Ursula von der Leyen
Germany
Christian Democratic Union
President of the European Commission
government
Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen is a German politician and physician who has served as President of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding positions in Angela Merkel's cabinet, most recently as Federal Minister for Defence. She is a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its affiliated European political party, the European People's Party (EPP). On 7 March 2024, the EPP elected her as its Spitzenkandidat to lead the campaign for the 2024 European Parliament elections. She was re-elected to head the Commission in July 2024.
Standing...
Stories...
Jul 7, 2026
Far Right
EU Commission president announced deployment of four water bombers to help fight French wildfires.
RN criticizes this as EU overreach and a sign of French dependence on Brussels, arguing France should have its own resources.
Jul 7, 2026
Lean Right
EU President announced four water bombers from Cyprus and Sweden to fight fires in southern France.
LR welcomes EU solidarity but questions whether French preparedness under Macron's government was adequate.
Jul 1, 2026
Lean Left
Announced the first €3.9 billion tranche of EU drone aid to Ukraine, part of a larger €6 billion package.
Moderates criticize the militarization of European aid, viewing it as prolonging the Ukraine war while straining Iran's relations with Russia, but accept geopolitical realities.