The Fourth Merkel cabinet (German: Kabinett Merkel IV) was the 23rd Government of the Federal Republic of Germany during the 19th legislative session of the Bundestag. It was sworn in on 14 March 2018 following the 2017 federal election and dismissed on 26 October 2021, acting in a caretaker mode until 8 December 2021. It was preceded by the third Merkel cabinet and succeeded by the Scholz cabinet. Led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, it was the third cabinet under Merkel to be supported by a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU), and the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Coalition formation
Composition The cabinet consists of Chancellor Angela Merkel and fifteen (fourteen since 20 May 2021) federal ministers. Olaf Scholz (SPD) replaced Sigmar Gabriel as Vice Chancellor and CSU Leader Horst Seehofer became Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community. Fourteen ministers head a department (since 20 May 2021, one minister heads two departments); one member of the cabinet, the Head of the Chancellery, is Federal Minister for Special Affairs without a portfolio. The CDU has seven positions, the SPD has six and the CSU has three, as follows:
OrderOfficePortraitMinisterPartyTook officeLeft office1ChancellorAngela MerkelCDU14 March 20188 December 2021 2Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz SPD 14 March 2018 8 December 2021Federal Minister of Finance3Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and CommunityHorst SeehoferCSU14 March 20188 December 20214Federal Minister for Foreign AffairsHeiko MaasSPD14 March 20188 December 20215Federal Minister of Economics and EnergyPeter AltmaierCDU14 March 20188 December 20216Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer ProtectionKatarina BarleySPD14 March 201827 June 2019Christine LambrechtSPD27 June 20198 December 20217Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Hubertus HeilSPD14 March 20188 December 20218Federal Minister of DefenceUrsula von der LeyenCDU17 December 201317 July 2019Annegret Kramp-KarrenbauerCDU17 July 20198 December 20219Federal Minister of Food and AgricultureJulia KlöcknerCDU14 March 20188 December 202110Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Franziska GiffeySPD14 March 201820 May 2021Christine LambrechtSPD20 May 20218 December 202111Federal Minister of HealthJens SpahnCDU14 March 20188 December 202112Federal Minister of Transport and Digital InfrastructureAndreas ScheuerCSU14 March 20188 December 202113Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear SafetySvenja SchulzeSPD14 March 20188 December 202114Federal Minister of Education and ResearchAnja KarliczekCDU14 March 20188 December 202115Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentGerd MüllerCSU14 March 20188 December 202116Federal Minister for Special Affairs &Head of the ChancelleryHelge BraunCDU14 March 20188 December 2021
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.German government crisis: What are Merkel's options?, Reuters, 2 July 2018 Seehofer had threatened to resign over the crisis on 1 July, but an agreement was made between the CDU/CSU sister parties on 2 July.Chancellor Angela Merkel and Horst Seehofer agree on a migration compromise, Deutsche Welle, 2 July 2018
Caretaker government The results of the 2017 election had necessitated a series of negotiations that required the Merkel III cabinet to remain in a caretaker capacity for a prolonged period of time (into 2018). Government formation after the 2021 elections lasted until 24 November 2021, and the caretaker government continued until 8 December, making Merkel just 9 days short of the record for longest-serving Chancellor in post-war German history ahead of Helmut Kohl.
References
External links Cabinet of Germany (English) Federal Ministries of Germany (English)