Andreas Glück elected as the new FDP state chairman in Baden-Württemberg

The European Parliament member Andreas Glück is supposed to lead the FDP out of the deep crisis in the southwest. The 51-year-old was elected as the new chairman at the state Liberal party conference in Balingen ( Zollernalbkreis ) with 89.12 percent of the vote. He succeeds Hans-Ulrich Rülke, who announced his resignation after the defeat in the state elections in March.

“We are not the party of the rich”

In his speech on stage, Glück highlighted freedom with responsibility, peace and prosperity. We have to counteract the party's bad image. “We are not the party of the rich,” said Glück. Respect goes to those who have become successful with an idea, said Glück. But the heart belongs to those who still want to make it or maybe want to make it again.

Glück had previously narrowly prevailed against his opponent Sean Braun von Stumm from Karlsruhe in a member survey conducted by the regional association for the state chairmanship. The result of this survey was not legally binding, but it was certainly political.

Glück is the last full-time parliamentarian that the FDP still has in Baden-Württemberg after leaving the Bundestag and state parliament. He has been established in the party for many years and had the support of the Stuttgart, southern Baden and northern Black Forest district associations.

doctor and politician

Glück comes from Münsingen in the Reutlingen district, is a father of two and a surgeon. Before his time in the European Parliament, he was a member of the state parliament until 2019. In the European Parliament, Glück is a member of the Committee on Public Health, the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety.

The FDP experienced a historic electoral debacle in the state elections in March. The Southwest Liberals were thrown out of the Stuttgart state parliament for the first time in their history with 4.4 percent (2021: 10.5) of the vote. Top candidate Hans-Ulrich Rülke then announced his resignation from the state chairmanship.