Thomas Kufen

Thomas Kufen (born 5 August 1973, in Essen) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Life Kufen was a member of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2000 to 2005 and again from 2012 until 21 October 2015. Between 2005 and 2010, he served as Commissioner for Integration in the state government of Minister-President Jürgen Rüttgers. Since 2015 Kufen has been Lord mayor of German city Essen. Kufen has also been part of the CDU leadership in North Rhine-Westphalia under party chairman Armin Laschet since 2014. Following the 2017 state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Kufen was part of Laschet's team in the negotiations with the Free Democrats (FDP) on a coalition agreement. He served in the working group on municipal policy.