team. Other activities Corporate boards Vivantes Hospital Group, Ex-Officio Member of the supervisory board (2011–2016) Non-profit organizations German Red Cross (DRK) – Berlin Chapter, President German Heart Center, Ex-Officio Member of the council (2011–2016) 1. FC Union Berlin, Member Political positions Within the CDU, Czaja is considered an ally of Jens Spahn. When the CDU/CSU entered into a coalition government with the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) on the national level following the 2013 elections, he joined a group of young party members – including Günter Krings, Michael Kretschmer and Spahn – in signing an open letter which called for changes in the CDU's policies and leadership. For the 2021 national elections, he joined Spahn in endorsing Armin Laschet as the Christian Democrats' joint candidate to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel. Also in 2021, Czaja publicly criticized the chairman of the CDU in Berlin, Kai Wegner, as being too right-wing, arguing that he was "closer to Hans-Georg Maaßen than Angela Merkel and Armin Laschet." Controversy In 1997, a court ordered Czaja – who was 21 years old at the time – to pay a fine of 2,000 Deutsche Mark for desertion after he had twice failed to report for duty in the German Armed Forces. The prosecution had originally demanded a suspended sentence of four months. Personal life Czaja has been married to Julia Marx since 2012. They have one daughter. References External links 1975 births Living people People from East Berlin Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians 20th-century German politicians 21st-century German politicians Members of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025