Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany

Member of the German government without portfolio

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Federal Minister for Special Affairs

Bundesminister für besondere Aufgaben

Incumbent
Thorsten Frei

since 6 May 2025

Formation| 6 October 1953
First holder| Franz Josef Strauß

A Federal Minister for Special Affairs (German: Bundesminister für besondere Aufgaben, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsmiˌnɪstɐ fyːɐ̯ bəˈzɔndəʁə ˈʔaʊfˌɡaːbn̩] ⓘ) is a member of the German government without portfolio.

Ministers for Special Affairs are fully-fledged members of the cabinet, but are not assigned their own ministry. The reasons why a chancellor appoints one or more such ministers to his cabinet can vary and are entirely up to him. In the early days of the Federal Republic, the title was awarded frequently and for very different reasons. For example, Robert Tillmanns, one of the first two Ministers for Special Affairs, represented the federal government in the Council of Elders of the Bundestag. Other responsibilities delegated to different Ministers for Special Affairs included the middle class, water management, the Federal Defense Council or the affairs of the Vice Chancellor of Germany. Since the 1960s, it has become customary for the head of the Chancellery to be integrated into the Cabinet in this way, even if this is still not obligatory (the head of the Chancellery can also be appointed at the lower rank of State Secretary, which was last done by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in the case of Frank-Walter Steinmeier [1999-2005]).

After the German reunification in 1990, the title was used to integrate some members of the final East German government into the cabinet, in order to provide a representation of the New states of Germany in the federal government.

There is currently one Minister for Special Affairs, Thorsten Frei (since 6 May 2025), who is also Head of the Chancellery.

## List of Federal Ministers for Special Affairs

[edit]

Political Party:   CSU   CDU   SPD   FDP   GB/BHE

Portrait  | Name
(Birth–Death) | Responsibilities  | Term of Office  | Political Party

|
|
|
|

Took office  | Left office  | Time in office
1  |  | Franz Josef Strauß
(1915–1988) | N/A  | 6 October 1953  | 12 October 1955  | 2 years, 6 days  | Christian Social Union
2  |  | Robert Tillmanns
(1896–1955) | represented cabinet in the Council of Elders of the German Bundestag | 20 October 1953  | 12 November 1955
(died in office) | 2 years, 23 days  | Christian Democratic Union
3  |  | Waldemar Kraft
(1898–1977) | responsible for water management  | 20 October 1953  | 12 October 1955  | 2 years, 23 days  | All-German Bloc/
League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights
4  |  | Hermann Schäfer
(1892–1966) | responsible for small and medium-sized businesses  | 20 October 1953  | 16 October 1956  | 2 years, 362 days  | Free Democratic Party
5  |  | Heinrich Krone
(1895–1989) | Federal Defense Council questions  | 14 November 1961  | 30 November 1966  | 5 years, 16 days  | Christian Democratic Union
6  |  | Ludger Westrick
(1894–1990) | Head of the Federal Chancellery | 16 June 1964  | 30 November 1966  | 2 years, 167 days  | Christian Democratic Union
7  |  | Horst Ehmke
(1927–2017) | Head of the Federal Chancellery  | 22 October 1969  | 15 December 1972  | 3 years, 54 days  | Social Democratic Party
8  |  | Werner Maihofer
(1918–2009) | Minister for Vice-Chancellor's Affairs  | 15 December 1972  | 16 May 1974  | 1 year, 152 days  | Free Democratic Party
9  |  | Egon Bahr
(1922–2015) | Federal Minister in the Federal Chancellery | 15 December 1972  | 16 May 1974  | 1 year, 152 days  | Social Democratic Party
10  |  | Wolfgang Schäuble
(1942-2023) | Head of the Federal Chancellery  | 15 November 1984  | 21 April 1989  | 4 years, 157 days  | Christian Democratic Union
11  |  | Rudolf Seiters
(born 1937) | Head of the Federal Chancellery  | 21 April 1989  | 26 November 1991  | 2 years, 219 days  | Christian Democratic Union
12  |  | Hans Klein
(1931–1996) | government spokesman and head of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government  | 26 November 1989  | 20 December 1990  | 1 year, 24 days  | Christian Social Union
13  |  | Lothar de Maizière
(born 1940) | after German reunification | 3 October 1990  | 19 December 1990  | 77 days  | Christian Democratic Union
14  |  | Sabine Bergmann-Pohl
(born 1946) | 3 October 1990  | 17 January 1991  | 106 days  | Christian Democratic Union
15  |  | Günther Krause
(born 1953) | 3 October 1990  | 17 January 1991  | 106 days  | Christian Democratic Union
16  |  | Rainer Ortleb
(born 1944) | 3 October 1990  | 17 January 1991  | 106 days  | Free Democratic Party
17  |  | Hansjoachim Walther
(1939–2005) | 3 October 1990  | 17 January 1991  | 106 days  | German Social Union
18  |  | Friedrich Bohl
(born 1945) | Head of the Federal Chancellery  | 26 November 1991  | 27 October 1998  | 7 years, 283 days  | Christian Democratic Union
19  |  | Bodo Hombach
(born 1952) | Head of the Federal Chancellery  | 27 October 1998  | 7 July 1999  | 253 days  | Social Democratic Party
20  |  | Thomas de Maizière
(born 1954) | Head of the Federal Chancellery  | 22 November 2005  | 27 October 2009  | 3 years, 339 days  | Christian Democratic Union
21  |  | Ronald Pofalla
(born 1959) | Head of the Federal Chancellery  | 28 October 2009  | 17 December 2013  | 4 years, 50 days  | Christian Democratic Union
22  |  | Peter Altmaier
(born 1958) | Head of the Federal Chancellery  | 17 December 2013  | 14 March 2018  | 4 years, 87 days  | Christian Democratic Union
23  |  | Helge Braun
(born 1972) | Head of the Federal Chancellery  | 14 March 2018  | 8 December 2021  | 3 years, 269 days  | Christian Democratic Union
24  |  | Wolfgang Schmidt
(born 1970) | Head of the Federal Chancellery  | 8 December 2021  | 6 May 2025  | 3 years, 149 days  | Social Democratic Party
25  |  | Thorsten Frei
(born 1973) | Head of the Federal Chancellery  | 6 May 2025  | Incumbent | 85 days  | CDU

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