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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 Berlin Governing Mayor (Regierender Bürgermeister) (before 1951 Mayor/Bürgermeister)
- in Bremen President of the Senate and Mayor (Präsident des Senats und Bürgermeister)[1]
- in Hamburg First Mayor (Erster Bürgermeister).
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).
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 | limited (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 | limited (cabinet appointments subject to parliamentary approval) | yes | 40 | |
| Berlin[4] | Governing Mayor | simple majority | vote of no confidence (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 | limited (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 | limited (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 | limited (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 | limited (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.
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. Resigning minister-presidents 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.
The longest-serving incumbent office-holder is Reiner Haseloff, who has served as the Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt since 19 April 2011. Alexander Schweitzer, the Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate (since 10 July 2024), is the shortest-serving incumbent.
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Minister-Presidents of Baden-Württemberg (since 1952)
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of Office | Political Party | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
| 1 | .JPG) |
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 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
Stefan Mappus (born 1966) |
10 February 2010 | 12 May 2011 | 1 year, 91 days | CDU | |||
| 9 | .jpg) |
Winfried Kretschmann (born 1948) |
12 May 2011 | Incumbent | 13 years, 195 days | Alliance 90/The Greens | |||
Minister-Presidents of Bavaria (since 1945)
| 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 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
Markus Söder (born 1967) |
16 March 2018 | Incumbent | 6 years, 252 days | CSU | |||
Governing Mayors of Berlin (since 1948, West Berlin until 1990/91)
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of Office | Political Party | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
| 1 | .jpg) |
Ernst Reuter (1889–1953) |
7 December 1948 | 29 September 1953 died in office |
4 years, 296 days | SPD | |||
| 2 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
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 | _by_Sandro_Halank.jpg) |
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 | 1 year, 210 days | CDU | |||
- Walter Momper was the last Governing Mayor of West Berlin before reunification. 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)
| Portrait | Name (Born–Died) |
Term of Office | Political Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took Office | Left Office | Days | ||||
| 1 | _(2).JPG) |
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 | 11 years, 87 days | SPD |
Presidents of the Senate and Mayors of Bremen (since 1947)
| Portrait | Name (Born–Died) |
Term of Office | Political Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took Office | Left Office | Days | ||||
| 1 |  |
Wilhelm Kaisen (1887–1979) |
31 July 1945 | 20 July 1965 | 19 years, 354 days | SPD |
| 2 |  |
Willy Dehnkamp (1903–1985) |
20 July 1965 | 28 November 1967 | 2 years, 141 days | SPD |
| 3 |  |
Hans Koschnick (1929–2016) |
28 November 1967 | 18 September 1985 | 17 years, 294 days | SPD |
| 4 |  |
Klaus Wedemeier (born 1944) |
18 September 1985 | 4 July 1995 | 9 years, 289 days | SPD |
| 5 |  |
Henning Scherf (born 1938) |
4 July 1995 | 8 November 2005 resigned |
10 years, 127 days | SPD |
| 6 | .jpg) |
Jens Böhrnsen (born 1949) |
8 November 2005 | 17 July 2015 | 9 years, 251 days | SPD |
| 7 |  |
Carsten Sieling (born 1959) |
17 July 2015 | 15 August 2019 | 4 years, 29 days | SPD |
| 8 |  |
Andreas Bovenschulte (born 1965) |
15 August 2019 | Incumbent | 5 years, 100 days | SPD |
First Mayors of Hamburg (since 1946)
| 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 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
Peter Tschentscher (born 1966) |
28 March 2018 | Incumbent | 6 years, 240 days | SPD | |||
Minister-Presidents of Hesse (since 1946)
| 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 | 2 years, 176 days | CDU |
Minister-Presidents of Lower Saxony (since 1946)
| Portrait | Name (Born–Died) |
Term of Office | Political Party | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took Office | Left Office | Days | |||||||
| 1 | ![Thumb](#/media/File:Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-F046120-0016,_Koblenz,_"Rittersturz-Konferenz",_Kopf.jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
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, 278 days | SPD | |||
Minister-Presidents of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (since 1990)
| 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 | 7 years, 142 days | SPD |
Minister-Presidents of North Rhine-Westphalia (since 1946)
| 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 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
Hendrik Wüst (born 1975) |
27 October 2021 | Incumbent | 3 years, 27 days | CDU | |||
Minister-Presidents of Rhineland-Palatinate (since 1946)
| 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 | .jpg) |
Peter Altmeier (1899–1977) |
9 July 1947 | 19 May 1969 | 21 years, 314 days | CDU |
| 3 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
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 | _cropped.jpg) |
Kurt Beck (born 1949) |
26 October 1994 | 16 January 2013 resigned |
18 years, 82 days | SPD |
| 8 |  |
Malu Dreyer (born 1961) |
16 January 2013 | 10 July 2024 | 11 years, 176 days | SPD |
| 9 |  |
Alexander Schweitzer (born 1973) |
10 July 2024 | Incumbent | 136 days | SPD |
Minister-Presidents of Saarland (since 1947, joined the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957)
| 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 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
Werner Zeyer (1929–2000) |
5 July 1979 | 9 April 1985 | 5 years, 278 days | CDU | |||
| 7 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
Anke Rehlinger (born 1976) |
25 April 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 212 days | SPD | |||
- 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)
| 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 | .jpg) |
Georg Milbradt (born 1945) |
18 April 2002 | 28 May 2008 resigned |
6 years, 40 days | CDU |
| 3 | .jpg) |
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, 346 days | CDU |
Minister-Presidents of Saxony-Anhalt (since 1990)
| 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 | _09.jpg) |
Reiner Haseloff (born 1954) |
19 April 2011 | Incumbent | 13 years, 218 days | CDU |
Minister-Presidents of Schleswig-Holstein (since 1946)
| 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 | ![Thumb](#/media/File:Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-F046120-0015,_Koblenz,_"Rittersturz-Konferenz",_Lüdemann.jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
Gerhard Stoltenberg (1928–2001) |
24 May 1971 | 14 October 1982 resigned appointed Federal Minister of Finance |
11 years, 143 days | CDU | |||
| 9 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
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 | .jpg) |
Daniel Günther (born 1973) |
28 June 2017 | Incumbent | 7 years, 148 days | CDU | |||
Minister-Presidents of Thuringia (since 1990)
| Portrait | Name (Born–Died) |
Term of Office | Political Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Days | ||||
| 1 | .jpg) |
Josef Duchac (born 1938) |
8 November 1990 | 5 February 1992 resigned |
1 year, 89 days | CDU |
| 2 | .jpg) |
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, 264 days | The Left |
State Presidents of Baden (1947–1952)
| 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)
| 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)
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of Office | Political Party | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took Office | Left Office | Days | |||||||
| 1 | .jpg) |
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 | |||
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:
- Richard von Weizsäcker, Governing Mayor of Berlin (1981–1984)
- Johannes Rau, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia (1978–1998)
- Christian Wulff, Minister-President of Lower Saxony (2003–2010)
One out of 13 Presidents of the Bundestag has been head of a state before becoming President:
- Kai-Uwe von Hassel, Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein (1954–1963)
Five out of nine Chancellors of Germany have been head of a state before becoming Chancellor:
- Kurt-Georg Kiesinger, Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg (1958–1966)
- Willy Brandt, Governing Mayor of West-Berlin (1957–1966)
- Helmut Kohl, Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate (1969–1976)
- Gerhard Schröder, Minister-President of Lower Saxony (1990–1998)
- Olaf Scholz, First Mayor of Hamburg (2011–2018)
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:
- Thomas Kemmerich, Minister-President of Thuringia (2020, 28 days)
- Heinrich Welsch, Minister-President of Saarland (1955–1956, 73 days)
- Hans-Jochen Vogel, Governing Mayor of Berlin (1981, 139 days)
There have been eight female heads of a German state:
- Heide Simonis, Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein (1993–2005)
- Christine Lieberknecht, Minister-President of Thuringia (2009–2014)
- Hannelore Kraft, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia (2010–2017)
- Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Minister-President of Saarland (2011–2018)
- Malu Dreyer, Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate (2013–2024)
- Manuela Schwesig, Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (incumbent since 2017)
- Franziska Giffey, Governing Mayor of Berlin (2021–2023)
- Anke Rehlinger, Minister-President of Saarland (incumbent since 2022)
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, several other parties (including all parties currently represented in the Bundestag, apart from the AfD and BSW) have at least once provided a minister-president.
- Winfried Kretschmann, Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg (since 2011)
- Rudolf Amelunxen, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia (1946–1947)
Christian People's Party of Saarland:
- Johannes Hoffmann, Minister-President of Saarland (1947–1955)
Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP):
- Reinhold Maier, Minister-President of Württemberg-Baden (1945–1952), Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg (1952–1953)
- Thomas Kemmerich, Minister-President of Thuringia (2020)
- Heinrich Hellwege, Minister-President of Lower Saxony (1955–1959)
- Bodo Ramelow, Minister-President of Thuringia (2014–2020 and since 2020)
One Minister-president was independent:
- Heinrich Welsch, Minister-President of Saarland (1955–1956)
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