Dr. Fabian Mehring is Bavaria’s State Minister of Digital Affairs and Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Bavarian State Government. As head of Germany’s first dedicated Ministry for Digital Affairs, he is driving Bavaria’s ambition to become Europe’s Home of High-Tech – where bold innovation, entrepreneurial spirit and forward-looking public policy come together. As one of Germany’s youngest ministers, Dr. Mehring believes that technology is not just an economic driver, but a defining factor for competitiveness, democratic resilience and sovereignty in the 21st century. His agenda focuses on accelerating AI and emerging technologies, building a citizen-first digital government, cutting bureaucracy through digital innovation and strengthening Europe’s digital sovereignty. Beyond his ministerial responsibilities, Dr. Mehring serves on the Executive Board of GovTech Campus Germany and plays a leading role in the Conference of Germany’s Digital Ministers (DMK), helping shape the country’s digital transformation across all levels of government. He has been a member of the Bavarian State Parliament since 2018, served as parliamentary director of his Parliamentary Groupe and serves as Deputy State Chairman of his party (Freie Wähler) in Bavaria. In recognition of his leadership, Dr. Mehring was named Germany’s CIO of the Year 2025. Convinced that governments must move at the speed of innovation rather than the pace of bureaucracy, he is working to position Bavaria as Europe’s leading ecosystem for AI, GovTech and digital innovation.