Boris Rhein (born 2 January 1972) is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as Minister-President of Hesse since 2022. He has been active in the politics of Hesse since the late 1990s. After being elected to the Landtag of Hesse in 1999, he served as the state's Minister for the Interior from 2010 until 2014 and as the Minister for Science and Art from 2014 to 2019. On 31 May 2022, he was elected to succeed Volker Bouffier as the Minister-President of Hesse. He led the CDU to a victory in the 2023 Hessian state election.
Early life and career
Rhein was born on 2 January 1972 in Frankfurt am Main. His father, Peter Rhein, headed a department at a local school.[1] After obtaining his Abitur at Frankfurt's Lessing-Gymnasium, Rhein studied law at Goethe University Frankfurt from 1991 until 1997. From 2001 until 2006, he practiced as a lawyer in his hometown.[2]
Rhein was appointed a Staatssekretär in the Hessian State Ministry of Justice in 2009, but was soon promoted to Staate Minister of the Interior when the CDU-politician Volker Bouffier became the Minister-President of Hesse.[1] His tenure was perceived as conservative by the German media:[3] he endorsed state data retention and a harsher penal code in cases of violence against police officers. In 2014, he was moved to the position of Minister for Science and Art, a position he held until 2019. In the same year, he was elected President of the Hessian Landtag.[1]
Minister-President of Hesse, 2022–present
In 2022, Volker Bouffier, the state's Minister-President and leader of the Hessian CDU, announced that he would vacate his office and designated Rhein as his successor. According to the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, he was chosen over Peter Beuth, the Minister of the Interior, Michael Boddenberg, the Minister of Finance, and Ines Claus [de], the party's leader in the state parliament, because of his standing with Alliance 90/The Greens, the CDU's coalition partner. He was elected to the office of Minister-President on 31 May 2022.[4]
In his capacity as Minister-President, Rhein has been one of Hesse's representatives on the Bundesrat, where he serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Defence Committee.[5]
In the 2023 Hessian state election, Rhein's CDU received 34.6% of the vote, remaining the larges party in the state parliament and increasing its share by 7.6%.[6]
Other activities
Fritz Bauer Institute, Member of the Board (since 2022)[7]
Hessische Kulturstiftung, Chair of the Board of Trustees (since 2022)[8]
Even though Rhein was considered a conservative State Minister of the Interior, he rejected this description of his tenure by saying that the office required a rigid enforcement of the law. Citing sources within the party, Süddeutsche Zeitung writes that Rhein had acquired a more centrist profile in the aftermath of his defeat in the 2012 Frankfurt mayoral election.[3]
Personal life
Rhein is married to Tanja Raab-Rhein, a judge and CDU activist. They have two sons, Oskar and Bruno.[1] He lives in Frankfurt and is a member of the Catholic Church.[2]
