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Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action

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Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz (BMWK)
Agency overview
Formed23 October 1917 as the Reichswirtschaftsamt
JurisdictionGovernment of Germany
HeadquartersBerlin/Bonn
Employees2,187
Annual budget€10.434 billion (2021)[1]
Minister responsible
  • Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
Websitewww.bmwk.de

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (German: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsminɪsˌteːʁiʊm fyːɐ ˈvɪʁtʃaft ʊnt ˈkliːmaˌʃʊts] ⓘ), abbreviated BMWK (was BMWi), is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. It was previously known as the "Ministry of Economy". It was recreated in 2005 as "Ministry of Economics and Technology" after it had previously been merged with other ministries to form the Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour between 2002 and 2005. The ministry is advised by the Council of Advisors on Digital Economy.

History

The historical predecessor of the current Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action was the Reichswirtschaftsamt (Reich Economic Office), founded in 1917. In 1919, this became the Reichswirtschaftsministerium (Reich Ministry of Economy), which existed until 1945.

In postwar occupied Germany, its functions were exercised by the Administrative Office of Economy (German: Verwaltungsamt für Wirtschaft) between 1946 and 1949. After the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal Ministry of Economics (German: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft) existed from 1949 to 1998. From May 1971 to December 1972, it was temporarily merged with the Federal Ministry of Finance, in the Federal Ministry of Economics and Finance. In 1998 the technology section of the Ministry of Research was added, making it the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.

Between 2002 and 2005, it was merged with the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and one part of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs - the other part being merged with the old Federal Ministry for Health, then the Ministry of Health and Social Security. This transformations aimed to consolidate the policy-fields of economics and labour market, on which the second term of chancellor Gerhard Schröder wanted to focus, into one hand. Because the new Ministry was very large and important, it was often referred to as a super-ministry (Superministerium) and its minister as a super-minister (Superminister). The creation of the new Ministry was widely seen as failed, basically because of the poor performance of the only office-holder Wolfgang Clement.

Under the following grand coalition headed by Angela Merkel, the portfolio reshuffle was reversed, and the old Federal Ministries of Economics and Technology, of Labour and Social Affairs and of Health were created once again as Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. It was renamed to Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in 2013.

Structure

Headquarters
Façade
Entrance hall
Robert Habeck, Green

The Ministry is organised into 10 departments and one central department.[3]

  • Central Administration – Z
  • European Policy – E
  • Economic Policy – I
  • Economic Stabilisation and Energy Security – WE
  • Climate Action – K
  • Energy Policy: Heating and Efficiency – II
  • Energy Policy: Electricity and Grid – III
  • Industrial Policy – IV
  • External Economic Policy – V
  • Digital and Innovation Policy – VI
  • SME Policy - VII

The ministry is headquartered in Berlin.

Agencies

In addition to its own operations, the Ministry also oversees the following agencies:[4]

Ministers and Secretaries of State

Main article: List of German economics ministers

Ministers

Political Party:   CDU   SPD   FDP   IND   CSU   Grünen(Alliance '90/The Greens)

Name
(Born–died) 		Portrait Party Term of Office Chancellor
(Cabinet)
Federal Minister for Economics
1 Ludwig Erhard
(1897–1977) 		CDU 20 September 1949 16 October 1963 Adenauer
(I • II • III • IV • V)
2 Kurt Schmücker
(1919–1996) 		CDU 17 October 1963 30 November 1966 Erhard
(I • II)
3 Karl Schiller
(1911–1994) 		SPD 1 December 1966 7 July 1972 Kiesinger
Brandt (I)
4 Helmut Schmidt
(1918–2015) 		SPD 7 July 1972 15 December 1972 Brandt (I)
5 Hans Friderichs
(born 1931) 		FDP 15 December 1972 7 October 1977 Brandt (II)
Schmidt (I • II)
6 Otto Graf Lambsdorff
(1926–2009) 		FDP 7 October 1977 17 September 1982 Schmidt
(II • III)
7 Manfred Lahnstein
(born 1937) 		SPD 17 September 1982 1 October 1982 Schmidt
(III)
8
(6) 		Otto Graf Lambsdorff
(1926–2009) 		FDP 4 October 1982 27 June 1984 Kohl
(I • II)
9 Martin Bangemann
(1934–2022) 		FDP 27 June 1984 9 December 1988 Kohl
(II • III)
10 Helmut Haussmann
(born 1943) 		FDP 9 December 1988 18 January 1991 Kohl
(III)
11 Jürgen Möllemann
(1945–2003) 		FDP 18 January 1991 21 January 1993 Kohl
(IV)
12 Günter Rexrodt
(1941–2004) 		FDP 21 January 1993 26 October 1998 Kohl
(IV • V)
Federal Minister for Economics and Technology
13 Werner Müller
(1946–2019) 		IND (for the SPD) 27 October 1998 22 October 2002 Schröder
(I)
Federal Minister for Economics and Labour
14 Wolfgang Clement
(1940–2020) 		SPD 22 October 2002 22 November 2005 Schröder
(II)
Federal Minister for Economics and Technology
15 Michael Glos
(born 1944) 		CSU 22 November 2005 10 February 2009 Merkel
(I)
16 Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg
(born 1971) 		CSU 10 February 2009 28 October 2009
17 Rainer Brüderle
(born 1945) 		FDP 28 October 2009 12 May 2011 Merkel
(II)
18 Philipp Rösler
(born 1973) 		FDP 12 May 2011 17 December 2013
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy
19 Sigmar Gabriel
(born 1958) 		SPD 17 December 2013 27 January 2017 Merkel
(III)
20 Brigitte Zypries
(born 1953) 		SPD 27 January 2017 14 March 2018 Merkel
(III)
21 Peter Altmaier
(born 1958) 		CDU 14 March 2018 8 December 2021 Merkel
(IV)
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
22 Robert Habeck
(born 1969) 		Grünen 8 December 2021 Incumbent Scholz
(Scholz)

Secretaries

Ministry for Economy (1949–1998)

Parliamentary State Secretaries
State Secretaries

Ministry for Economics and Technology (1998–2002)

Parliamentary State Secretaries
State Secretaries

Ministry for Economics and Labour (2002–2005)

Parliamentary State Secretaries
State Secretaries

Ministry of Economics and Technology (2005–2013)

Parliamentary State Secretaries
State Secretaries

Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (2013–2021)

Parliamentary State Secretaries
State Secretaries

Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (since 2021)

Parliamentary State Secretaries
State Secretaries

References

  1. ^ "Bundeshaushalt". www.bundeshaushalt.de. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Fact-sheet Duale Ausbildung" (PDF). bmwi.de (in German).
  3. ^ Action, BMWK-Federal Ministry for Economics Affairs and Climate. "Organisational Chart of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action". www.bmwk.de. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  4. ^ The Ministry's Agencies
  5. ^ Riham Alkousaa and Christian Kraemer (17 May 2023), German economy ministry official leaves post amid nepotism scandal Reuters.
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