In early 2005, Merkel nominated Kauder as Secretary General of the CDU, after his predecessor Laurenz Meyer was forced to quit over payments he had received from his past employment with RWE, the power company.
In early 2005, Angela Merkel selected Kauder as the new Secretary General of the CDU following the resignation of Laurenz Meyer who stepped down because of payments he received from his past work at RWE, a power company.