Fourth Merkel cabinet
The fourth Merkel cabinet (German: Kabinett Merkel IV) is the 24th and current Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, sworn in on 14 March 2018 after Angela Merkel was proposed as Chancellor by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and elected by the Bundestag on the first ballot.[1]
Fourth Merkel cabinet | |
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cabinet of Germany | |
2018–present | |
Date formed | 14 March 2018 |
People and organisations | |
Head of state | Frank-Walter Steinmeier |
Head of government | Angela Merkel |
Member party | Christian Democratic Union Social Democratic Party Christian Social Union in Bavaria |
Status in legislature | Grand coalition |
Opposition party | Alternative for Germany Free Democratic Party The Left The Greens |
Opposition leader | Alice Weidel Alexander Gauland |
History | |
Election(s) | 2017 federal election |
Legislature term(s) | 19th Bundestag |
Predecessor | Merkel III |
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Revolution of 1989 Kohl Administration Leader of the Christian Democratic Union
First Ministry and term
Second Ministry and term
Third Ministry and term
Fourth Ministry and term |
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The government is supported by a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU), and the Social Democrats (SPD),[2] as was its immediate predecessor.
Composition
The cabinet consists of Chancellor Angela Merkel and fifteen Federal Ministers. Fourteen ministers head a department, one member of the cabinet, the Chief of Staff of the Chancellery, will be a Federal Minister for Special Affairs without a portfolio. CDU has 7 positions, SPD has 6, and CSU has 3, as follows:
- Parliamentary State Secretaries in the Chancellery and Foreign Office are awarded the honorary title Staatsminister (StMin, transl. Minister of State) in order to underline the importance of their field of responsibilities. This title does not, however, confer upon them any additional powers.
2018 government crisis
In June 2018, a government crisis erupted within the cabinet between Interior Minister and CSU Chairman Horst Seehofer and Chancellor Angela Merkel, after Seehofer had elaborated a masterplan on asylum policies, containing the rejection of asylum seekers already registered in other EU countries.[4] Seehofer threatened to resign over the crisis on 1 July, but an agreement was made between the CDU/CSU sister parties on 2 July.[5]
References
- "Bundestag wählt die Kanzlerin am 14. März" [Bundestag elects the Chancellor on 14 March] (in German). Deutscher Bundestag. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- based on Artikel 60 III of the Basic Law: Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany – via Wikisource. (full text)
- German Chancellery (15 March 2018). "Liste der Bundesministerinnen und Bundesminister" [List of Federal Ministers]. Protokoll Inland der Bundesregierung (in German). German Federal Ministry of the Interior. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- German government crisis: What are Merkel's options?, Reuters, 2 July 2018
- Chancellor Angela Merkel and Horst Seehofer agree on a migration compromise, Deutsche Welle, 2 July 2018