McAllister was born in West Berlin on 12 January 1971 to a Scottish father and a German mother.
His father, James Buchanan McAllister, was a British civil servant, originally from Glasgow (where the family still has relatives).
He had been stationed in West Berlin since 1969, attached to the Royal Corps of Signals.
His mother, Mechthild McAllister, is a music teacher.
David McAllister was raised bilingual (speaking English and German) and attended a British primary school in Berlin.

After his parents moved to the small town of Bad Bederkesa in Lower Saxony in 1982, he went to the Lower Saxon Internatsgymnasium (boarding school) in Bederkesa, where he took his Abitur in 1989.
From 1989 till 1991, McAllister served as a soldier in the Bundeswehr, in Panzerbataillon 74 in Cuxhaven.
From 1991–96 he studied law with a scholarship of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation at the University of Hanover.
In 1994, McAllister became local chairman of the Junge Union, the CDU youth organisation, in the Cuxhaven district.

David McAllister is both a German and a British citizen, but says that he is "more or less completely German.
I've lived in Germany all my life.
I did all my school in Germany and my military service in Germany."
His upbringing in West Berlin, however, he describes as "very British" with "British network, British schools".
Holding dual citizenship, he could have relinquished his German citizenship to avoid compulsory military service in Germany (the UK does not have compulsory military service), but opted to serve instead.

McAllister has said that "my upbringing in West Berlin may have had an impact on my resentment towards communists.
I became a member of the CDU when I was 17 – it was a birthday present.
My parents said, 'What do you want for your birthday?’
I said I wanted to become a member of the CDU", explaining that his father was a Conservative, although none of his parents were involved in party politics.
McAllister was born in West Berlin on 12 January 1971 to a Scottish father and a German mother. His father, James Buchanan McAllister, was a British civil servant, originally from Glasgow (where the family still has relatives). He had been stationed in West Berlin since 1969, attached to the Royal Corps of Signals. His mother, Mechthild McAllister, is a music teacher. David McAllister was raised bilingual (speaking English and German) and attended a British primary school in Berlin.
After his parents moved to the small town of Bad Bederkesa in Lower Saxony in 1982, he went to the Lower Saxon Internatsgymnasium (boarding school) in Bederkesa, where he took his Abitur in 1989. From 1989 till 1991, McAllister served as a soldier in the Bundeswehr, in Panzerbataillon 74 in Cuxhaven. From 1991–96 he studied law with a scholarship of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation at the University of Hanover. In 1994, McAllister became local chairman of the Junge Union, the CDU youth organisation, in the Cuxhaven district.
David McAllister is both a German and a British citizen, but says that he is "more or less completely German. I've lived in Germany all my life. I did all my school in Germany and my military service in Germany." His upbringing in West Berlin, however, he describes as "very British" with "British network, British schools". Holding dual citizenship, he could have relinquished his German citizenship to avoid compulsory military service in Germany (the UK does not have compulsory military service), but opted to serve instead.
McAllister has said that "my upbringing in West Berlin may have had an impact on my resentment towards communists. I became a member of the CDU when I was 17 – it was a birthday present. My parents said, 'What do you want for your birthday?’ I said I wanted to become a member of the CDU", explaining that his father was a Conservative, although none of his parents were involved in party politics.
David McAllister