The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (; abbreviated BMFTR) is a cabinet-level ministry of Germany. It is headquartered in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, with an office in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The Ministry provides funding for research projects and institutions (aiming for "research excellence") and sets general educational policy. It also provides

student loans A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees, such as tuition, books and supplies, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in the fact that the interest ...

in Germany. However, a large part of educational policy in Germany is decided at the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

level, strongly limiting the influence of the ministry in educational matters.

History

The ''Federal Ministry for Atomic Issues'' was established in 1955, concentrating on research in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The ministry was renamed in 1962 to ''Federal Ministry of Scientific Research'', with a broader scope; it was renamed again, to ''Federal Ministry of Education and Science'', in 1969. A separate ministry, the ''Federal Ministry of Research and Technology'', was established in 1972. The two Ministries merged in 1994 to form the ''Federal Ministry for Education, Science, Research and Technology''; this title was shortened to ''Federal Ministry for Education and Research'' in 1998.

Organization

The BMBF currently has eight directorates-general (as at November 2020). These are in addition to the central directorate-general that is responsible for administrative tasks: * Directorate-General 1: Policy Issues and Strategies * Directorate-General 2: European and International Cooperation in Education and Research * Directorate-General 3: General Education and Vocational Training; Lifelong Learning * Directorate-General 4: Higher Education and Research System * Directorate-General 5: Research for Technological Sovereignty and Innovation * Directorate-General 6: Life Sciences * Directorate-General 7: Provision for the Future - Basic Research and Research for Sustainable Development Each directorate-general consists of one or two subdivisions and 10 to 15 units. The greater part of the subdivisions is located in Bonn, the smaller part in Berlin. The BMBF has around 1000 employees. The head of the BMBF is formed by two parliamentary secretaries and two permanent state secretaries in addition to the minister.

Federal Ministers

Political Party:

Parliamentary State Secretaries

* 1969–1972: Klaus von Dohnanyi ( SPD) * 1972: Joachim Raffert (SPD) * 1972–1978: Volker Hauff (SPD) * 1974–1977: Peter Glotz (SPD) * 1977–1981: Björn Engholm (SPD) * 1978–1982: Erwin Stahl (SPD) * 1981–1982: (SPD) * 1982–1987: Anton Pfeifer ( CDU) * 1982–1991: Albert Probst (

CSU CSU may refer to: Universities and university systems United States * Columbia Southern University, in Orange Beach, Alabama * California State University system * Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, Colorado * Connecticut State Univers ...

) * 1987–1989: Irmgard Karwatzki (CDU) * 1991–1993: Torsten Wolfgramm ( FDP) * 1989–1994:

Norbert Lammert Norbert Lammert (born 16 November 1948) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as the 12th president of the Bundestag from 2005 to 2017. Early life and education The son of a baker, Lammert attended gymnasium ...

(CDU) * 1991–1998:

Bernd Neumann Bernd Otto Neumann (born 6 January 1942) is a former German politician and since 2014 president of the German Federal Film Board (FFA). Biography Neumann was born in Elbing, East Prussia, now Elbląg, Poland. Following the flight and exp ...

(CDU) * 1994–1997: Cornelia Yzer (CDU) * 1997–1998:

Elke Wülfing Elke Wülfing (née Rottmann; born November 7, 1947, in Herford, Allied-occupied Germany) is a German politician ( CDU). She was a member of the German Bundestag from 1990 to 2005 and additionally served as Parliamentary State Secretary to the F ...

(CDU) * 1998–2002: Wolf-Michael Catenhusen (SPD) * 2002–2004: Christoph Matschie (SPD) * 2004–2005: Ulrich Kasparick (SPD) * 2005–2009: Andreas Storm (CDU) * 2005–2021: Thomas Rachel (CDU) * 2009–2013:

Helge Braun Helge Reinhold Braun (born 18 October 1972) is a German physician and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Between 2018 and 2021, he served as Head of the Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the fourth coali ...

(CDU) * 2013–2018: Stefan Müller (CSU) * 2018–2021:

Michael Meister Michael Günther Meister (born 9 June 1961) is a German mathematician and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state Hesse since 1994. In addition to his parliamentary wo ...

(CDU) * 2021–2022: Thomas Sattelberger (FDP) * 2021–2024: Jens Brandenburg (FDP) * 2022–2024: Mario Brandenburg (FDP) * since 2024: Claudia Müller ( Grüne)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Education and Research

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...