Cecilia Mayrhofer

**Cecilia Alisa Mayrhofer** (née **Oppelt**; born 2 April 1975) is a Lungarian politician and physician, who has served as Minister of Public Health in the Münd cabinet since 2017. She additionally has served as the Minister-President of Waldwagen and leader of the Unionist Party in Waldwagen since 2015, and has served in the Waldwagen Landkart since 2010.

Mayrhofer was born in Nuremfort, Waldwagen to a family of medical professionals, and grew up in the affluent town of Fürstenmarkt, Waldwagen. After graduating from After completing her secondary schooling in 1994, Mayrhofer moved to Munbach to enroll in the University of Munbach, where she graduated with her medical degree in 2000. After graduating, Mayrhofer completed her two-year medical residency at Sackler Teaching Hospital in 2002, specializing in gynecology and obstetrics. Afterwards, Mayrhofer found permanent employment as an obstetrician at Sackler Teaching Hospital. In 2006, Mayrhofer began working as an obstetrician at a smaller medical center in Torgem, Waldwagen. In 2008, she became the director of gynecology and obstetrics at the medical center. She left her medical career in 2010, in order to enter politics.

Mayrhofer was elected to the Waldwagen Landkart in the 2010 Waldwagen state election, on behalf of the Unionist Party. She quickly rose through the ranks of the party in Waldwagen, and was nominated to serve as Minister of Transportation in the cabinet of Lutz Wachsmuth in 2012. After Wachsmuth's resignation in 2015, Mayrhofer was elected leader of the Unionist Party in Waldwagen, and took office as Minister-President, the first woman to hold both offices. Mayrhofer stood as a candidate in the 2016 Unionist Party leadership election, where she finished seventh amongst nine candidates, behind eventual winner Niclas Böhme. After the 2017 federal election, Lara Münd and Böhme negotiated a governing coalition between the Social Democrats and Unionists, and Mayrhofer was nominated by Münd to serve as Minister of Public Health.

## Early life and family

Mayrhofer was born on 2 April 1975 in Nuremfort, Waldwagen to parents Hanns (born 1940) and Sophie Oppelt (née *Franck*; born 1942). Both of her parents were medical professionals; her father worked as an orthopedic surgeon, while Sophie was a nurse who eventually became a nurse practitioner in the 1990s. When Mayrhofer was three years old, the family moved from Nuremfort to the affluent town of Fürstenmarkt, Waldwagen, where they resided in a six-bedroom home. Mayrhofer grew up as the elder of two children; her younger brother is Sebastian, born  (1978-01-12) 12 January 1978 (age 46).

## Education and medical career

Mayrhofer began her education in 1981, attending a local, public primary school in Fürstenmarkt, Waldwagen. Mayrhofer had planned on becoming a doctor since she was a toddler, and ignored advice from some adults in her life that she should instead consider nursing or midwifery. She graduated from primary school in 1991, and subsequently enrolled in Fürstenmarkt Gymnasium. While in secondary school, Mayrhofer studied a natural sciences and mathematics program, and was the founder of her school's branch of the Future Doctors of Lungary Association (Lungarian: *Zukünftiger Verband der Ärzte Lüngard*, ZVÄL).

Mayrhofer graduated from secondary school in 1994, and subsequently moved to Munbach to enroll in the Sackler Institute of Medicine at the University of Munbach. While Mayrhofer initially wished to pursue a less "traditionally feminine" branch of medicine, she became interested in gynecology and obstetrics after the birth of one of her younger cousins in 1996. Mayrhofer graduated with her medical degree in 2000, and subsequently began her two-year residency at Sackler Teaching Hospital in Munbach, where she specialized in gynecology and obstetrics. Mayrhofer completed her residency in 2002, and was afterwards offered a permanent position at the hospital. She left in 2006, being hired as an obstetrician at a smaller medical clinic in Torgem, Waldwagen. In 2008, she became the director of gynecology and obstetrics at the medical center. She left her medical career in 2010, in order to enter politics.

## Political career

### Waldwagen state politics

Kestenbaum was elected to the Waldwagen Landkart in the 2010 Waldwagen state election, on behalf of the Unionist Party. She quickly rose through the ranks of the party in Waldwagen, and was nominated to serve as Minister of Transportation in the cabinet of Lutz Wachsmuth in 2012. After Wachsmuth's resignation in 2015, Mayrhofer was elected leader of the Unionist Party in Waldwagen, and took office as Minister-President, the first woman to hold both offices.

### Federal politics

Mayrhofer stood as a candidate in the 2016 Unionist Party leadership election, where she finished seventh amongst nine candidates, behind eventual winner Niclas Böhme. After the 2017 federal election, Lara Münd and Böhme negotiated a governing coalition between the Social Democrats and Unionists, and Mayrhofer was nominated by Münd to serve as Minister of Public Health.

## Personal life

Mayrhofer began a relationship with Lungarian dermatologist in 2001, after they had met while both completing residencies at Sackler Teaching Hospital in Munbach. They became engaged in 2004, and later married the following year. They have two sons together: Noah, born  (2007-02-20) 20 February 2007 (age 16), and Matthias, born  (2011-04-12) 12 April 2011 (age 12). The family resides in Torgem, Waldwagen, while Mayrhofer also owns a two-bedroom apartment in Inner Munbach for her ministerial duties.