Fourth Merkel cabinet

Fourth Merkel cabinet

cabinet of Germany
2018–
Date formed 14 March 2018
People and organisations
Head of state Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Head of government Angela Merkel
Member party Christian Democratic Union
Social Democratic Party
Christian Social Union in Bavaria
Status in legislature Grand coalition
Opposition party Alternative for Germany
Free Democratic Party
The Left
The Greens
Opposition leader Alice Weidel
Alexander Gauland
History
Election(s) German federal election, 2017
Legislature term(s) 19th Bundestag
Predecessor Merkel III

The fourth cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel is the current government of Germany, sworn in on 14 March 2018 after Merkel was proposed as Chancellor by President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier and elected on the first ballot. It is the 24th cabinet of Germany (Federal Republic).[1]

This government is supported by a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU), and the Social Democrats (SPD),[2] as was its immediate predecessor.

Composition

The cabinet consists of Chancellor Angela Merkel and fifteen Federal Ministers. Fourteen ministers head a department, one member of the cabinet, the Chief of Staff of the Chancellery, will be a Federal Minister for Special Affairs without a portfolio. CDU has 7 positions, SPD has 6, and CSU has 3, as follows:

Protocol order[3] Office Portrait Incumbent Party In office Secretaries of State[lower-alpha 1]
scope of work (where applicable)
1
Chancellor of Germany		 Angela Merkel CDU 22 November 2005 – present Annette Widmann-Mauz (StMin)
Migrants, Refugees and Integration
Monika Grütters (StMin)
Culture and Media
Hendrik Hoppenstedt (StMin)
Cooperation between federation and states
Dorothee Bär (StMin)
Digitalization
2
Vice Chancellor of Germany

Federal Minister of Finance		 Olaf Scholz SPD 14 March 2018 – present Bettina Hagedorn
Christine Lambrecht
3
Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community		 Horst Seehofer CSU 14 March 2018 – present Günter Krings
Stephan Mayer
Marco Wanderwitz
4
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs		 Heiko Maas SPD 14 March 2018 – present Niels Annen (StMin)
Michelle Müntefering (StMin)
Culture
Michael Roth (StMin)
European affairs
5
Federal Minister of Economics and Energy		 Peter Altmaier CDU 14 March 2018 – present Thomas Bareiß
Christian Hirte
Affairs of the Eastern Länder
Oliver Wittke
6
Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection		 Katarina Barley SPD 14 March 2018 – present Rita Hagl-Kehl
Christian Lange
7
Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs		 Hubertus Heil SPD 14 March 2018 – present Annette Kramme
Kerstin Griese
8
Federal Minister of Defence		 Ursula von der Leyen CDU 17 December 2013 – present Thomas Silberhorn
Peter Tauber
General Eberhard Zorn
Inspector General of the Bundeswehr
9
Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture		 Julia Klöckner CDU 14 March 2018 – present Hans-Joachim Fuchtel
Michael Stübgen
10
Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth		 Franziska Giffey SPD 14 March 2018 – present Caren Marks
Stefan Zierke
11
Federal Minister of Health		 Jens Spahn CDU 14 March 2018 – present Thomas Gebhardt
Sabine Weiss
12
Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure		 Andreas Scheuer CSU 14 March 2018 – present Steffen Bilger
Enak Ferlemann
13
Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety		 Svenja Schulze SPD 14 March 2018 – present Florian Pronold
Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter
14
Federal Minister of Education and Research		 Anja Karliczek CDU 14 March 2018 – present Michael Meister
Thomas Rachel
15
Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development		 Gerd Müller CSU 17 December 2013 – present Norbert Barthle
Maria Flachsbarth
16
Federal Minister for Special Affairs
Head of the Chancellery		 Helge Braun CDU 14 March 2018 – present
  1. ↑ Some Parliamentary Secretaries of State get awarded the honorary title Staatsminister (StMin, English: Minister of State) in order to underline the importance of their scope of work. Nevertheless, this does not give them any additional powers.

2018 government crisis

In June 2018, a government crisis erupted within the cabinet between the Minister of the Interior, Horst Seehofer (CSU) and the chancellor Angela Merkel, after Seehofer had elaborated a masterplan on asylum policies, containing the rejection of asylum seekers already registered in other EU countries.[4] Seehofer threatened to resign over the crisis on 1 July, but an agreement was made between the CDU/CSU sister parties on 2 July.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Bundestag wählt die Kanzlerin am 14. März" [Bundestag elects the Chancellor on 14 March] (in German). Deutscher Bundestag. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  2. ↑ based on Artikel 60 III of the Basic Law: Wikisource link to Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. Wikisource. (full text)
  3. ↑ German Chancellery (15 March 2018). "Liste der Bundesministerinnen und Bundesminister" [List of Federal Ministers]. Protokoll Inland der Bundesregierung (in German). German Federal Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018.
  4. ↑ German government crisis: What are Merkel's options?, Reuters, 2 July 2018
  5. ↑ Chancellor Angela Merkel and Horst Seehofer agree on a migration compromise, Deutsche Welle, 2 July 2018
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.