Karl Lauterbach

Karl Wilhelm Lauterbach (German pronunciation: [kaʁl ˈlaʊ̯tɐˌbax] (listen); born 21 February 1963) is a German scientist, physician, and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). He has been the Federal Minister of Health since 8 December 2021. He is professor of health economics and epidemiology at the University of Cologne. Since the 2005 German federal election, he has been a member of the Bundestag.

Karl Lauterbach MdB
Lauterbach in 2020
Minister of Health
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 December 2021
Chancellor	Olaf Scholz
Preceded by	Jens Spahn
Member of the Bundestag for Leverkusen – Cologne IV
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 October 2005
Preceded by	Ernst Küchler
Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic Party in the Bundestag
In office 22 October 2013 – 24 September 2019
Leader	Frank-Walter Steinmeier Thomas Oppermann Andrea Nahles Rolf Mützenich
Preceded by	Florian Pronold
Succeeded by	Bärbel Bas
Spokesperson for Health of the SPD Group in the Bundestag
In office 27 October 2009 – 22 October 2013
Preceded by	Carola Reimann
Succeeded by	Hilde Mattheis
Personal details
Born	Karl Wilhelm Lauterbach (1963-02-21) 21 February 1963 Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Nationality	German
Political party	CDU (before 2001) SPD (2001–present)
Spouse(s)	Angela Spelsberg ​ ​ (m. 1996; div. 2010)​
Children	5
Alma mater	University of Düsseldorf Harvard University
Profession	Medical doctor
Website	karllauterbach.de

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, he became well known in the country for his appearances on television talk shows as an invited guest expert, along with his frequent use of Twitter to provide commentary about the pandemic.