Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany

A Federal Minister for Special Affairs (German: Bundesminister für besondere Aufgaben,

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, Wolfgang Schmidt (since 8 December 2021), who is also Head of the Chancellery.

Political Party: