Cabinet of Germany

Germany

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The Cabinet of Germany (German: Bundeskabinett or Bundesregierung) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Chancellor and the cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's organization are set down in articles 62 to 69 of the Basic Law.

Nomination

The Chancellor is elected by the federal parliament (Bundestag) after being proposed by the President. Following the election, the Chancellor is appointed by the President. The ministers are appointed (and dismissed) by the President upon proposal of the Chancellor. Eventually, before taking office, the Chancellor and ministers swear an oath in front of the parliament.

Functioning

The Chancellor is responsible for guiding the cabinet and deciding its political direction. According to the principle of departmentalization (Ressortprinzip), the cabinet ministers are free to carry out their duties independently within the boundaries set by the Chancellor's political directives. The Chancellor also decides the scope of each minister's duties. If two ministers disagree on a particular point, the cabinet resolves the conflict by a majority vote (Kollegialprinzip or principle of deference).

The Chancellor is in charge of the government's administrative affairs, which are usually delegated to the head of the Chancellery. Details are laid down in the government's rules for internal procedures (Geschäftsordnung). These state, e.g., that the cabinet is quorate only if at least half of the ministers including the chair are present. The cabinet regularly convenes Wednesday mornings in the Chancellery.

Present German cabinet

See also: Cabinet Merkel II

The current federal cabinet (in office since 28 October 2009), consists of the following ministers:

Office	Incumbent	Since	Party
Federal Chancellor	Angela Merkel	2005	CDU
Federal Minister of Economics and Technology and Vice-Chancellor	Philipp Rösler	2011	FDP
Federal Foreign Minister	Guido Westerwelle	2009	FDP
Federal Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety	Norbert Röttgen	2009	CDU
Federal Minister of Defence	Thomas de Maizière	2011	CDU
Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth	Kristina Schröder	2009	CDU
Federal Minister for Special Tasks and Head of the Chancellery	Ronald Pofalla	2009	CDU
Federal Minister of the Interior	Hans-Peter Friedrich	2011	CSU
Federal Minister of Education and Research	Annette Schavan	2005	CDU
Federal Minister of Health	Daniel Bahr	2011	FDP
Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection	Ilse Aigner	2008	CSU
Federal Minister of Finance	Wolfgang Schäuble	2005	CDU
Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs	Ursula von der Leyen	2009	CDU
Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development	Peter Ramsauer	2009	CSU
Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development	Dirk Niebel	2009	FDP
Federal Minister of Justice	Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger	2009	FDP

See also

• List of ministers of the Federal Republic of Germany - an alphabetical list of former ministers
• Ministerrat of the German Democratic Republic

References

• Official English names of German ministers and ministries (German Foreign Office)

External links

• German cabinet website, in English