Federal Ministry of Health (Germany)

The Federal Ministry of Health was founded in 1961; in 1969 it was merged with the Federal Ministry for Family and Youth to create the new Federal Ministry for Youth, Family and Health.

In 1991, the Federal Ministry of Health was restored. In 2002, it was expanded to include social affairs and renamed "Federal Ministry of Health and Social Security" (Bundesministerium für Gesundheit und Soziale Sicherung). It was headed by the Federal Minister for Health and Social Security. Its portfolio included one part of the former Federal Ministry of Labour and the Social Order. The other part of the latter was added to the portfolio of the newly created Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour. Under the grand coalition headed by Angela Merkel in 2005, the portfolio reshuffle was reversed and responsibility for social affairs was moved back to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales).

Jens Spahn

The Ministerial building in Bonn

Second office on Friedrichstraße in Berlin

Political Party:   CDU   CSU   SPD   Green   FDP

Name (Born–Died)		Portrait	Party	Term of Office		Chancellor (Cabinet)
Federal Minister for Health Affairs
	Elisabeth Schwarzhaupt (1901–1986)		CDU	14 November 1961	30 November 1966	Adenauer (IV • V) Erhard (I • II)
	Käte Strobel (1907–1996)		SPD	1 December 1966	21 October 1969	Kiesinger (I)
Federal Minister for Youth, Family and Health
	Käte Strobel (1907–1996)		SPD	22 October 1969	15 December 1972	Brandt (I)
	Dr. Katharina Focke (1922–2016)		SPD	15 December 1972	14 December 1976	Brandt (II) Schmidt (I)
	Antje Huber (1924–2015)		SPD	16 December 1976	28 April 1982	Schmidt (II • III)
	Anke Fuchs (b. 1937)		SPD	28 April 1982	1 October 1982	Schmidt (III)
	Dr. Heiner Geißler (1930–2017)		CDU	4 October 1982	26 September 1985	Kohl (I • II)
	Prof. Rita Süssmuth (b. 1937)		CDU	26 September 1985	5 June 1986	Kohl (II)
Federal Minister for Youth, Family, Women and Health
	Prof. Rita Süssmuth (b. 1937)		CDU	6 June 1986	9 December 1988	Kohl (II • III)
	Prof. Ursula Lehr (b. 1930)		CDU	9 December 1988	18 January 1991	Kohl (III)
Federal Minister for Health
	Gerda Hasselfeldt (b. 1950)		CSU	18 January 1991	6 May 1992	Kohl (IV)
	Horst Seehofer (b. 1949)		CSU	6 May 1992	26 October 1998	Kohl (IV • V)
	Andrea Fischer (b. 1960)		Green	27 October 1998	12 January 2001	Schröder (I)
	Ulla Schmidt (b. 1949)		SPD	12 January 2001	22 October 2002
Federal Minister for Health and Social Security
	Ulla Schmidt (b. 1949)		SPD	22 October 2002	22 November 2005	Schröder (II)
Federal Minister for Health
	Ulla Schmidt (b. 1949)		SPD	22 November 2005	27 October 2009	Merkel (I)
	Philipp Rösler (b. 1973)		FDP	28 October 2009	12 May 2011	Merkel (II)
	Daniel Bahr (b. 1976)		FDP	12 May 2011	17 December 2013
	Hermann Gröhe (b. 1961)		CDU	17 December 2013	14 March 2018	Merkel (III)
	Jens Spahn (b. 1980)		CDU	14 March 2018	Incumbent	Merkel (IV)

The Federal Ministry of Health is responsible for:

• maintaining the effectiveness and efficiency of the statutory health insurance and long-term care insurance systems
• maintaining and enhancing the quality of the health care system
• strengthening the interests of patients
• maintaining economic viability and stabilization of contribution levels
• preventive and prophylactic healthcare
• the Protection against Infection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz, or IfSG)
• establishing guidelines for the manufacture, clinical trial, approval, distribution channels and monitoring of medicines and medical devices. The objectives are:
  • quality, medical efficacy and safety
  • safety of biological medical products such as blood products
• narcotics and addiction risk prevention
• prevention, rehabilitation and disability policy
  • medical and occupational rehabilitation
  • disability law
  • providing assistance to the disabled and promoting their interests
• European and international health policy, including the work of the Federal Government Narcotics Officer and the patients' ombudsman.

The Federal Ministry of Health is responsible for the comprehensive[3] (disciplinary) supervision of the following governmental institutions:

• Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (German: Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte, abbreviated BfArM) in Bonn
• Federal Centre for Health Education (German: Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung, abbreviated BZgA) in Cologne
• German Institute of Medical Documentation and Information (German: Deutsches Institut für medizinische Dokumentation und Information, abbreviated DIMDI) in Cologne
• Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI), the Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines in Langen, Hesse
• Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Berlin

The Federal Ministry of Health is also responsible for the non-disciplinary supervision[4] of

• the German Federal (Social) Insurance Authority (Bundesversicherungsamt).

and the legal supervision[5] of the umbrella organizations of the statutory health insurance schemes.

• European Commission's Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection (SANCO)

• Federal Ministry of Health official web site (in German)
• Federal Ministry of Health official web site (in English)
• European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies > Country information Germany