Bundestag elects Moritz Hennemann as new Federal Commissioner for Data Protection

Academic Career

Hennemann began his legal career with studies in Heidelberg, Krakow and Oxford. From 2004 to 2009, he studied law at the Universities of Heidelberg and Krakow. He subsequently completed a postgraduate programme at the University of Oxford from 2009 to 2011. His Dr. jur. was awarded to him in 2011 by the University of Freiburg for a thesis on copyright enforcement and the internet.

After working as a research assistant and lawyer, Hennemann habilitated in Freiburg in 2019. He subsequently took up a chair at the University of Passau, until he returned to Breisgau just under three years ago. According to the SPD Bundestag faction, his academic profile makes him "einer der führenden deutschen Experten für europäisches und internationales Informations- und Datenrecht".

Predecessor and Transition of Office

Hennemann's predecessor, Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider, had announced in March that she would have to step down from the office for health reasons. However, she wanted to remain in office until the succession was settled and will continue to carry out her official duties until the end of September 2026. "Dass sich das wiederholt, wollte sie jetzt vermeiden" – thereby alluding to the months-long deliberations of the then government coalition through which precisely this problem had occurred before Specht-Riemenschneider took office.

The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) has the task of monitoring and enforcing the application of the Federal Data Protection Act and other data protection regulations. He advises the Bundestag, the Bundesrat, the Federal Government and other bodies on data protection issues. In the area of freedom of information, the BfDI is responsible for all federal authorities.

Duties of the Federal Commissioner

The authority also monitors compliance with data protection among telecommunications and postal companies as well as bodies subject to the Security Clearance Act. It furthermore supervises data protection in the federal authorities and the financial authorities. The Federal Commissioner is elected by the Bundestag on the proposal of the Federal Ministry of the Interior; the appointment is made by the Federal President.

Hennemann is regarded as a data law expert who would largely continue the previous course of data protection supervision. He thereby also received votes from the opposition. The SPD faction described him as a recognised expert and "ein echter Gewinn für einen pragmatischen Datenschutz".

In a guest article in the FAZ in November 2025, Hennemann and Jürgen Kühling had welcomed the EU Commission's plans to relax certain data protection rules as part of the so-called digital omnibus. Hennemann and Kühling had argued that the GDPR had been treated as a "heilige Kuh" for too long. Back in 2020, Hennemann had written that the GDPR exhibits "vielfältigen konstruktiven Schwächen".

Positions on the GDPR

Hennemann holds the view that strict enforcement of European data protection law closes off "den Markt für regulatorische Ideen" and is not only in that sense an "Innovationshemmnis". The authors also spoke out in favour of a redefinition of the concept of personal data in order to enable simpler processing.

The vote was an open ballot. At the beginning of June 2026, the Union and the SPD had agreed on Hennemann as their joint candidate. The news of the election was broadcast on 25 June 2026 on the programme Deutschlandfunk.

The election also raises a question of agency leadership: although there is a "leitender Beamter" heading the authority, this position may not exercise exactly the same formal competences as a Federal Commissioner for Data Protection elected by the Bundestag. The prompt succession was apparently intended to prevent the authority from being merely administered for months.