The Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Ministerpräsident des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen), also referred to as Premier or Prime Minister, is the
head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...
of the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
(''NRW''). The position was created in 1946, when the
British administration merge the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
n province of
Westphalia
Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the regio ...
and the northern part of the Prussian province of the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
(
North Rhine
The Province of North Rhine (german: Provinz Nordrhein), also called North Rhine Province (''Nordrhein-Provinz'' or ''Nord-Rheinprovinz''), was a short-lived administrative region in the British occupation zone of Germany, which was formed from t ...
) were merged to form the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1947 the state was expanded with including of the state of Lippe.
The current Minister-President is
Hendrik Wüst
Hendrik Josef Wüst (born 19 July 1975) is a German politician currently serving as Minister-President of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. He is a member of the Christian democratic and liberal-conservative CDU. In October 2021 he succeeded ...
, heading a
coalition government between the
Christian Democratic Union and the
Free Democratic Party. Wüst succeeded
Armin Laschet
Armin Laschet (; born 18 February 1961) is a German politician who served as Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 27 June 2017 to 26 October 2021. He served as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 22 January 2021 to 3 ...
following his resignation in 2021.
The office of the Minister President is known as the State Chancellery (german: Staatskanzlei), and is located in the capital of
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
, along with the rest of the cabinet departments.
Title
The German title ''Ministerpräsident'' may be translated literally as
Minister-President
A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. I ...
, although the state government sometimes uses the title ''Prime Minister'' in English.
Premier of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
/ref>
Origin of the office
After the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, the Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
n province of Westphalia
Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the regio ...
and the northern part of the Prussian province of the Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
(North Rhine
The Province of North Rhine (german: Provinz Nordrhein), also called North Rhine Province (''Nordrhein-Provinz'' or ''Nord-Rheinprovinz''), was a short-lived administrative region in the British occupation zone of Germany, which was formed from t ...
) were administered as part of the zone allocated to the British military administration and were merged to form the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1947 the state was expanded with including of the state of Lippe. The British government began to back the advocates of a merger of the states.
List
Political Party:
See also
* North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
* Politics of North Rhine-Westphalia
The politics of North Rhine-Westphalia takes place within a framework of a Federal republic, federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. The two main parties are the Centre-right Christian Democratic Union (Germany), Christian Democ ...
* Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
The Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia is the state parliament (''Landtag'') of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which convenes in the state capital of Düsseldorf, in the eastern part of the district of Hafen. The parliament ...
References
External links
* http://www.nrw.de/en/state-government/prime-minister/
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Prime Ministers Of North Rhine-Westphalia
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North Rhine-Westphalia-related lists
North Rhine-Westphalia Minister-President