Czołowe działaczki polityczne CDU/CSU w Niemczech – początki ich zainteresowania polityką

The CDU and CSU parties play a unique role in the political system of Germany, and more and more women from Christian democratic parties perform key political functions in the country. This phenomenon is an inducement to reflect upon the paths of career that lead women to the highest political positions. The main aim of the article is an attempt to answer the question on the influence of the family on the political career of the female leaders from the CDU and CSU parties. The group of persons studied included 53 female party members who in the years 1990-2017 performed leading functions in the two parties, political factions, the Bundestag and the federal government. In the course of the study the following sources, among others, were analyzed: interviews with the leading women politicians, the contents of their memoirs and websites as well as press publications about selected persons.