Management

Chairman of the Hanns Seidel Foundation: Prof. Klaus Holetschek, Member of the Bavarian State Parliament

© Thomas Plettenberg/HSS

Klaus Holetschek, born in October 1964 in Landshut, is a trained lawyer. He has maintained a long-standing association with the Hanns Seidel Foundation. From 1993 to 1998, he served as a referent for journalism training and media policy and as Deputy Head of Department of the scholarship programme.

In 1998, Holetschek was elected to the German Bundestag. In 2002, he assumed office as Mayor of the city of Bad Wörishofen. In 2013, he was elected to the Bavarian State Parliament in Munich, where he has since represented the Swabian constituency of Memmingen.

In 2018, Minister-President Dr. Markus Söder appointed him as the first Citizens’ Commissioner of the Bavarian State Government. In 2020, he was appointed State Secretary for Housing, Construction, and Transport. Approximately six months later, he transferred to the Ministry of Health and Care in the same capacity.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Holetschek was appointed Bavarian State Minister for Health and Care, a position he held until 2023. In this role, he contributed significantly to the development of Bavaria’s health policy and advocated improvements in both healthcare and long-term care.

Since October 2023, Klaus Holetschek has served as Chairman of the CSU parliamentary group in the Bavarian State Parliament. In this capacity, he coordinates the group’s political work and defines its policy priorities.

On June 19, 2026, the members of the Hanns Seidel Foundation elected Klaus Holetschek as their new Chairman.

Thomas Plettenberg/HSS

Stefan Ebner was born on June 20, 1980, in Deggendorf, Germany. As a former scholarship holder, he has a longstanding connection to the Hanns Seidel Foundation and remains actively involved in its alumni association.

After completing his military service, he studied economics in Regensburg and Boulder, Colorado (USA), graduating with a degree equivalent to a Master’s in Economics (Diplom-Volkswirt). He subsequently conducted research at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nuremberg and worked as a research associate and lecturer at the University of Passau. Following the completion of his doctoral degree in 2012, he moved into the private sector, joining a start-up within the Maschmeyer Group as a sales and marketing manager, where he later became a board member and Chief Communications Officer.

Ebner has been actively involved in the Young Union (JU) since 1996, serving in various roles including local and district chairman as well as member of the national council. He joined the Christian Social Union (CSU) in 1997. Since 2015, he has been chairman of the CSU district association in Regen and has been a member of the CSU regional association of Lower Bavaria since 2001. In local politics, he has served as a district councillor since 2002 and was a city councillor in Viechtach from 2008 to 2014. In 2023, he was elected directly to the Bavarian State Parliament representing the Regen/Freyung-Grafenau constituency, where he serves on several committees.

Ebner has been and continues to be actively involved in numerous voluntary organizations, including the Reservists’ Association, the Association for the Promotion of the Bavarian Language, an organization for sustainable mobility, Caritas, hunting and traditional costume associations, the Bavarian Forest Association, and the volunteer fire brigade in Viechtach.

On July 29, 2026, Stefan Ebner was appointed Secretary General of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.

HSS

Dr. Josef Widmann, a native of Munich, received his doctorate in law at LMU Munich. He initially served as a judge and public prosecutor in the Bavarian judiciary before joining the CSU parliamentary group in 1999 as the head of the division for constitutional, legal, and parliamentary affairs. Starting in 2004, Dr. Widmann served as the deputy parliamentary director, worked within the parliamentary office from 2010 to 2014, and has been the CSU parliamentary director since 2014.

As of November 1, 2024, he took over the role of Secretary General of the CSU-affiliated Hanns Seidel Foundation.