Fourth Merkel cabinet

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

Fourth Merkel cabinet
24th Cabinet of Germany
2018–present
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)	2017 federal election
Legislature term(s)	19th Bundestag
Predecessor	Merkel III

The 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	Image	Incumbent	Party		In office	Parliamentary State Secretaries[lower-alpha 1] Particular field of responsibilities (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 (2018–2019) Sarah Ryglewski (since 2019)
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 East German affairs Oliver Wittke (2018–2019) Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker (since 2019)
6	Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection		Katarina Barley	SPD		14 March 2018 – 27 June 2019	Rita Hagl-Kehl Christian Lange
			Christine Lambrecht			27 June 2019 – present
7	Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs		Hubertus Heil	SPD		14 March 2018 – present	Anette Kramme Kerstin Griese
8	Federal Minister of Defence		Ursula von der Leyen	CDU		17 December 2013 – 17 July 2019	Thomas Silberhorn Peter Tauber
			Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer			17 July 2019 – present
9	Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture		Julia Klöckner	CDU		14 March 2018 – present	Hans-Joachim Fuchtel Michael Stübgen (2018–2019) Uwe Feiler (since 2019)
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 Gebhart 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. Parliamentary State Secretaries in the Chancellery and Foreign Office are awarded the honorary title Staatsminister (StMin, transl. Minister of State) in order to underline the importance of their field of responsibilities. This title does not, however, confer upon them any additional powers.

2018 government crisis

Main article: 2018 German government crisis

In June 2018, a government crisis erupted within the cabinet between Interior Minister and CSU Chairman Horst Seehofer and 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: Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany  – via 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. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
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

External links

• Cabinet of Germany (English)
• Federal Ministries of Germany (English)