The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (german: Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr, ), abbreviated BMDV, is a cabinet-level ministry of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. Its main office is located in Berlin, while the majority of its civil servants and employees work in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

, the secondary seat. The Ministry itself has about 1300 employees. At the top is the Federal Minister, and there are two Parliamentary Secretaries, who are also Member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

, and two civil servant undersecretaries. The ministry oversees 63 downstream agencies and authorities where around 25,000 people work. The agency was formed through the merger of the former Federal Ministry of Transport and the Federal Ministry of Regional Planning, Building and Urban Development, both established in 1949. The merged ministry was at first named Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing until it adopted the name Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS) in 2005. On December 17, 2013, it was renamed to Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) through an organizational decree by the Merkel III Cabinet. A decree issued by

Olaf Scholz Olaf Scholz (; born ) is a German politician who has served as the chancellor of Germany since 8 December 2021. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice Chancellor of German ...

upon assuming chancellorship on December 8, 2021, lead to the ministry receiving its current designation. After

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, politicians from the

New states of Germany The new states of Germany () are the five re-established states of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) that unified with the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) with its 10 states upon German reunification on 3 October 1990. The new st ...

often headed the ministry, which had large responsibility over rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure left over from former

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

Günther Krause Günther Krause (born 3 September 1953) is a German engineer, academic, politician and businessman. After the Peaceful Revolution, he entered politics, serving in the Volkskammer and as a senior adviser to Minister-President Lothar de Maizière. ...

was the first minister after the 1990 German federal election and in 2002, former Minister-President of Brandenburg

Manfred Stolpe Manfred Stolpe (16 May 1936 – 29 December 2019) was Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs of Germany from 2002 until 2005. Before, he was Ministerpräsident of the state Brandenburg from 1990 until 2002. Stolpe was, after ...

was appointed, after his successor as Minister-President, then- Mayor of Potsdam

Matthias Platzeck Matthias Platzeck (born 29 December 1953) is a German politician. He was Minister President of Brandenburg from 2002 to 2013 and party chairman of the SPD from November 2005 to April 2006. On 29 July 2013 Platzeck announced his resignation fr ...

had refused the job in 1998. Stolpe was succeeded by then-

Mayor of Leipzig This is a list of mayors of Leipzig since 1778. Since 1877, their title is ''Oberbürgermeister'', rather than ''Bürgermeister''. *1778–1801: Carl Wilhelm Müller *1794–1813?: Christian Gottfried Hermann *1814–1830: Ludwig Ferdinand Weber ...

Wolfgang Tiefensee Wolfgang Tiefensee (born 4 January 1955) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He was the Federal Minister for Transport, Building and Urban Development in the grand coalition cabinet led by Angela Merkel between 2005 and ...

, who had refused the job similarly to Platzeck in 2002.

Responsibilities

The ministry, together with its subordinate agencies, is responsible for all federal portfolio tasks which touch the mobility of people, goods, services and data. The responsibilities extends to the federal transport infrastructure (

Autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...

, federal motorways, railway networks, waterways and air traffic) as well as to the widespread availability of modern broadband networks across Germany. Hence, the ministry develops legal policies and ensures the safety of the modes of transport, respectively. Additionally, it ensures the seamless planning and financing of investments for maintenance and development of infrastructures. The main focus in the field of digital infrastructure is a comprehensive supply of fast Internet with a transmission speed of at least 50 Mbps). Another task is to modernise mobility (alternative fuels, interconnected and intelligent transport system). This includes, e.g., the establishment of 'Digitales Testfeld Autobahn' to test innovative vehicle technologies. The ministry is also responsible for the

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

satellite navigation system and the

Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulated ...

Programme of the European Union.

Agencies

Subordinate agencies include: *

German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation
" ''German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation ...

Federal Bureau for Maritime Casualty Investigation The Federal Bureau for Maritime Casualty Investigation (german: Bundesstelle für Seeunfalluntersuchung, BSU) is the German agency for investigating maritime accidents and incidents. It is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building ...

* The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (German: ''Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie'' (BSH)) located in

St. Pauli St. Pauli (Sankt Pauli; ) is a quarter of the city of Hamburg belonging to the centrally located Hamburg-Mitte borough. Situated on the right bank of the Elbe river, the nearby Landungsbrücken is a northern part of the port of Hamburg. St. ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, provides among other things information of all matters of maritime shipping, to special funding programmes, law of flag, certification of mariners and information of the coasts and coastal waters of Germany. * German Federal Highway Research Institute (German: ''Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen'' (BASt)) located in purpose built facilities in

Bergisch Gladbach Bergisch Gladbach () is a city in the Cologne/Bonn Region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district). Geography Bergisch Gladbach is located east of the river Rhine, approx. 10 kilometers east of ...

since 1983, with a focus on aspects of road engineering. Its mission is the improvement of safety, environmental compatibility, efficiency and performance relating to roads.

Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

References

External links

Official Web site (English)Official Web site (German)
{{Authority control Digital and Transport Germany, Transport and Digital Infrastructure

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

IT infrastructure Transport organisations based in Germany

Responsibilities

Agencies

Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

See also

References

External links