Christian Ehler


Jan Christian Ehler is a German politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2004. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union, part of the European People's Party.

Early life and education

Ehler grew up in Munich and graduated from Staatliches Landschulheim Marquartstein in 1984.
1989/1990 Studies in the field of macroeconomics at the American University Washington D.C., research associate for the United States House Committee on Financial Services
During his studies, he completed internships with Otto Graf Lambsdorff and Senator John Heinz.

Early career

Career on state politics

Ehler was first elected into the State Parliament of Brandenburg in the 1999 state elections. A member of the CDU parliamentary group, he served as spokesperson on industry and technology policies. He was a member of the Committee on Economic Affairs and the Committee on European Affairs and Development Policies. In addition, he served as substitute member of the Committee on Budgetary and Financial Affairs.

Member of the European Parliament, 2004–present

Ehler has been a Member of the European Parliament since the 2004 European elections. A member of the European People's Party group, he first served on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs from 2005 until 2009 before joining the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence. He is currently one of the Parliament's rapporteurs on Horizon Europe, the EU research and innovation framework programme.
In addition to his committee assignments, Ehler has served as member of the Parliament's delegations for relations with the countries of South Asia and the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation, India and the United States. He also chairs the European Parliament Intergroup on Creative Industries.

Political memberships