[6] Annegret Kramp was born on 9 August 1962 in Völklingen,[7] located on the Saar River midway between Saarlouis and Saarbrücken, around 40 kilometres from Luxembourg and close to the border with France.

In the negotiations to form a coalition government following the 2009 federal election, Kramp-Karrenbauer was part of the CDU–CSU delegation in the working group on education and research policy, led by Annette Schavan and Andreas Pinkwart.

In 2011, after months of difficult negotiations with the coalition partners, the Free Democratic Party and The Greens, Kramp-Karrenbauer was elected Minister-President of the Saarland in a special session of parliament, replacing Müller, who resigned to become a judge at the Federal Constitutional Court.

[13] While serving as Minister-President, Kramp-Karrenbauer, who speaks French, was also Commissioner of the Federal Republic of Germany for Cultural Affairs under the Treaty on Franco-German Cooperation between 2011 and 2014.

She continued to be a member of the German-French Friendship Group that was set up by the upper chambers of the German and French national parliaments, respectively the Bundesrat and the Senate.

She again played a role in the negotiations to form a fourth coalition government under Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2018, leading a working group on education policy alongside Stefan Müller, Manuela Schwesig and Hubertus Heil.

[14] While Saarland had rejoined Germany five years before Kramp-Karrenbauer's birth when a majority voted against becoming an independent state, it has a long history of association with France dating back to the late 18th century.

[16] She also embarked on a major listening tour of the country, holding more than 40 meetings with local CDU associations and working on a new political manifesto for the party.

[18] Former Bundestag leader of the CDU and businessman Friedrich Merz jumped into the race immediately while Health Minister Jens Spahn and Kramp-Karrenbauer announced their bids shortly after.

[22] In the run-up to the 2019 European Parliament election, which was seen as her first major electoral test, the CDU's campaign was embroiled by a row between the party and YouTube personality Rezo.

It was caused by a viral YouTube video posted by Rezo in which he called out[clarification needed] the parties of the governing Grand Coalition (CDU/CSU and SPD) and urged viewers not to vote for them.

[23] Kramp-Karrenbauer reacted, stating that the electoral law should be changed to prevent social media personalities like Rezo from influencing the voters' choice in the midst of a campaign.

After the underwhelming result, rumors emerged that some CDU politicians planned to shun Kramp-Karrenbauer and put up another Chancellor candidate for the next Bundestag election.

[29][30]When Ursula von der Leyen was elected President of the European Commission in July 2019, Kramp-Karrenbauer succeeded her as Federal Minister of Defence in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

[35] International crises In November 2020, Kramp-Karrenbauer stated that in the disputed territory of the Nagorno-Karabakh, "the first real drone war in human history has just been conducted between Azerbaijan and Armenia, with devastating consequences for the losing side.

[41] Armed forces During her time in office, Kramp-Karrenbauer publicly apologized to soldiers who for decades faced discrimination, discharge or convictions on the basis of their sexual orientation.

[43] In June 2021, Kramp-Karrenbauer recalled 30 German soldiers from service at the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence in Lithuania, with ringleaders facing immediate dismissal, after an article in Der Spiegel accused them of making racist and anti-Semitic remarks and of sexual violence.

[56] In May 2014, she was among leading members of Merkel's CDU who called for reductions to offset fiscal drag—the automatic increases in the tax-take that occur as inflation and income growth push wage-earners further into their marginal higher tax-bracket.

Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell sent letters to German companies involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2, threatening CAATSA sanctions.

"[62] Kramp-Karrenbauer has supported arms exports to Saudi Arabia, which has been waging war in Yemen and was condemned for massive human rights violations.

[67] Kramp-Karrenbauer supported Angela Merkel's refugee policies and her decision to let migrants into Germany in 2015–2016, many fleeing wars in the Middle East, but demanded more toughness in some cases.

She added, "Jemand, der seine Identität verschleiert oder Papiere vernichtet hat, muss mit harten Konsequenzen rechnen."

[69] She demanded in November 2018 that after expulsion offenders must be refused re-entry for life, not only to Germany but also throughout the Schengen area, and cited the 2018 gang rape in Freiburg as an example.