Minister president (Germany)

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The Minister-president (German: Ministerpräsident, pronounced [miˈnɪstɐpʁɛziˌdɛnt] ⓘ) is the head of state and government in thirteen of Germany's sixteen states.

In Berlin, the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg the heads of the state hold different titles:

In the former states of Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern, defunct since 1952, the heads of state held the title State President (Staatspräsident).

Nevertheless, in Germany, it is common to refer to all sixteen heads of the states as minister-presidents, if they are referred to collectively. For example, the regular meetings of the sixteen office-holders are called Conference of minister-presidents (Ministerpräsidentenkonferenz).

Constitutional roles and powers[edit]

As the German constitution (Basic Law) defines the Federal Republic of Germany as a federation, each German state enjoys sovereignty, limited only by the Basic Law. The Basic Law gives the states a broad discretion to determine their respective state structure, only stating that each German state has to be a social and democratic republic under the rule of law (Article 28.1). In practice all German states have adopted some form of a mixed parliamentary republican system: Despite some differences between the individual state constitutions, the minister-presidents have both typical powers of an executive leader (for example appointing and dismissing cabinet members or defining the political guidelines of the cabinet) and typical powers and functions of a head of state (for example the power to grant pardons on behalf of the state and to perform certain ceremonial duties). As such, their powers and functions resemble those of an executive president, but in contrast to a presidential system, they are not directly elected and depend on the confidence of the respective state parliament. Thus, the constitutional position of a minister-president differs from that of the Chancellor of Germany at the federal level, who only holds the role of a chief executive leader, while the President of Germany performs the more ceremonial powers and functions of the federal head of state.

Even though all sixteen Minister-presidents hold roughly the same position in their states, there are also some important differences between the provisions of the state constitutions with regard to the head of state and government. This begins with the election procedure: All Minister-presidents are elected by the state parliament, but while in some states a majority of parliament members is needed for a successful election, in other states a simple majority (a plurality of votes cast) is sufficient. The same goes for recall procedures: In some states, the parliament may simply vote an officeholder out of office, while in other states the parliament has to elect a new officeholder at the same time (Constructive vote of no confidence). In Bavaria, the constitution does not allow a recall of the minister-president at all. In fifteen states, the state constitution defines the minister-president as the leader of the cabinet, giving him or her the right, to determine the cabinet's political guidelines, but this is not the case in Bremen, where the President of the Senate and Mayor only has a ceremonial precedence over the other cabinet members. There are also differences regarding the Minister-president power, to shape his or her cabinet: While in some states the office-holder is free to appoint or dismiss cabinet ministers at his or her discretion, in other states there are limits to this power, while the constitution of Bremen does not give the President of the Senate and Mayor any power, to directly influence the composition of his or her cabinet.

State Title Election threshold Recall procedure Position in cabinet Power to shape the cabinet Right to grant pardon Minimum age Other provisions
Baden-Württemberg[2] Minister-president majority of members constructive vote of no confidence guideline competence cabinet appointments subject to parliamentary approval, the state parliament may recall individual cabinet ministers with a two-thirds majority yes 35
Free State of Bavaria[3] Minister-president simple majority none guideline competence cabinet appointments subject to parliamentary approval yes 40
Berlin[4] Governing Mayor simple majority vote of no confidence, but if the state parliament does not elect a new Governing Mayor within 21 days, the former officeholder is reinvested automatically guideline competence full no (whole cabinet) 18 (de facto)
Brandenburg[5] Minister-President majority of members (first and second ballot), plurality (third ballot) constructive vote of no confidence guideline competence full yes 18 (de facto)
Bremen[6] President of the Senate and Mayor simple majority constructive vote of no confidence ceremonial precedence none, the parliament elects and dismisses all cabinet members no (whole cabinet) 18 may not be a member of the state parliament
Hamburg[7] First Mayor majority of members constructive vote of no confidence guideline competence cabinet appointments subject to parliamentary approval no (whole cabinet) 18 may not be a member of the state parliament
Hesse[8] Minister-president majority of members vote of no confidence guideline competence dismissal of cabinet members subject to parliamentary approval yes 18 (de facto) members of noble houses, which have reigned in Germany before 1918, are ineligible for office
Lower Saxony[9] Minister-president majority of members or plurality, if the state parliament does not elect a minister-president in 21 days and does not dissolve itself thereupon constructive vote of no confidence guideline competence cabinet appointments subject to parliamentary approval yes 18 (de facto)
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern[10] Minister-president majority of members or plurality, if the state parliament does not elect a minister-president in 28 days and does not dissolve itself thereupon constructive vote of no confidence guideline competence full yes 18 (de facto)
North Rhine-Westphalia[11] Minister-President majority of members (first ballot), simple majority (second and third ballot), runoff (fourth ballot) constructive vote of no confidence guideline competence full yes 18 has to be a member of the state parliament
Rhineland-Palatinate[12] Minister-president majority of members vote of no confidence guideline competence full yes 18 (de facto)
Saarland[13] Minister-president majority of members vote of no confidence guideline competence cabinet appointments and dismissals subject to parliamentary approval no (whole cabinet) 18 (de facto)
Free State of Saxony[14] Minister-president majority of members (first ballot), simple majority (following ballots) constructive vote of no confidence guideline competence full yes 18 (de facto)
Saxony-Anhalt[15] Minister-president majority of members or simple majority, if the state parliament does not elect a minister-president in 14 days and does not dissolve itself thereupon constructive vote of no confidence guideline competence full yes 18 (de facto)
Schleswig-Holstein[16] Minister-president majority of members (first and second ballot), plurality (third ballot) constructive vote of no confidence guideline competence full yes 18 (de facto)
Free State of Thuringia[17] Minister-president majority of members (first and second ballot), plurality (third ballot) constructive vote of no confidence guideline competence full yes 18 (de facto)

By virtue of their position in the Bundesrat, the Minister-presidents can exert considerable influence on national politics within the federal structure. Along with several of their ministers, they commonly represent their state in the Bundesrat (the German Federal Council). Each state government is represented in the Bundesrat by three to six delegates, depending on the state's population.

Deputies[edit]

The minister-presidents appoint one (or in some states two) member(s) of their cabinet as their deputies. In most states the deputy of the minister-president holds the title Deputy Minister-president. Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein have a higher ranking First Deputy Minister-president and a lower ranking Second Deputy Minister-president. Bavaria has a higher ranking Deputy Minister-president and a lower ranking Additional Deputy Minister-president. Berlin has two equally ranking Mayors deputizing for the Governing Mayor, while Bremen has a Mayor deputizing for the President of the Senate and Mayor and Hamburg has a Second Mayor deputizing for the First Mayor.

Their duties and functions mirror roughly those of the Vice Chancellor of Germany on federal level. Most importantly, the Deputy Minister-president (or equivalent) temporarily act as Minister-president in case of the office-holder's death or incapacity until the end of the incapacity or the election of a successor by the state parliament. An exception to this are the regulations in the state constitution of Bavaria (Art. 44.3), which designates both the Deputy Minister-president (for internal affairs) and the President of the Landtag (for the external representation) as acting successors. Office-holders who resign normally stay in office as acting minister-presidents (or equivalent) themselves until a successor is elected. This is however not the case, if the reason for the resignation is some form of constitutional, legal or traditional incompatibility with an office, on which the resigning office-holder has entered: The Basic Law prohibits the President of Germany from holding office in a state government at the same time (Art. 55.1). According to the Federal Constitutional Court Act, the same applies to judges on the Federal Constitutional Court (§ 3.3). Simultaneous membership in the Bundestag or the federal government is not prohibited for a Minister-president (or other members of a state government) under federal law, but in some states (for example North Rhine-Westphalia) it is forbidden by the state constitution and generally it is not in line with political tradition. Therefore, office-holders elected or appointed to such office usually resign and refrain from continuing to hold the office of Minister-president on an acting basis, leaving that role to their deputy.[18]

Normally, such full replacements last only a few days or even a few hours, but there have also been cases in which such acting Minister-president have had to remain in office for a longer period because the election of a new regular incumbent had proved difficult; this occurred for example in Schleswig-Holstein in 1987/88: The state election on 13 September 1987 had resulted in a stalemate between the centre-right bloc of CDU and FDP, which supported the incumbent Uwe Barschel, and the centre-left parties SPD and SSW, each with 37 seats. Due to the weak election results for the CDU and above all the Barschel affair, a supposed election-fraud scandal, Barschel declared his resignation with effect from 2 October and died a few days later in a hotel in Geneva under circumstances that have not been clarified to this day. As a result, the previous deputy Henning Schwarz became acting Minister-president. Attempts to elect a new Minister-president in the state parliament failed because of the stalemate, so the parliament dissolved itself and early state elections were held on 8 May 1988. The SPD emerged from these with an absolute majority of seats and its leading candidate Björn Engholm was elected Minister-president on 31 May. Schwarz thus held office as acting Minister-president for 242 days.

List of current office-holders[edit]

Further information: List of current heads of government of the German federal states

The longest-serving incumbent office-holder is Reiner Haseloff, who has served as the Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt since 19 April 2011. Kai Wegner, the Governing Mayor of Berlin (since 27 April 2023), is the shortest-serving incumbent.

Portrait Name
Cabinet 		Title entered office Party Deputy
Title
Coat of arms of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg		 Winfried Kretschmann
Kretschmann III 		Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg 12 May 2011 Alliance 90/The Greens Thomas Strobl
(CDU)
Deputy Minister-President

Free State of Bavaria		 Markus Söder
Söder III 		Minister-President of Bavaria 16 March 2018 CSU Hubert Aiwanger
(Free Voters)
Deputy Minister-President
Ulrike Scharf
(CSU)
Additional Deputy Minister-President
Coat of arms of Berlin
Berlin		 Kai Wegner
Wegner 		Governing Mayor of Berlin 27 April 2023 CDU Franziska Giffey
(SPD)
Mayor
Stefan Evers
(CDU)
Mayor
Coat of arms of Brandenburg
Brandenburg		 Dietmar Woidke
Woidke III 		Minister-President of Brandenburg 28 August 2013 SPD Michael Stübgen
(CDU)
First Deputy Minister-President
Ursula Nonnenmacher
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Second Deputy Minister-President
Coat of arms of Bremen
Free Hanseatic City of Bremen		 Andreas Bovenschulte
Bovenschulte II 		President of the Senate and Mayor of Bremen 15 August 2019 SPD Maike Schaefer
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Deputy President of the Senate and Mayor
Coat of arms of Hamburg
Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg		 Peter Tschentscher
Tschentscher II 		First Mayor of Hamburg 28 March 2018 SPD Katharina Fegebank
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Second Mayor
Coat of arms of Hesse
Hesse		 Boris Rhein
Rhein II 		Minister-President of Hesse 31 May 2022 CDU Kaweh Mansoori
(SPD)
Deputy Minister-President
Coat of arms of Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony		 Stephan Weil
Weil III 		Minister-President of Lower Saxony 19 February 2013 SPD Julia Hamburg
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Deputy Minister-President
Coat of arms of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern		 Manuela Schwesig
Schwesig II 		Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 4 July 2017 SPD Simone Oldenburg
(The Left)
Deputy Minister-President
Coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia		 Hendrik Wüst
Wüst II 		Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia 27 October 2021 CDU Mona Neubaur
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Deputy Minister-President
Coat of arms of Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate		 Malu Dreyer
Dreyer III 		Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate 16 January 2013 SPD Katharina Binz
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Deputy Minister-President
Coat of arms of Saarland
Saarland		 Anke Rehlinger
Rehlinger 		Minister-President of Saarland 25 April 2022 SPD Jürgen Barke
(SPD)
Deputy Minister-President
Coat of arms of Saxony
Free State of Saxony		 Michael Kretschmer
Kretschmer II 		Minister-President of Saxony 13 December 2017 CDU Wolfram Günther
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
First Deputy Minister-President
Martin Dulig
(SPD)
Second Deputy Minister-President
Coat of arms of Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt		 Reiner Haseloff
Haseloff III 		Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt 19 April 2011 CDU Armin Willingmann
(SPD)
First Deputy Minister-President
Lydia Hüskens
(FDP)
Second Deputy Minister-President
Coat of arms of Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein		 Daniel Günther
Günther II 		Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein 28 June 2017 CDU Monika Heinold
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Deputy Minister-President
Coat of arms of Thuringia
Free State of Thuringia		 Bodo Ramelow
Ramelow II 		Minister-President of Thuringia 4 March 2020 The Left Georg Maier
(SPD)
First Deputy Minister-President
Anja Siegesmund
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Second Deputy Minister-President

Lists of former minister-presidents[edit]

Minister-Presidents of Baden-Württemberg (since 1952)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took office Left office Time in office
1 Reinhold Maier
(1889–1971) 		25 April 1952 30 September 1953
resigned 		1 year, 158 days FDP
2 Gebhard Müller
(1900–1990) 		30 September 1953 17 December 1958
resigned
appointed to the
Federal Constitutional
Court 		5 years, 78 days CDU
3 Kurt Georg Kiesinger
(1904–1988) 		17 December 1958 1 December 1966
resigned
elected Chancellor 		7 years, 349 days CDU
Deputy Minister-President Wolfgang Haußmann (FDP) served as acting Minister-President from 1 to 16 December 1966.
4 Hans Filbinger
(1913–2007) 		16 December 1966 30 August 1978
resigned 		11 years, 257 days CDU
5 Lothar Späth
(1937–2016) 		30 August 1978 22 January 1991
resigned 		12 years, 145 days CDU
6 Erwin Teufel
(born 1939) 		22 January 1991 21 April 2005
resigned 		14 years, 89 days CDU
7 Günther Oettinger
(born 1953) 		21 April 2005 10 February 2010
resigned
appointed to the
European
Commission 		4 years, 295 days CDU
8 Stefan Mappus
(born 1966) 		10 February 2010 12 May 2011 1 year, 91 days CDU
9 Winfried Kretschmann
(born 1948) 		12 May 2011 Incumbent 12 years, 342 days Alliance 90/The Greens

Minister-Presidents of Bavaria (since 1945)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took office Left office Time in office
1 Fritz Schäffer
(1888–1967) 		28 May 1945 28 September 1945 123 days CSU
2 Wilhelm Hoegner
(1887–1980)
1st term 		28 September 1945 16 December 1946 1 year, 79 days SPD
3 Hans Ehard
(1887–1980)
1st term 		21 December 1946 14 December 1954 7 years, 358 days CSU
4 Wilhelm Hoegner
(1887–1980)
2nd term 		14 December 1954 8 October 1957
resigned 		2 years, 298 days SPD
5 Hanns Seidel
(1901–1961) 		16 October 1957 22 January 1960
resigned 		2 years, 98 days CSU
6 Hans Ehard
(1887–1980)
2nd term 		26 January 1960 11 December 1962 2 years, 319 days CSU
7 Alfons Goppel
(1905–1991) 		11 December 1962 6 November 1978 15 years, 330 days CSU
8 Franz Josef Strauss
(1915–1988) 		6 November 1978 3 October 1988
died in office 		9 years, 332 days CSU
Deputy Minister-President Max Streibl and President of the Landtag Franz Heubl (both CSU) served together as acting Minister-Presidents from 3 to 19 October 1988.
9 Max Streibl
(1932–1998) 		19 October 1988 28 May 1993
resigned 		4 years, 221 days CSU
10 Edmund Stoiber
(born 1941) 		28 May 1993 9 October 2007
resigned 		14 years, 135 days CSU
11 Günther Beckstein
(born 1943) 		9 October 2007 27 October 2008 1 year, 18 days CSU
12 Horst Seehofer
(born 1949) 		27 October 2008 13 March 2018
resigned
appointed
Federal Minister
of the Interior 		9 years, 140 days CSU
Deputy Minister-President Ilse Aigner and President of the Landtag Barbara Stamm (both CSU) served together as acting Minister-Presidents from 13 to 16 March 2018.
13 Markus Söder
(born 1967) 		16 March 2018 Incumbent 6 years, 33 days CSU

Governing Mayors of Berlin (since 1948, West Berlin until 1990/91)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took office Left office Time in office
1 Ernst Reuter
(1889–1953) 		7 December 1948 29 September 1953
died in office 		4 years, 296 days SPD
2 Walther Schreiber
(1884–1958) 		29 September 1953 11 January 1955 1 year, 104 days CDU
3 Otto Suhr
(1894–1957) 		11 January 1955 30 August 1957
died in office 		2 years, 231 days SPD
Mayor Franz Amrehn (CDU) served as acting Governing Mayor 30 August to 3 October 1957.
4 Willy Brandt
(1913–1992) 		3 October 1957 1 December 1966
resigned
appointed
Federal Minister
for Foreign Affairs
and Vice Chancellor 		9 years, 59 days SPD
5 Heinrich Albertz
(1915–1993) 		1 December 1966 19 October 1967
resigned 		322 days SPD
6 Klaus Schütz
(1926–2012) 		19 October 1967 2 May 1977
resigned 		9 years, 195 days SPD
7 Dietrich Stobbe
(1938–2011) 		2 May 1977 23 January 1981
resigned 		3 years, 266 days SPD
8 Hans-Jochen Vogel
(1926–2020) 		23 January 1981 11 June 1981 139 days SPD
9 Richard von Weizsäcker
(1920–2015) 		11 June 1981 9 February 1984
resigned
elected
President of Germany 		2 years, 243 days CDU
10 Eberhard Diepgen
(born 1941)
1st term 		9 February 1984 16 March 1989 5 years, 35 days CDU
11 Walter Momper[a]
(born 1945) 		16 March 1989 24 January 1991 1 year, 314 days SPD
12 Eberhard Diepgen
(born 1941)
2nd term 		24 January 1991 16 June 2001
voted out of office by
a vote
of no confidence 		10 years, 143 days CDU
13 Klaus Wowereit
(born 1953) 		16 June 2001 11 December 2014
resigned 		13 years, 178 days SPD
14 Michael Müller
(born 1964) 		11 December 2014 21 December 2021 7 years, 10 days SPD
15 Franziska Giffey
(born 1978) 		21 December 2021 27 April 2023 1 year, 127 days SPD
16 Kai Wegner
(born 1972) 		27 April 2023 Incumbent 357 days CDU
  1. ^ Walter Momper was the last Governing Mayor of West Berlin. Due to the German Reunification Treaty, from 3 October 1990 on, he and the Lord Mayor of East Berlin were equal, collegial heads of state government for a transitional period until the formation of a new state government after the first state election in reunified Berlin. The Lord Mayors of East Berlin during this period were Tino Schwierzina (SPD, 3 October 1990–11 January 1991) and Thomas Krüger (acting, SPD, 11–24 January 1991). Since the unification of the previously divided city of Berlin in 1990 was, in terms of constitutional law, an accession of East Berlin to the area of application of the West Berlin state constitution, there is a formal continuity of the Governing mayors of (West) Berlin before and after 1990/91, while the office of Lord Mayor of East Berlin was separate from it and ceased to exist in 1991.

Minister-Presidents of Brandenburg (since 1990)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Born–Died) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took Office Left Office Days
1 Manfred Stolpe
(1936–2019) 		1 November 1990 26 June 2002
resigned 		11 years, 237 days SPD
2 Matthias Platzeck
(born 1953) 		26 June 2002 28 August 2013
resigned 		11 years, 63 days SPD
3 Dietmar Woidke
(born 1961) 		28 August 2013 Incumbent 10 years, 234 days SPD

Presidents of the Senate and Mayors of Bremen (since 1945)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Born–Died) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took Office Left Office Days
1 Erich Vagts
(1884–1967) 		2 May 1945 31 July 1945 90 days Independent
2 Wilhelm Kaisen
(1887–1979) 		31 July 1945 20 July 1965 19 years, 354 days SPD
3 Willy Dehnkamp
(1903–1985) 		20 July 1965 28 November 1967 2 years, 141 days SPD
4 Hans Koschnick
(1929–2016) 		28 November 1967 18 September 1985 17 years, 294 days SPD
5 Klaus Wedemeier
(born 1944) 		18 September 1985 4 July 1995 9 years, 289 days SPD
6 Henning Scherf
(born 1938) 		4 July 1995 8 November 2005
resigned 		10 years, 127 days SPD
7 Jens Böhrnsen
(born 1949) 		8 November 2005 17 July 2015 9 years, 251 days SPD
8 Carsten Sieling
(born 1959) 		17 July 2015 15 August 2019 4 years, 29 days SPD
9 Andreas Bovenschulte
(born 1965) 		15 August 2019 Incumbent 4 years, 247 days SPD

First Mayors of Hamburg (since 1946)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Born–Died) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took Office Left Office Days
1 Max Brauer
(1887–1973)
1st term 		22 November 1946 2 December 1953
replaced by
a constructive vote
of no confidence 		7 years, 10 days SPD
2 Kurt Sieveking
(1897–1986) 		2 December 1953 4 December 1957 4 years, 2 days CDU
3 Max Brauer
(1887–1973)
2nd term 		4 December 1957 31 December 1960
resigned 		3 years, 27 days SPD
4 Paul Nevermann
(1902–1979) 		1 January 1961 9 June 1965
resigned 		4 years, 159 days SPD
5 Herbert Weichmann
(1896–1983) 		9 June 1965 9 June 1971
resigned 		6 years, 0 days SPD
6 Peter Schulz
(1930–2013) 		9 June 1971 12 November 1974 3 years, 156 days SPD
7 Hans-Ulrich Klose
(1937–2023) 		12 November 1974 24 June 1981
resigned 		6 years, 224 days SPD
8 Klaus von Dohnanyi
(born 1928) 		24 June 1981 8 June 1988 6 years, 350 days SPD
9 Henning Voscherau
(1941–2016) 		8 June 1988 12 November 1997 9 years, 157 days SPD
10 Ortwin Runde
(born 1944) 		12 November 1997 31 October 2001 3 years, 353 days SPD
11 Ole von Beust
(born 1955) 		31 October 2001 25 August 2010
resigned 		8 years, 298 days CDU
12 Christoph Ahlhaus
(born 1969) 		25 August 2010 7 March 2011 194 days CDU
13 Olaf Scholz
(born 1958) 		7 March 2011 13 March 2018
resigned
appointed
Federal Minister of Finance
and Vice Chancellor 		7 years, 6 days SPD
Second Mayor Katharina Fegebank (Alliance 90/The Greens) served as acting First Mayor from 13 March to 28 March 2018.
14 Peter Tschentscher
(born 1966) 		28 March 2018 Incumbent 6 years, 21 days SPD

Minister-Presidents of Hesse (since 1946)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Born–Died) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took Office Left Office Days
1 Christian Stock
(1884–1967) 		20 December 1946 14 December 1950 3 years, 359 days SPD
2 Georg-August Zinn
(1901–1976) 		14 December 1950 3 October 1969 18 years, 293 days SPD
3 Albert Osswald
(1919–1996) 		3 October 1969 16 October 1976
resigned 		7 years, 13 days SPD
4 Holger Börner
(1931–2006) 		16 October 1976 23 April 1987 10 years, 189 days SPD
5 Walter Wallmann
(1932–2013) 		23 April 1987 5 April 1991 3 years, 347 days CDU
6 Hans Eichel
(born 1941) 		5 April 1991 7 April 1999 8 years, 2 days SPD
7 Roland Koch
(born 1958) 		7 April 1999 31 August 2010
resigned 		11 years, 146 days CDU
8 Volker Bouffier
(born 1951) 		31 August 2010 31 May 2022
resigned 		11 years, 273 days CDU
9 Boris Rhein
(born 1972) 		31 May 2022 Incumbent 1 year, 323 days CDU

Minister-Presidents of Lower Saxony (since 1946)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Born–Died) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took Office Left Office Days
1 Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf
(1893–1961)
1st term 		9 December 1946 26 May 1955 8 years, 168 days SPD
2 Heinrich Hellwege
(1908–1991) 		26 May 1955 12 May 1959 3 years, 351 days German Party
3 Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf
(1893–1961)
2nd term 		12 May 1959 21 December 1961
died in office 		2 years, 223 days SPD
Deputy Minister-President Hermann Ahrens (GB/BHE) served as acting Minister-President from 21 to 29 December 1961.
4 Georg Diederichs
(1900–1983) 		29 December 1961 8 July 1970 8 years, 191 days SPD
5 Alfred Kubel
(1909–1999) 		8 July 1970 6 February 1976
resigned 		5 years, 213 days SPD
6 Ernst Albrecht
(1930–2014) 		6 February 1976 21 June 1990 14 years, 135 days CDU
7 Gerhard Schröder
(born 1944) 		21 June 1990 28 October 1998
resigned
elected Chancellor 		8 years, 129 days SPD
8 Gerhard Glogowski
(born 1943) 		28 October 1998 15 October 1999
resigned 		352 days SPD
9 Sigmar Gabriel
(born 1959) 		15 October 1999 4 March 2003 3 years, 140 days SPD
10 Christian Wulff
(born 1959) 		4 March 2003 30 June 2010
resigned
elected President of Germany 		7 years, 118 days CDU
Deputy Minister-President Jörg Bode (FDP) served as acting Minister-President from 30 June to 1 July 2010.
11 David McAllister
(born 1971) 		1 July 2010 19 February 2013 2 years, 233 days CDU
12 Stephan Weil
(born 1958) 		19 February 2013 Incumbent 11 years, 59 days SPD

Minister-Presidents of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (since 1990)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Born–Died) 		Term Party
Took office Left office Days
1 Alfred Gomolka
(1942–2020) 		27 October 1990 19 March 1992
resigned 		1 year, 144 days CDU
2 Berndt Seite
(born 1940) 		19 March 1992 3 November 1998 6 years, 229 days CDU
3 Harald Ringstorff
(1939–2020) 		3 November 1998 6 October 2008
resigned 		9 years, 338 days SPD
4 Erwin Sellering
(born 1949) 		6 October 2008 4 July 2017
resigned 		8 years, 271 days SPD
5 Manuela Schwesig
(born 1974) 		4 July 2017 Incumbent 6 years, 289 days SPD

Minister-Presidents of North Rhine-Westphalia (since 1946)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Born–Died) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took Office Left Office Days
1 Rudolf Amelunxen
(1888–1969) 		23 August 1946 17 June 1947 298 days Non-partisan
(until 1947)
Centre Party
(from 1947)
2 Karl Arnold
(1901–1958) 		17 June 1947 20 February 1956
replaced
by a constructive vote
of no confidence 		8 years, 248 days CDU
3 Fritz Steinhoff
(1897–1969) 		20 February 1956 21 July 1958 2 years, 151 days SPD
4 Franz Meyers
(1908–2002) 		21 July 1958 8 December 1966
replaced
by a constructive vote
of no confidence 		8 years, 140 days CDU
5 Heinz Kühn
(1912–1992) 		8 December 1966 20 September 1978 11 years, 286 days SPD
6 Johannes Rau
(1931–2006) 		20 September 1978 27 May 1998
resigned 		19 years, 249 days SPD
7 Wolfgang Clement
(1940–2020) 		27 May 1998 22 October 2002
resigned
appointed Federal Minister
for the Economy
and Labour 		4 years, 148 days SPD
Deputy Minister-President Michael Vesper (Alliance 90/The Greens) served as acting Minister-President from 22 October to 6 November 2002
8 Peer Steinbrück
(born 1947) 		6 November 2002 22 June 2005 2 years, 228 days SPD
9 Jürgen Rüttgers
(born 1951) 		22 June 2005 14 July 2010 5 years, 22 days CDU
10 Hannelore Kraft
(born 1961) 		14 July 2010 27 June 2017 6 years, 348 days SPD
11 Armin Laschet
(born 1961) 		27 June 2017 26 October 2021
resigned
elected to the Bundestag 		4 years, 121 days CDU
Deputy Minister-President Joachim Stamp (FDP) served as acting Minister-President from 26 to 27 October 2021
12 Hendrik Wüst
(born 1975) 		27 October 2021 Incumbent 2 years, 174 days CDU

Minister-Presidents of Rhineland-Palatinate (since 1946)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Born–Died) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took Office Left Office Days
1 Wilhelm Boden
(1890–1961) 		1 December 1946 9 July 1947 220 days CDU
2 Peter Altmeier
(1899–1977) 		9 July 1947 19 May 1969 21 years, 314 days CDU
3 Helmut Kohl
(1930–2017) 		19 May 1969 2 December 1976
resigned
elected to the Bundestag 		7 years, 197 days CDU
4 Bernhard Vogel
(born 1932) 		2 December 1976 8 December 1988
resigned 		12 years, 6 days CDU
5 Carl-Ludwig Wagner
(1930–2012) 		8 December 1988 21 May 1991 2 years, 164 days CDU
6 Rudolf Scharping
(born 1947) 		21 May 1991 26 October 1994
resigned
elected to the Bundestag 		3 years, 158 days SPD
7 Kurt Beck
(born 1949) 		26 October 1994 16 January 2013
resigned 		18 years, 82 days SPD
8 Malu Dreyer
(born 1961) 		16 January 2013 Incumbent 11 years, 93 days SPD

Minister-Presidents of Saarland (since 1947, joined the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957)[edit]

Portrait Name
(born and died) 		Term of office Political party
Took office Left office Days
1 Johannes Hoffmann
(1890–1967) 		20 December 1947 29 October 1955
resigned 		7 years, 313 days CVP
2 Heinrich Welsch
(1888–1976) 		29 October 1955 10 January 1956 73 days Independent
3 Hubert Ney[a]
(1892–1984) 		10 January 1956 4 June 1957
resigned 		1 year, 145 days CDU
4 Egon Reinert
(1908–1959) 		4 June 1957 23 April 1959
died in office 		1 year, 323 days CDU
5 Franz-Josef Röder
(1909–1979) 		23 April 1959 26 June 1979
died in office 		20 years, 64 days CDU
Deputy Minister-President Werner Klumpp (FDP) served as acting Minister-President from 26 June to 5 July 1979.
6 Werner Zeyer
(1929–2000) 		5 July 1979 9 April 1985 5 years, 278 days CDU
7 Oskar Lafontaine
(born 1943) 		9 April 1985 10 November 1998
resigned
appointed Federal Minister
of Finance 		13 years, 215 days SPD
8 Reinhard Klimmt
(born 1942) 		10 November 1998 29 September 1999 323 days SPD
9 Peter Müller
(born 1955) 		29 September 1999 10 August 2011
resigned
appointed to the
Federal Constitutional Court 		11 years, 315 days CDU
10 Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
(born 1962) 		10 August 2011 1 March 2018
resigned 		6 years, 203 days CDU
11 Tobias Hans
(born 1978) 		1 March 2018 25 April 2022 4 years, 55 days CDU
12 Anke Rehlinger
(born 1976) 		25 April 2022 Incumbent 1 year, 359 days SPD
  1. ^ On 1 January 1957, Saarland joined the Federal Republic of Germany as its 10th state. Therefore, Ney was both the last minister-president of the partly sovereign Saar Protectorate and the first of Saarland as a German state.

Minister-Presidents of Saxony (since 1990)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took Office Left Office Days
1 Kurt Biedenkopf
(1930–2021) 		27 October 1990 18 April 2002
resigned 		11 years, 173 days CDU
2 Georg Milbradt
(born 1945) 		18 April 2002 28 May 2008
resigned 		6 years, 40 days CDU
3 Stanislaw Tillich
(born 1959) 		28 May 2008 13 December 2017
resigned 		9 years, 199 days CDU
4 Michael Kretschmer
(born 1975) 		13 December 2017 Incumbent 6 years, 127 days CDU

Minister-Presidents of Saxony-Anhalt (since 1990)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Born–Died) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took Office Left Office Days
1 Gerd Gies
(born 1943) 		28 October 1990 4 July 1991
resigned 		249 days CDU
2 Werner Münch
(born 1940) 		4 July 1991 2 December 1993
resigned 		2 years, 151 days CDU
3 Christoph Bergner
(born 1948) 		2 December 1993 21 June 1994 201 days CDU
4 Reinhard Höppner
(1948–2014) 		21 June 1994 16 May 2002 7 years, 329 days SPD
5 Wolfgang Böhmer
(born 1936) 		16 May 2002 19 April 2011 8 years, 338 days CDU
6 Reiner Haseloff
(born 1954) 		19 April 2011 Incumbent 12 years, 365 days CDU

Minister-Presidents of Schleswig-Holstein (since 1946)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Born–Died) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took Office Left Office Days
1 Theodor Steltzer
(1885–1967) 		12 September 1946 29 April 1947 229 days CDU
2 Hermann Lüdemann
(1880–1959) 		29 April 1947 29 August 1949 2 years, 122 days SPD
3 Bruno Diekmann
(1897–1982) 		29 August 1949 5 September 1950 1 year, 7 days SPD
4 Walter Bartram
(1893–1971) 		5 September 1950 25 June 1951
resigned 		293 days CDU
5 Friedrich-Wilhelm Lübke
(1887–1954) 		25 June 1951 11 October 1954
resigned 		3 years, 108 days CDU
6 Kai-Uwe von Hassel
(1913–1997) 		11 October 1954 14 January 1963
resigned
appointed Federal Minister
of Defence 		8 years, 95 days CDU
7 Helmut Lemke
(1907–1990) 		14 January 1963 24 May 1971 8 years, 130 days CDU
8 Gerhard Stoltenberg
(1928–2001) 		24 May 1971 14 October 1982
resigned
appointed Federal Minister
of Finance 		11 years, 143 days CDU
9 Uwe Barschel
(1944–1987) 		14 October 1982 2 October 1987
resigned 		4 years, 353 days CDU
Deputy Minister-President Henning Schwarz (CDU) served as acting Minister-President from 2 October 1987 to 31 May 1988.
10 Björn Engholm
(born 1939) 		31 May 1988 19 May 1993
resigned 		4 years, 353 days SPD
11 Heide Simonis
(1943–2023) 		19 May 1993 27 April 2005 11 years, 343 days SPD
12 Peter Harry Carstensen
(born 1947) 		27 April 2005 12 June 2012 7 years, 46 days CDU
13 Torsten Albig
(born 1963) 		12 June 2012 28 June 2017 5 years, 16 days SPD
14 Daniel Günther
(born 1973) 		28 June 2017 Incumbent 6 years, 295 days CDU

Minister-Presidents of Thuringia (since 1990)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Born–Died) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took office Left office Days
1 Josef Duchac
(born 1938) 		8 November 1990 5 February 1992
resigned 		1 year, 89 days CDU
2 Bernhard Vogel
(born 1932) 		5 February 1992 5 June 2003
resigned 		11 years, 120 days CDU
3 Dieter Althaus
(born 1958) 		5 June 2003 30 October 2009 6 years, 147 days CDU
4 Christine Lieberknecht
(born 1958) 		30 October 2009 5 December 2014 5 years, 36 days CDU
5 Bodo Ramelow
(born 1956)
1st term 		5 December 2014 5 February 2020 5 years, 62 days The Left
6 Thomas Kemmerich
(born 1965) 		5 February 2020 4 March 2020
resigned 		28 days FDP
7 Bodo Ramelow
(born 1956)
2nd term 		4 March 2020 Incumbent 4 years, 45 days The Left

Defunct states[edit]

State Presidents of Baden (1947–1952)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took office Left office Time in office
Leo Wohleb
(1888–1955) 		24 July 1947 25 April 1952
state was merged
into
Baden-Württemberg 		4 years, 276 days CDU

Minister-Presidents of Württemberg-Baden (1945–1952)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took Office Left Office Days
Reinhold Maier
(1889–1971) 		19 September 1945 25 April 1952
state was merged
into
Baden-Württemberg 		6 years, 219 days FDP

State Presidents of Württemberg-Hohenzollern (1945–1952)[edit]

Portrait Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term of Office Political Party
Took Office Left Office Days
1 Carlo Schmid
(1896–1979) 		16 October 1945 22 July 1947 1 year, 279 days SPD
2 Lorenz Bock
(1883–1948) 		22 July 1947 3 August 1948
died in office 		1 year, 12 days CDU
Deputy State President Carlo Schmid (SPD) served as acting State President from 3 to 13 August 1948.
3 Gebhard Müller
(1900–1990) 		13 August 1948 25 April 1952
state was merged
into
Baden-Württemberg 		3 years, 256 days CDU

Trivia[edit]

The office of a minister-president is both highly prestigious in its own right and acts as a potential "career springboard" for German politicians.

Three out of twelve Presidents of Germany have been head of a state before becoming President:

One out of 13 Presidents of the Bundestag has been head of a state before becoming President:

Five out of nine Chancellors of Germany have been head of a state before becoming Chancellor:

One out of ten Presidents of the Federal Constitutional Court has been head of a state before becoming President:

  • Gebhard Müller, State President of Württemberg-Hohenzollern (1948–1952), Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg (1953–1958)

Many more minister-presidents went on to become members of the federal government, EU institutions or associate judges of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany for example.

The three longest serving office-holders were:

  • Peter Altmeier, Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate (1947–1969, 21 years, 314 days)
  • Franz-Josef Röder, Minister-President of Saarland (1959–1979, 20 years, 64 days)
  • Wilhelm Kaisen, President of the Senate and Mayor of Bremen (1945–1965, 19 years, 354 days)

The three shortest serving office-holders were:

There have been eight female heads of a German state:

One person has managed to become Minister-President of two different states, which did not merge into one another:

  • Bernhard Vogel, Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate (1976–1988) and Minister-President of Thuringia (1992–2003)

Two persons have been minister-presidents of two states before and after they had merged into one another:

  • Reinhold Maier, Minister-President of Württemberg-Baden (1945–1952), Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg (1952–1953)
  • Gebhard Müller, State President of Württemberg-Hohenzollern (1948–1952), Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg (1953–1958)

So far, there has been already one Minister-President from a recognized national minority: Stanislaw Tillich, who served as Minister-President of Saxony between 2008 and 2017, is of Sorbian origin and speaks Sorbian and German as his mother tongue.

David McAllister, who served as the Minister-President of Lower Saxony between 2010 and 2013, has been the first office-holder with dual nationality (Germany and United Kingdom).

The vast majority former minister-presidents have been members of Germany's two biggest political parties, the center-right CDU (or, in Bavaria, its sister party CSU) and the center-left SPD. However, all german parties currently represented in the Bundestag, apart from the AfD, have at least once provided a minister-president.

Alliance 90/The Greens:

Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP):

The Left:

  • Bodo Ramelow, Minister-President of Thuringia (2014–2020 and since 2020)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ According to the Bremen state constitution, the Senate (the Bremen state government) includes two mayors, one of whom also holds the position of President of the Senate. The President of the Senate is the head of government (de facto), whose role corresponds to that of a minister-president in the other german states, while the other mayor is his or her deputy. Regardless, in informal contexts or in the media, the President of the Senate is often simply called 'mayor', although what actually matters is the title of President of the Senate.
  2. ^ "Verfassung des Landes Baden-Württemberg vom 11. November 1953 (GBl. S. 173)" (PDF). Lpb-bw.de. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Bayerische Verfassung" (PDF). Uni-augsburg.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Verfassung von Berlin Vom 23. November 1995" (PDF). Datenschutz.fu-berlin.de. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Verfassung des Landes Brandenburg". Bravors.brandenburg.de. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Landesverfassung der Freien Hansestadt Bremen" (PDF). Bremische-buergerschaft.de. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  7. ^ "Landesrecht - Justiz - Portal Hamburg". Landesrecht-hamburg.de. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Verfassung des Landes Hessen" (PDF). Starweb.hessen.de. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  9. ^ "VORIS Artikel 29 Verf ND - Landesnorm Niedersachsen - - Regierungsbildung - Niedersächsische Verfassung vom 19. Mai 1993 - gültig ab: 01.06.1993". Nds-voris.de. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Verfassung Des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern" (PDF). Landtag-mv.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Verfssung der North Rhine-Westphalia" (PDF). Krefeld.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Verfassung für Rheinland-Pfalz" (PDF). Rlp.de. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Verfassung des Saarlandes (SVerf) vom 15. Dezember 1947 zuletzt geändert durch das Gesetz vom 13. Juli 2016 (Amtsbl. I S. 178)" (PDF). Landtag-saar.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  14. ^ "REVOSax Landesrecht Sachsen : Verfassung". Revosax.sachsen.de. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  15. ^ "Landesrecht Sachsen-Anhalt Verf ST - Landesnorm Sachsen-Anhalt - Gesamtausgabe - Verfassung des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt vom 16. Juli 1992 - gültig ab: 18.07.1992". Landesrecht.sachsen-anhalt.de. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  16. ^ "Gesetze-Rechtsprechung Schleswig-Holstein Verf SH 2014 - Landesnorm Schleswig-Holstein - Gesamtausgabe - Verfassung des Landes Schleswig-Holstein in der Fassung vom 2. Dezember 2014 - gültig ab: 11.12.2014". Gesetze-rechtsprechung.sh.juris.de. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  17. ^ "Landesrecht TH Verf TH - Landesnorm Thüringen - Gesamtausgabe - Verfassung des Freistaats Thüringen vom 25. Oktober 1993 - gültig ab: 30.10.1993". Landtag.thueringen.de. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  18. ^ "Inkompatibilitäten mit dem Bundestagsmandat" (PDF).
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