Thomas Rachel

Thomas Rachel
Thomas Rachel in 2020
Member of the Bundestag
Assumed office
1994
Personal details
Born
Thomas Walther Rachel

(1962-05-17) 17 May 1962
Düren, West Germany
(now Germany)
Political partyCDU
Alma materUniversity of Bonn

Thomas Walther Rachel (born 17 May 1962) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 1994. He has been representing the Düren (electoral district) since 2005.

In addition to his parliamentary work, Rachel served as Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2021. Since 2025, he has been serving as Commissioner for Global Freedom of Religion at the Federal Foreign Office in the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.