Minister president (Germany)

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

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.

StateTitleElection thresholdRecall procedurePosition in cabinetPower to shape the cabinetRight to grant pardonMinimum ageOther provisions
Baden-Württemberg[2]Minister-presidentmajority of membersconstructive vote of no confidenceguideline competencecabinet appointments subject to parliamentary approval, the state parliament may recall individual cabinet ministers with a two-thirds majorityyes35
Free State of Bavaria[3]Minister-presidentsimple majoritynoneguideline competencecabinet appointments subject to parliamentary approvalyes40
Berlin[4]Governing Mayorsimple majorityvote of no confidence, but if the state parliament does not elect a new Governing Mayor within 21 days, the former officeholder is reinvested automaticallyguideline competencefullno (whole cabinet)18 (de facto)
Brandenburg[5]Minister-Presidentmajority of members (first and second ballot), plurality (third ballot)constructive vote of no confidenceguideline competencefullyes18 (de facto)
Bremen[6]President of the Senate and Mayorsimple majorityconstructive vote of no confidenceceremonial precedencenone, the parliament elects and dismisses all cabinet membersno (whole cabinet)18may not be a member of the state parliament
Hamburg[7]First Mayormajority of membersconstructive vote of no confidenceguideline competencecabinet appointments subject to parliamentary approvalno (whole cabinet)18may not be a member of the state parliament
Hesse[8]Minister-presidentmajority of membersvote of no confidenceguideline competencedismissal of cabinet members subject to parliamentary approvalyes18 (de facto)members of noble houses, which have reigned in Germany before 1918, are ineligible for office
Lower Saxony[9]Minister-presidentmajority of members or plurality, if the state parliament does not elect a minister-president in 21 days and does not dissolve itself thereuponconstructive vote of no confidenceguideline competencecabinet appointments subject to parliamentary approvalyes18 (de facto)
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern[10]Minister-presidentmajority of members or plurality, if the state parliament does not elect a minister-president in 28 days and does not dissolve itself thereuponconstructive vote of no confidenceguideline competencefullyes18 (de facto)
North Rhine-Westphalia[11]Minister-Presidentmajority of members (first ballot), simple majority (second and third ballot), runoff (fourth ballot)constructive vote of no confidenceguideline competencefullyes18has to be a member of the state parliament
Rhineland-Palatinate[12]Minister-presidentmajority of membersvote of no confidenceguideline competencefullyes18 (de facto)
Saarland[13]Minister-presidentmajority of membersvote of no confidenceguideline competencecabinet appointments and dismissals subject to parliamentary approvalno (whole cabinet)18 (de facto)
Free State of Saxony[14]Minister-presidentmajority of members (first ballot), simple majority (following ballots)constructive vote of no confidenceguideline competencefullyes18 (de facto)
Saxony-Anhalt[15]Minister-presidentmajority of members or simple majority, if the state parliament does not elect a minister-president in 14 days and does not dissolve itself thereuponconstructive vote of no confidenceguideline competencefullyes18 (de facto)
Schleswig-Holstein[16]Minister-presidentmajority of members (first and second ballot), plurality (third ballot)constructive vote of no confidenceguideline competencefullyes18 (de facto)
Free State of Thuringia[17]Minister-presidentmajority of members (first and second ballot), plurality (third ballot)constructive vote of no confidenceguideline competencefullyes18 (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

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

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.

PortraitName
Cabinet
Titleentered officePartyDeputy
Title

Baden-Württemberg
Winfried Kretschmann
Kretschmann III
Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg12 May 2011Alliance 90/The GreensThomas Strobl
(CDU)
Deputy Minister-President

Free State of Bavaria
Markus Söder
Söder III
Minister-President of Bavaria16 March 2018CSUHubert Aiwanger
(Free Voters)
Deputy Minister-President

Ulrike Scharf
(CSU)
Additional Deputy Minister-President

Berlin
Kai Wegner
Wegner
Governing Mayor of Berlin27 April 2023CDUFranziska Giffey
(SPD)
Mayor

Stefan Evers
(CDU)
Mayor

Brandenburg
Dietmar Woidke
Woidke III
Minister-President of Brandenburg28 August 2013SPDMichael Stübgen
(CDU)
First Deputy Minister-President

Ursula Nonnenmacher
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Second Deputy Minister-President

Free Hanseatic City of Bremen
Andreas Bovenschulte
Bovenschulte II
President of the Senate and Mayor of Bremen15 August 2019SPDMaike Schaefer
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Deputy President of the Senate and Mayor

Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Peter Tschentscher
Tschentscher II
First Mayor of Hamburg28 March 2018SPDKatharina Fegebank
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Second Mayor

Hesse
Boris Rhein
Rhein II
Minister-President of Hesse31 May 2022CDUKaweh Mansoori
(SPD)
Deputy Minister-President

Lower Saxony
Stephan Weil
Weil III
Minister-President of Lower Saxony19 February 2013SPDJulia Hamburg
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Deputy Minister-President

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Manuela Schwesig
Schwesig II
Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern4 July 2017SPDSimone Oldenburg
(The Left)
Deputy Minister-President

North Rhine-Westphalia
Hendrik Wüst
Wüst II
Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia27 October 2021CDUMona Neubaur
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Deputy Minister-President

Rhineland-Palatinate
Malu Dreyer
Dreyer III
Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate16 January 2013SPDKatharina Binz
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Deputy Minister-President

Saarland
Anke Rehlinger
Rehlinger
Minister-President of Saarland25 April 2022SPDJürgen Barke
(SPD)
Deputy Minister-President

Free State of Saxony
Michael Kretschmer
Kretschmer II
Minister-President of Saxony13 December 2017CDUWolfram Günther
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
First Deputy Minister-President

Martin Dulig
(SPD)
Second Deputy Minister-President

Saxony-Anhalt
Reiner Haseloff
Haseloff III
Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt19 April 2011CDUArmin Willingmann
(SPD)
First Deputy Minister-President

Lydia Hüskens
(FDP)
Second Deputy Minister-President

Schleswig-Holstein
Daniel Günther
Günther II
Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein28 June 2017CDUMonika Heinold
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Deputy Minister-President

Free State of Thuringia
Bodo Ramelow
Ramelow II
Minister-President of Thuringia4 March 2020The LeftGeorg Maier
(SPD)
First Deputy Minister-President

Anja Siegesmund
(Alliance 90/The Greens)
Second Deputy Minister-President

Lists of former minister-presidents

Minister-Presidents of Baden-Württemberg (since 1952)

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1 Reinhold Maier
(1889–1971)
25 April 195230 September 1953
resigned
1 year, 158 daysFDP
2 Gebhard Müller
(1900–1990)
30 September 195317 December 1958
resigned
appointed to the
Federal Constitutional
Court
5 years, 78 daysCDU
3 Kurt Georg Kiesinger
(1904–1988)
17 December 19581 December 1966
resigned
elected Chancellor
7 years, 349 daysCDU
Deputy Minister-President Wolfgang Haußmann (FDP) served as acting Minister-President from 1 to 16 December 1966.
4 Hans Filbinger
(1913–2007)
16 December 196630 August 1978
resigned
11 years, 257 daysCDU
5 Lothar Späth
(1937–2016)
30 August 197822 January 1991
resigned
12 years, 145 daysCDU
6 Erwin Teufel
(born 1939)
22 January 199121 April 2005
resigned
14 years, 89 daysCDU
7 Günther Oettinger
(born 1953)
21 April 200510 February 2010
resigned
appointed to the
European
Commission
4 years, 295 daysCDU
8 Stefan Mappus
(born 1966)
10 February 201012 May 20111 year, 91 daysCDU
9 Winfried Kretschmann
(born 1948)
12 May 2011Incumbent13 years, 15 daysAlliance 90/The Greens

Minister-Presidents of Bavaria (since 1945)

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1 Fritz Schäffer
(1888–1967)
28 May 194528 September 1945123 daysCSU
2 Wilhelm Hoegner
(1887–1980)
1st term
28 September 194516 December 19461 year, 79 daysSPD
3 Hans Ehard
(1887–1980)
1st term
21 December 194614 December 19547 years, 358 daysCSU
4 Wilhelm Hoegner
(1887–1980)
2nd term
14 December 19548 October 1957
resigned
2 years, 298 daysSPD
5 Hanns Seidel
(1901–1961)
16 October 195722 January 1960
resigned
2 years, 98 daysCSU
6 Hans Ehard
(1887–1980)
2nd term
26 January 196011 December 19622 years, 319 daysCSU
7 Alfons Goppel
(1905–1991)
11 December 19626 November 197815 years, 330 daysCSU
8 Franz Josef Strauss
(1915–1988)
6 November 19783 October 1988
died in office
9 years, 332 daysCSU
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 198828 May 1993
resigned
4 years, 221 daysCSU
10 Edmund Stoiber
(born 1941)
28 May 19939 October 2007
resigned
14 years, 135 daysCSU
11 Günther Beckstein
(born 1943)
9 October 200727 October 20081 year, 18 daysCSU
12 Horst Seehofer
(born 1949)
27 October 200813 March 2018
resigned
appointed
Federal Minister
of the Interior
9 years, 140 daysCSU
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 2018Incumbent6 years, 72 daysCSU

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

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1 Ernst Reuter
(1889–1953)
7 December 194829 September 1953
died in office
4 years, 296 daysSPD
2 Walther Schreiber
(1884–1958)
29 September 195311 January 19551 year, 104 daysCDU
3 Otto Suhr
(1894–1957)
11 January 195530 August 1957
died in office
2 years, 231 daysSPD
Mayor Franz Amrehn (CDU) served as acting Governing Mayor 30 August to 3 October 1957.
4 Willy Brandt
(1913–1992)
3 October 19571 December 1966
resigned
appointed
Federal Minister
for Foreign Affairs
and Vice Chancellor
9 years, 59 daysSPD
5 Heinrich Albertz
(1915–1993)
1 December 196619 October 1967
resigned
322 daysSPD
6 Klaus Schütz
(1926–2012)
19 October 19672 May 1977
resigned
9 years, 195 daysSPD
7 Dietrich Stobbe
(1938–2011)
2 May 197723 January 1981
resigned
3 years, 266 daysSPD
8 Hans-Jochen Vogel
(1926–2020)
23 January 198111 June 1981139 daysSPD
9 Richard von Weizsäcker
(1920–2015)
11 June 19819 February 1984
resigned
elected
President of Germany
2 years, 243 daysCDU
10 Eberhard Diepgen
(born 1941)
1st term
9 February 198416 March 19895 years, 35 daysCDU
11 Walter Momper[a]
(born 1945)
16 March 198924 January 19911 year, 314 daysSPD
12 Eberhard Diepgen
(born 1941)
2nd term
24 January 199116 June 2001
voted out of office by
a vote
of no confidence
10 years, 143 daysCDU
13 Klaus Wowereit
(born 1953)
16 June 200111 December 2014
resigned
13 years, 178 daysSPD
14 Michael Müller
(born 1964)
11 December 201421 December 20217 years, 10 daysSPD
15 Franziska Giffey
(born 1978)
21 December 202127 April 20231 year, 127 daysSPD
16 Kai Wegner
(born 1972)
27 April 2023Incumbent1 year, 30 daysCDU

Minister-Presidents of Brandenburg (since 1990)

PortraitName
(Born–Died)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took OfficeLeft OfficeDays
1 Manfred Stolpe
(1936–2019)
1 November 199026 June 2002
resigned
11 years, 237 daysSPD
2 Matthias Platzeck
(born 1953)
26 June 200228 August 2013
resigned
11 years, 63 daysSPD
3 Dietmar Woidke
(born 1961)
28 August 2013Incumbent10 years, 273 daysSPD

Presidents of the Senate and Mayors of Bremen (since 1945)

PortraitName
(Born–Died)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took OfficeLeft OfficeDays
1Erich Vagts
(1884–1967)
2 May 194531 July 194590 daysIndependent
2 Wilhelm Kaisen
(1887–1979)
31 July 194520 July 196519 years, 354 daysSPD
3 Willy Dehnkamp
(1903–1985)
20 July 196528 November 19672 years, 141 daysSPD
4 Hans Koschnick
(1929–2016)
28 November 196718 September 198517 years, 294 daysSPD
5 Klaus Wedemeier
(born 1944)
18 September 19854 July 19959 years, 289 daysSPD
6 Henning Scherf
(born 1938)
4 July 19958 November 2005
resigned
10 years, 127 daysSPD
7 Jens Böhrnsen
(born 1949)
8 November 200517 July 20159 years, 251 daysSPD
8 Carsten Sieling
(born 1959)
17 July 201515 August 20194 years, 29 daysSPD
9 Andreas Bovenschulte
(born 1965)
15 August 2019Incumbent4 years, 286 daysSPD

First Mayors of Hamburg (since 1946)

PortraitName
(Born–Died)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took OfficeLeft OfficeDays
1 Max Brauer
(1887–1973)
1st term
22 November 19462 December 1953
replaced by
a constructive vote
of no confidence
7 years, 10 daysSPD
2 Kurt Sieveking
(1897–1986)
2 December 19534 December 19574 years, 2 daysCDU
3 Max Brauer
(1887–1973)
2nd term
4 December 195731 December 1960
resigned
3 years, 27 daysSPD
4 Paul Nevermann
(1902–1979)
1 January 19619 June 1965
resigned
4 years, 159 daysSPD
5 Herbert Weichmann
(1896–1983)
9 June 19659 June 1971
resigned
6 years, 0 daysSPD
6 Peter Schulz
(1930–2013)
9 June 197112 November 19743 years, 156 daysSPD
7 Hans-Ulrich Klose
(1937–2023)
12 November 197424 June 1981
resigned
6 years, 224 daysSPD
8 Klaus von Dohnanyi
(born 1928)
24 June 19818 June 19886 years, 350 daysSPD
9 Henning Voscherau
(1941–2016)
8 June 198812 November 19979 years, 157 daysSPD
10 Ortwin Runde
(born 1944)
12 November 199731 October 20013 years, 353 daysSPD
11 Ole von Beust
(born 1955)
31 October 200125 August 2010
resigned
8 years, 298 daysCDU
12 Christoph Ahlhaus
(born 1969)
25 August 20107 March 2011194 daysCDU
13 Olaf Scholz
(born 1958)
7 March 201113 March 2018
resigned
appointed
Federal Minister of Finance
and Vice Chancellor
7 years, 6 daysSPD
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 2018Incumbent6 years, 60 daysSPD

Minister-Presidents of Hesse (since 1946)

PortraitName
(Born–Died)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took OfficeLeft OfficeDays
1 Christian Stock
(1884–1967)
20 December 194614 December 19503 years, 359 daysSPD
2 Georg-August Zinn
(1901–1976)
14 December 19503 October 196918 years, 293 daysSPD
3 Albert Osswald
(1919–1996)
3 October 196916 October 1976
resigned
7 years, 13 daysSPD
4 Holger Börner
(1931–2006)
16 October 197623 April 198710 years, 189 daysSPD
5 Walter Wallmann
(1932–2013)
23 April 19875 April 19913 years, 347 daysCDU
6 Hans Eichel
(born 1941)
5 April 19917 April 19998 years, 2 daysSPD
7 Roland Koch
(born 1958)
7 April 199931 August 2010
resigned
11 years, 146 daysCDU
8 Volker Bouffier
(born 1951)
31 August 201031 May 2022
resigned
11 years, 273 daysCDU
9 Boris Rhein
(born 1972)
31 May 2022Incumbent1 year, 362 daysCDU

Minister-Presidents of Lower Saxony (since 1946)

PortraitName
(Born–Died)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took OfficeLeft OfficeDays
1 Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf
(1893–1961)
1st term
9 December 194626 May 19558 years, 168 daysSPD
2 Heinrich Hellwege
(1908–1991)
26 May 195512 May 19593 years, 351 daysGerman Party
3 Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf
(1893–1961)
2nd term
12 May 195921 December 1961
died in office
2 years, 223 daysSPD
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 19618 July 19708 years, 191 daysSPD
5 Alfred Kubel
(1909–1999)
8 July 19706 February 1976
resigned
5 years, 213 daysSPD
6 Ernst Albrecht
(1930–2014)
6 February 197621 June 199014 years, 135 daysCDU
7 Gerhard Schröder
(born 1944)
21 June 199028 October 1998
resigned
elected Chancellor
8 years, 129 daysSPD
8Gerhard Glogowski
(born 1943)
28 October 199815 October 1999
resigned
352 daysSPD
9 Sigmar Gabriel
(born 1959)
15 October 19994 March 20033 years, 140 daysSPD
10 Christian Wulff
(born 1959)
4 March 200330 June 2010
resigned
elected President of Germany
7 years, 118 daysCDU
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 201019 February 20132 years, 233 daysCDU
12 Stephan Weil
(born 1958)
19 February 2013Incumbent11 years, 98 daysSPD

Minister-Presidents of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (since 1990)

PortraitName
(Born–Died)
TermParty
Took officeLeft officeDays
1 Alfred Gomolka
(1942–2020)
27 October 199019 March 1992
resigned
1 year, 144 daysCDU
2 Berndt Seite
(born 1940)
19 March 19923 November 19986 years, 229 daysCDU
3 Harald Ringstorff
(1939–2020)
3 November 19986 October 2008
resigned
9 years, 338 daysSPD
4 Erwin Sellering
(born 1949)
6 October 20084 July 2017
resigned
8 years, 271 daysSPD
5 Manuela Schwesig
(born 1974)
4 July 2017Incumbent6 years, 328 daysSPD

Minister-Presidents of North Rhine-Westphalia (since 1946)

PortraitName
(Born–Died)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took OfficeLeft OfficeDays
1 Rudolf Amelunxen
(1888–1969)
23 August 194617 June 1947298 daysNon-partisan
(until 1947)
Centre Party
(from 1947)
2 Karl Arnold
(1901–1958)
17 June 194720 February 1956
replaced
by a constructive vote
of no confidence
8 years, 248 daysCDU
3 Fritz Steinhoff
(1897–1969)
20 February 195621 July 19582 years, 151 daysSPD
4 Franz Meyers
(1908–2002)
21 July 19588 December 1966
replaced
by a constructive vote
of no confidence
8 years, 140 daysCDU
5 Heinz Kühn
(1912–1992)
8 December 196620 September 197811 years, 286 daysSPD
6 Johannes Rau
(1931–2006)
20 September 197827 May 1998
resigned
19 years, 249 daysSPD
7 Wolfgang Clement
(1940–2020)
27 May 199822 October 2002
resigned
appointed Federal Minister
for the Economy
and Labour
4 years, 148 daysSPD
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 200222 June 20052 years, 228 daysSPD
9 Jürgen Rüttgers
(born 1951)
22 June 200514 July 20105 years, 22 daysCDU
10 Hannelore Kraft
(born 1961)
14 July 201027 June 20176 years, 348 daysSPD
11 Armin Laschet
(born 1961)
27 June 201726 October 2021
resigned
elected to the Bundestag
4 years, 121 daysCDU
Deputy Minister-President Joachim Stamp (FDP) served as acting Minister-President from 26 to 27 October 2021
12 Hendrik Wüst
(born 1975)
27 October 2021Incumbent2 years, 213 daysCDU

Minister-Presidents of Rhineland-Palatinate (since 1946)

PortraitName
(Born–Died)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took OfficeLeft OfficeDays
1Wilhelm Boden
(1890–1961)
1 December 19469 July 1947220 daysCDU
2 Peter Altmeier
(1899–1977)
9 July 194719 May 196921 years, 314 daysCDU
3 Helmut Kohl
(1930–2017)
19 May 19692 December 1976
resigned
elected to the Bundestag
7 years, 197 daysCDU
4 Bernhard Vogel
(born 1932)
2 December 19768 December 1988
resigned
12 years, 6 daysCDU
5 Carl-Ludwig Wagner
(1930–2012)
8 December 198821 May 19912 years, 164 daysCDU
6 Rudolf Scharping
(born 1947)
21 May 199126 October 1994
resigned
elected to the Bundestag
3 years, 158 daysSPD
7 Kurt Beck
(born 1949)
26 October 199416 January 2013
resigned
18 years, 82 daysSPD
8 Malu Dreyer
(born 1961)
16 January 2013Incumbent11 years, 132 daysSPD

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

PortraitName
(born and died)
Term of officePolitical party
Took officeLeft officeDays
1 Johannes Hoffmann
(1890–1967)
20 December 194729 October 1955
resigned
7 years, 313 daysCVP
2Heinrich Welsch
(1888–1976)
29 October 195510 January 195673 daysIndependent
3 Hubert Ney[a]
(1892–1984)
10 January 19564 June 1957
resigned
1 year, 145 daysCDU
4Egon Reinert
(1908–1959)
4 June 195723 April 1959
died in office
1 year, 323 daysCDU
5 Franz-Josef Röder
(1909–1979)
23 April 195926 June 1979
died in office
20 years, 64 daysCDU
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 19799 April 19855 years, 278 daysCDU
7 Oskar Lafontaine
(born 1943)
9 April 198510 November 1998
resigned
appointed Federal Minister
of Finance
13 years, 215 daysSPD
8 Reinhard Klimmt
(born 1942)
10 November 199829 September 1999323 daysSPD
9 Peter Müller
(born 1955)
29 September 199910 August 2011
resigned
appointed to the
Federal Constitutional Court
11 years, 315 daysCDU
10 Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
(born 1962)
10 August 20111 March 2018
resigned
6 years, 203 daysCDU
11 Tobias Hans
(born 1978)
1 March 201825 April 20224 years, 55 daysCDU
12 Anke Rehlinger
(born 1976)
25 April 2022Incumbent2 years, 32 daysSPD

Minister-Presidents of Saxony (since 1990)

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took OfficeLeft OfficeDays
1 Kurt Biedenkopf
(1930–2021)
27 October 199018 April 2002
resigned
11 years, 173 daysCDU
2 Georg Milbradt
(born 1945)
18 April 200228 May 2008
resigned
6 years, 40 daysCDU
3 Stanislaw Tillich
(born 1959)
28 May 200813 December 2017
resigned
9 years, 199 daysCDU
4 Michael Kretschmer
(born 1975)
13 December 2017Incumbent6 years, 166 daysCDU

Minister-Presidents of Saxony-Anhalt (since 1990)

PortraitName
(Born–Died)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took OfficeLeft OfficeDays
1 Gerd Gies
(born 1943)
28 October 19904 July 1991
resigned
249 daysCDU
2 Werner Münch
(born 1940)
4 July 19912 December 1993
resigned
2 years, 151 daysCDU
3 Christoph Bergner
(born 1948)
2 December 199321 June 1994201 daysCDU
4 Reinhard Höppner
(1948–2014)
21 June 199416 May 20027 years, 329 daysSPD
5 Wolfgang Böhmer
(born 1936)
16 May 200219 April 20118 years, 338 daysCDU
6 Reiner Haseloff
(born 1954)
19 April 2011Incumbent13 years, 38 daysCDU

Minister-Presidents of Schleswig-Holstein (since 1946)

PortraitName
(Born–Died)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took OfficeLeft OfficeDays
1Theodor Steltzer
(1885–1967)
12 September 194629 April 1947229 daysCDU
2 Hermann Lüdemann
(1880–1959)
29 April 194729 August 19492 years, 122 daysSPD
3Bruno Diekmann
(1897–1982)
29 August 19495 September 19501 year, 7 daysSPD
4 Walter Bartram
(1893–1971)
5 September 195025 June 1951
resigned
293 daysCDU
5Friedrich-Wilhelm Lübke
(1887–1954)
25 June 195111 October 1954
resigned
3 years, 108 daysCDU
6 Kai-Uwe von Hassel
(1913–1997)
11 October 195414 January 1963
resigned
appointed Federal Minister
of Defence
8 years, 95 daysCDU
7 Helmut Lemke
(1907–1990)
14 January 196324 May 19718 years, 130 daysCDU
8 Gerhard Stoltenberg
(1928–2001)
24 May 197114 October 1982
resigned
appointed Federal Minister
of Finance
11 years, 143 daysCDU
9 Uwe Barschel
(1944–1987)
14 October 19822 October 1987
resigned
4 years, 353 daysCDU
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 198819 May 1993
resigned
4 years, 353 daysSPD
11 Heide Simonis
(1943–2023)
19 May 199327 April 200511 years, 343 daysSPD
12 Peter Harry Carstensen
(born 1947)
27 April 200512 June 20127 years, 46 daysCDU
13 Torsten Albig
(born 1963)
12 June 201228 June 20175 years, 16 daysSPD
14 Daniel Günther
(born 1973)
28 June 2017Incumbent6 years, 334 daysCDU

Minister-Presidents of Thuringia (since 1990)

PortraitName
(Born–Died)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took officeLeft officeDays
1 Josef Duchac
(born 1938)
8 November 19905 February 1992
resigned
1 year, 89 daysCDU
2 Bernhard Vogel
(born 1932)
5 February 19925 June 2003
resigned
11 years, 120 daysCDU
3 Dieter Althaus
(born 1958)
5 June 200330 October 20096 years, 147 daysCDU
4 Christine Lieberknecht
(born 1958)
30 October 20095 December 20145 years, 36 daysCDU
5 Bodo Ramelow
(born 1956)
1st term
5 December 20145 February 20205 years, 62 daysThe Left
6 Thomas Kemmerich
(born 1965)
5 February 20204 March 2020
resigned
28 daysFDP
7 Bodo Ramelow
(born 1956)
2nd term
4 March 2020Incumbent4 years, 84 daysThe Left

Defunct states

State Presidents of Baden (1947–1952)

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
Leo Wohleb
(1888–1955)
24 July 194725 April 1952
state was merged
into
Baden-Württemberg
4 years, 276 daysCDU

Minister-Presidents of Württemberg-Baden (1945–1952)

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took OfficeLeft OfficeDays
Reinhold Maier
(1889–1971)
19 September 194525 April 1952
state was merged
into
Baden-Württemberg
6 years, 219 daysFDP

State Presidents of Württemberg-Hohenzollern (1945–1952)

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of OfficePolitical Party
Took OfficeLeft OfficeDays
1 Carlo Schmid
(1896–1979)
16 October 194522 July 19471 year, 279 daysSPD
2 Lorenz Bock
(1883–1948)
22 July 19473 August 1948
died in office
1 year, 12 daysCDU
Deputy State President Carlo Schmid (SPD) served as acting State President from 3 to 13 August 1948.
3 Gebhard Müller
(1900–1990)
13 August 194825 April 1952
state was merged
into
Baden-Württemberg
3 years, 256 daysCDU

Trivia

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

References