The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (german: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, ), abbreviated BMWK (was BMWi), 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 ...

. 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 The Council of Advisors on Digital Economy (german: Beirat Junge Digitale Wirtschaft beim Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft, abbreviated ''BJDW'') is an advisory board to the Cabinet of Germany, German government established within the Federal Min ...

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

, 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 Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs (german: Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales, ), abbreviated BMAS) is a federal ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany headed by the Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs a ...

- 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 Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

, 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

The Ministry is organised into 9 departments and one central department. * Central Administration – Z * Political Staff and Policy Planning - L * European Policy – E * Economic Policy – I * Energy Policy: Heating and Efficiency – II * Energy Policy: Electricity and Grid – III * Industrial Policy – IV * External Economic Policy – V * Digital und 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: The Ministry's Agencies
/ref> * Federal Cartel Office *

Federal Network Agency The Federal Network Agency (german: Bundesnetzagentur or ) is the German regulatory office for electricity, gas, telecommunications, post and railway markets. It is a federal agency of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Acti ...

Federal Office of Economics and Export Control The Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (Bundesamt für Wirtschaft und Ausfuhrkontrolle, short BAFA) is a German federal agency. The BAFA is authorised to make the final decision on whether German goods are permitted for expor ...

Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (german: , or BAM) is a German material research institute. History Its historical origins start in 1871, a year in which Germany was unified, as the ''Mechanisch-Technische Versuchsansta ...

* Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources * German National Metrology Institute

Ministers and Secretaries of State

Ministers

Political Party:

Secretaries

Ministry for Economy (1949–1998)

;Parliamentary State Secretaries * 1967–1970: Klaus Dieter Arndt, SPD * 1970–1971: Philip Rosenthal, SPD * 1972: Rainer Offergeld, SPD * 1972–1987: Martin Grüner, FDP/DVP * 1983–1987: Rudolf Sprung, CDU * 1987–1989: Ludolf-Georg von Wartenberg, CDU * 1987–1993: Erich Riedl, CSU * 1989–1992: Klaus Beckmann, FDP * 1992–1998: Heinrich Leonhard Kolb, FDP * 1993–1994: Reinhard Göhner, CDU * 1994–1997: Norbert Lammert, CDU ;State Secretaries * 1949–1951: Eduard Schalfejew * 1951–1963: Ludger Westrick, no party * 1958–1963:

Alfred Müller-Armack Alfred Müller-Armack (28 June 1901 – 16 March 1978) was a German economist and politician. He coined the term " social market economy" in 1946. Müller-Armack was professor of economics at University of Münster and University of Cologne. H ...

, CDU * 1963–1966: Wolfram Langer * 1963–1968: Fritz Neef * 1967–1972: Johann Baptist Schöllhorn * 1968–1969: Klaus von Dohnanyi, SPD * 1969–1978:

Detlev Karsten Rohwedder Detlev Karsten Rohwedder (16 October 1932 – 1 April 1991) was a German manager and politician, as member of the Social Democratic Party. He was named president of the Treuhandanstalt, responsible for the privatisation of state-owned property in ...

, SPD * 1972: Ernst Wolf Mommsen * 1973–1991: Otto Schlecht * 1979–1995: Dieter von Würzen * 1991–1994: Johann Eekhoff * 1994–1997: Johannes Ludewig * 1995–1998: Lorenz Schomerus * 1997–1998: Rudi Geil, CDU * 1997–1998: Klaus Bünger

Ministry for Economics and Technology (1998–2002)

;Parliamentary State Secretaries * 1998–2002: Siegmar Mosdorf, SPD ;State Secretaries * 1998–2002: Alfred Tacke, SPD * 1999–2002: Axel Gerlach

Ministry for Economics and Labour (2002–2005)

;Parliamentary State Secretaries * 2002–2005: Gerd Andres, SPD * 2002–2005: Rezzo Schlauch, Greens * 2002–2005:

Ditmar Staffelt Ditmar may refer to: People with the surname * Art Ditmar (1929–2021), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Karl von Ditmar (1822–1892), Baltic German geologist and explorer * Nikolay Fyodorovitch von Ditmar (1865–1919), Russian politicia ...

, SPD ;State Secretaries * 1999–2003: Axel Gerlach * 2002–2004: Alfred Tacke, SPD * 2002–2005: Rudolf Anzinger * 2002–2005: Georg-Wilhelm Adamowitsch * 2004–2005: Bernd Pfaffenbach

Ministry of Economics and Technology (2005–2013)

;Parliamentary State Secretaries * 2005–2013:

Peter Hintze Peter Hintze (25 April 1950 – 26 November 2016) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as a member of the German Bundestag from 1990 until his death in 2016. From 2013 until 2016, Hintze was one of the six ...

, CDU * 2005–2009:

Dagmar Wöhrl Dagmar Gabriele Wöhrl (''née'' Winkler; born 5 May 1954) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU). She has served as Chairwoman of the Committee for Economic Cooperation and Development of the German Bundestag. She ...

, CSU * 2005–2009: Hartmut Schauerte, CDU * 2009–2013: Ernst Burgbacher, FDP * 2009–2013: Hans-Joachim Otto, FDP ;State Secretaries * 2005–2006: Georg-Wilhelm Adamowitsch * 2005–2008: Joachim Wuermeling, CSU * 2006–2009: Walther Otremba * 2005–2011: Bernd Pfaffenbach * 2008–2012: Jochen Homann * 2009–2013: Bernhard Heitzer, FDP * 2011–2013: Stefan Kapferer, FDP * 2012–2013: Anne Herkes

Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (2013–2021)

;Parliamentary State Secretaries * 2013–2017:

Brigitte Zypries Brigitte Zypries (born 16 November 1953) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Between 2017 and 2018, she served as Minister for Economics and Energy in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel; she was the f ...

, SPD * 2013–2018: Uwe Beckmeyer, SPD * 2013–2018: Iris Gleicke, SPD * 2017–2018: Dirk Wiese, SPD * 2018–2019: Oliver Wittke, CDU * 2018–2020: Christian Hirte, CDU * 2018-2021: Thomas Bareiß, CDU * 2019–2021: Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker, CDU * 2020-2021: Marco Wanderwitz, CDU ;State Secretaries * since 2013: Rainer Baake, Greens * since 2014: Matthias Machnig, SPD * since 2013: Dr. Rainer Sontowski, SPD

Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (since 2021)

;Parliamentary State Secretaries * Since 2021: Franziska Brantner, Greens * Since 2021: Oliver Krischer, Greens * Since 2021:

Michael Kellner Michael Kellner (born 8 May 1977) is a German politician (Alliance 90/The Greens) who has been serving as a Member of the Bundestag representing electoral constituency Uckermark – Barnim I since 2021. In addition to his parliamentary work, ...

, Greens ;State Secretaries * since 2021: Anja Hajduk, Greens * since 2021: Sven Giegold, Greens * since 2021: Udo Philipp * since 2021: Patrick Graichen

References

External links

* {{Authority control

Economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

Economy of Germany

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 ...