Markus Blume (born 14 February 1975) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) who has been serving as State Minister for Science and Arts in the cabinet of Minister President Markus Söder since 2022.Hannes Hintermeier (23 February 2022), Kabinettsumbildung: Warum Söder jetzt Blume ins Rennen schickt Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. From 2018 to 2022 he served as Secretary General of the CSU.Der Anti-Wadlbeißer, Der Spiegel, 7 March 2018
Early life and career Blume was born in Munich. He graduated in political science from the Munich School of Public Policy (HfP) in 1998. In 2002, he founded consulting firm Content5 in Munich. He worked as spokesperson and strategic adviser of Viktor Vekselberg's Zurich-based investment holding Renova Management AG from 2005 until 2008.
Political career Early beginnings Blume joined the CSU in 1995. From 1997 to 2001, he served as chairman of the Association of Christian Democratic Students (RCDS) in Bavaria and was an ex-officio member of the CSU leadership under chairman Edmund Stoiber.
Career in state politics Blume has been a representative of Stimmkreis München-Ramersdorf in the State Parliament of Bavaria since the 2008 elections.Official site In parliament, he is a member of the Committee on Economic and Media Affairs, Infrastructure, Building and Transport, Energy and Technology, and of the Committee on Health and Care. Since 2011, he has been serving as chairman of the CSU Business Council.
In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the SPD following the 2013 German elections, he was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on digital policy, led by Dorothee Bär and Brigitte Zypries.
Between 2015 and 2017, Blume was in charge of re-drafting the CSU party's new manifesto. From 2017, he served as Deputy Secretary General under the leadership of party chairman Horst Seehofer and Secretary General Andreas Scheuer.Wolfgang Wittl (15 January 2017), CSU beruft zweiten Generalsekretär Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Blume was a CSU delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2017.Mitglieder bzw. Ersatzmitglieder der 16. Bundesversammlung Landtag of Bavaria, press release of 22 November 2016. In the negotiations to form another coalition government under the leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel following the 2017 federal elections, he was part of the working group on cultural affairs and media, led by Monika Grütters, Dorothee Bär and Michael Roth.
In 2019, Blume co-chaired the CSU's convention in Munich, alongside Florian Hahn and Thomas Silberhorn.Wolfgang Wittl (30 October 2019), CSU: Ein missratener Parteitag Süddeutsche Zeitung.
State Minister for Science and Arts, 2022–present In 2022, Blume was appointed as State Minister for Science and Arts. In his capacity as minister, he has been chairing the Joint Science Conference (GWK) since 2023, a body which deals with all questions of research funding, science and research policy strategies and the science system that jointly affect Germany's federal government and its 16 federal states.
In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition under the leadership of Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) following the 2025 German elections, Blume was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on education, research and innovation policy, led by Karin Prien, Katrin Staffler and Oliver Kaczmarek.Koalitionsverhandlungen von Union und SPD: Mehr als 50 Verhandler aus Bayern Süddeutsche Zeitung, 12 March 2025.
Other activities Corporate boards RTL Group, Member of the Advisory Board Committee (since 2015) KWA Kuratorium Wohnen im Alter, Member of the Supervisory BoardSupervisory Board KWA Kuratorium Wohnen im Alter.
Non-profit organizations Cultural Foundation of the German States (KdL), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2022)Board of Trustees Cultural Foundation of the German States (KdL). Rechts der Isar Hospital, Ex-Officio Chair of the Supervisory Board (since 2022)Supervisory Board Rechts der Isar Hospital. University Hospital Erlangen, Ex-Officio Chair of the Supervisory Board (since 2022)Supervisory Board University Hospital Erlangen. Leibniz Association, Ex-Officio Member of the Senate (since 2022)Senate Leibniz Association. Deutsches Museum, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2022)Board of TrusteesDeutsches Museum. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, Member of the Synod (since 2015) Bavarian Research Center for Interreligious Discourses (BaFID), Member of the Board of TrusteesBoard of Trustees Bavarian Research Center for Interreligious Discourses (BaFID) Eugen Biser Foundation, Member of the Board of TrusteesBoard of Trustees Eugen Biser Foundation. Munich School of Public Policy (HfP), Member of the Advisory BoardAdvisory Board Munich School of Political Science. Atlantik-Brücke, Member
See also List of Bavarian Christian Social Union politicians
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