Leader of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria
The Leader of the Christian Social Union is the most senior political figure within the Christian Social Union in Bavaria. Since 19 January 2019, the office has been held by Markus Söder; who is the 9th leader of the party.
The Leader of the Christian Social Union is supported by a General Secretary, which since 2018 has been Markus Blume. Furthermore, the leader is supported by five deputy leaders, which currently are Kurt Gribl, Angelika Niebler, Dorothee Bär, Manfred Weber and Melanie Huml.
Leaders of the Christian Social Union (1945–present)
A list of the 8 leaders since 1945| Leader | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Chancellor |
| Josef Müller | 17 December 1945 | 28 May 1949 | Konrad Adenauer | |
| Hans Ehard | 28 May 1949 | 22 January 1955 | Konrad Adenauer | |
| Hanns Seidel | 22 January 1955 | 16 February 1961 | Konrad Adenauer | |
| Franz Josef Strauß | 18 March 1961 | 3 October 1988 | Konrad Adenauer Ludwig Erhard Kurt Georg Kiesinger Willy Brandt Helmut Schmidt Helmut Kohl | |
| Theodor Waigel | 16 November 1988 | 16 January 1999 | Helmut Kohl Gerhard Schröder | |
| Edmund Stoiber | 16 January 1999 | 29 September 2007 | Gerhard Schröder Angela Merkel | |
| Erwin Huber | 29 September 2007 | 25 October 2008 | Angela Merkel | |
| Horst Seehofer | 25 October 2008 | 19 January 2019 | Angela Merkel | |
| Markus Söder | 19 January 2019 | Incumbent | Angela Merkel |