought that was good, which caused him to spontaneously ran for the provincial board and was promptly elected, he found himself in the political circus faster than expected.

Political scientist and entrepreneur

From 1999 to 2006, while working, he was self-employed with partners for a second time and his political activities, he studied Political Science, Constitutional Law and Philosophy.

In 2000 he was elected, while still being a student, in the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia. Full of enthusiasm, he wanted to make university politics, because he knew the shortcomings only too well from his practical experience. His party, however, had the opinion that he should rather deal with kindergartens at the time as he was the youngest member. Today they probably would have decided differently.

Seeing failure as an opportunity

In 2001, his company went bankrupt and he experienced the vilification that a failure can bring. To his passion children, youth and family, he was a parliamentary activist for more than nine years in child, youth and family politics, now came a second: to give courage to people who had supposedly failed and for them to see failure as a new opportunity to grasp. Something that remains difficult in Germany.His appearance and his talent, pointed and print ready, if necessary being able to speak on practically all topics without manuscript, let him steadily climb up in his political career.

The psychologist Stephan Grünewald interviewed him last year for the “Spiegel” and spoke of a “downright Lindner infatuation.” The FDP man acts as a modern soap hero, even as 007, who can still make a difference..”

Preferably full throttle

Almost 20 years have passed between this interview and his early days in the FDP. Christian Lindner has experienced ups and downs and has always stood up for the values of his party. When talking about politics, finance & economics, globalization and leadership today, he is a man who knows his way around. Both in the political arena and in the “real” world.

Incidentally, he describes his favorite topic besides politics as “everything that can be fueled with gasoline.” Full throttle.

That’s Christian Linder.If you would like to experience the exceptional speaker live, please contact us or send us an email to: christian.lindner@premium-speakers.ch