A German Turk has been appointed spokesperson for Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Germany and the Christian Social Union (CSU) in Bavaria, known as Union for short.
Bülend Ürük will serve as the spokesperson for Germany’s two centre-right Christian-democratic and pro-European political parties, and also head their communications team.
Ürük is currently CDU Secretary General Paul Ziemiak’s spokesperson, and will commence his new role from 1 July, according to news reports.
Details of the appointment emerged in a letter to Union MPs in the German Bundestag from Parliamentary Union Chairman Ralph Brinkhaus. The letter thanked Ziemiak for consenting to Ürük’s promotion.
A journalist by profession, 42-year-old Ürük was formerly the editor-in-chief of online publication kress.de.
His appointment to the Union’s plumb communications job marks a spectacular rise for a person lacking the classic background in party politics.
Ürük first entered CDU’s Konrad-Adenauer-Haus headquarters in May 2019. Originating from Turkey, Ürük becomes the first Union spokesperson to be of foreign extraction.
Before taking up a position in the CDU, he had lived and worked in Istanbul before returning to Berlin.
