Kerstin von der Decken

Kerstin von der Decken (born 29 November 1968 in Hamburg) is a German legal scholar and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as State Minister of Justice and Health in the government of Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein Daniel Günther since 2022.

Early life and career Between 1988 and 1994, von der Decken studied Law and International Relations at the University of Bonn and Trier.

She then worked as a Professor of International Law, European Law, foreign Public Law and Comparative Law at the University of St. Gallen. She became Dean of the St. Gallen Faculty of Law in 2009.

In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition under the leadership of Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the SPD following the 2025 German elections, von der Decken was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on health, led by Karl-Josef Laumann, Stephan Pilsinger and Katja Pähle.