The Christian Democratic Union (SDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), have announced their ministerial candidates for the new government.
Under the coalition agreement, the CDU will appoint seven of the 17 ministers, as will the Social Democratic Party of Germany. The CSU will appoint three ministers.
Johann Wadephul (62) has been nominated for the position of German Foreign Minister. This is the first time in 60 years that a CDU representative will become German Foreign Minister. Wadephul has consistently spoken out in support of Ukraine, in particular, he has repeatedly stressed the need to allow Kyiv to use German weapons against Russian military targets.
The CDU leader and likely future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (left) and Johann Wadephul (right).
Wadephul is considered a close friend and confidant of future Chancellor Friedrich Merz, having long advised him on foreign policy. Wadephul has good connections in international diplomatic circles, the German publication Der Spiegel notes. He accompanied Merz on a trip to Kyiv in late 2024.
Meanwhile, Thorsten Frei will head the Federal Chancellery. He is considered Friedrich Merzʼs closest ally.
Thorsten Frei.
The new German Minister of Economics and Energy is Katherina Reiche from the CDU. She was a member of the German parliament from her home state of Brandenburg from 1998 to 2015. Reiche also held the positions of parliamentary secretary in the German Ministry of the Environment and the German Ministry of Transport.
Katherina Reiche.
Alexander Dobrindt has been nominated by the CSU to be the head of the German Interior Ministry. Dobrindt served as Transport Minister during German Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs third term in office from 2013 to 2017. It was Dobrindt who played a key role in coalition negotiations in recent weeks, representing the CSU together with Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder.
Alexander Dobrindt.
The Ministry of Digitalization is to be headed by Karsten Wildberger. The new ministry is expected to be responsible for the introduction of artificial intelligence and the expansion of the use of broadband fiber optic networks for Internet connectivity in Germany.
Patrick Schneider is to become the head of the Ministry of Transport, and Nina Warken is to become the Minister of Health.
Schneider has been a member of the German parliament since 2009, having previously worked as a lawyer. Since 2018, he has played a leading role in the CDU faction in the Bundestag. Warken was part of the parliamentary group monitoring the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Patrick Schneider. Nina Warken.
Karin Prien of the CDU will move to the federal level. Since 2017, she has been Minister of Education, Science and Family for the state of Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany.
Journalist and media entrepreneur Wolfram Weimer will become Minister of Culture and Media. His name was previously virtually unknown to the general public and did not appear in the projections for a position in the German Cabinet.
The CSU deputy leader Dorothy Baer is to head the new Ministry of Research, Technology and Space. The CSU MP Alois Rainer will take over as Minister of Agriculture. The CDU Bundestag MP Christiane Schenderlein has been nominated as Minister of Sports.
The heads of seven more ministries are to be appointed by the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
First, the CDU, CSU and SPD must agree on a coalition agreement and Merz must be elected chancellor in the Bundestag. Only then can the new government be officially sworn in by the German president.
- In the Bundestag elections, Merzʼs Christian Democratic Union party won 29% of the vote and returned to power. He faces very difficult times, as Europe prepares to break off relations with America. In addition, Germany faces domestic problems, including migration.
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