Minister President of Lower Saxony

Role in German politics

As the leader of one of Germany's territorially largest and most populous states, the minister president of Lower Saxony has traditionally been a major player in federal politics: The state's first minister-president, Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf often used the Bundesrat as a forum to oppose the policies of the Adenauer government. Alfred Kubel, one of Kopf's successors, played a major role in negotiating a compromise between all German states on the creation of a national fiscal transfer mechanism (Länderfinanzausgleich). Minister-President Ernst Albrecht, contrary to prevailing majority opinion in his own party, advocated and voted for the ratification of the treaties around which Willy Brandt'sOstpolitik was centred.