David McAllister was born in Berlin in 1971 where he grew up with his father James (a British civil servant), his mother Mechthild (a music teacher) and his two sisters. In 1982, his parents moved from Berlin to Bad Bederkesa. He still lives there today with his wife and two daughters. He finished secondary school in 1989 and joined the German army from 1989 till 1991. From 1991 till 1996 he studied law at Hanover University with a scholarship awarded by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. He did his 1st State Exam in Law in 1996, and his 2nd State Exam in 1998. He has been a lawyer ever since. He received an Honorary Doctorate from Edinburgh University in 2012. He is a fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the US. His political career started in 1998 becoming a Member of the State Parliament of Lower Saxony (until 2014). He was also the Mayor of his hometown Bad Bederkesa from 2001-2002, Secretary-General of the CDU in Lower Saxony from 2002-2003, and Chairman of the CDU Group in the State Parliament from 2003-2010. He was Party Chairman of the CDU in Lower Saxony from 2008-2016. He served as Prime Minister of Lower Saxony from 2010 till 2013. Member of the CDU Executive Committee since February 2014. MEP since July 2014. Since November 2014 Vice President of IDU (International Democrat Union). Since October 2015 Vice President of the EPP (European People's Party).