Ilse Aigner, Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (CSU) decided to run for the Bavarian Landtag (state parliament) instead of running for the Bundestag (federal parliament) again. She succeeded Horst Seehofer who moved on to become minister president of Bavaria. Experts see her now as one of the potential successors for Seehofer as minister president.

Aigner is chair of the CSU district of Upper Bavaria, by far the largest party district with most delegates on the party convention. She wants to be a candidate in one of the constituencies in Upper Bavaria. In the last Bavarian election, CSU won all constituencies except the one in Munich Milbertshofen.

Aigner completed a professional training as a telecommunications technician in 1985 and joined her parents' electrical installation business. In 1990 she graduated from the technical academy with a State Certified Engineer degree and worked for several years for Eurocopter in the development of helicopter electric systems. She moved on to became a member of the Landtag in 1994, and in 1998 she became a member of the Bundestag in the constituency of Starnberg.