These men and women belong to a government. They are nominated by the chancellor and appointed as ministers by the German president. They are then put in charge of a department - a ministry - that is responsible for particular tasks. For example, the Ministry for Family Affairs looks after a lot of things concerning families, and the Foreign Office deals with relations to other states. Sometimes a minister resigns because he or she has done something wrong or does not agree with the policies of the chancellor.


German ministers:

Guido Westerwelle, FDP (Liberal Democratic Party), Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Federal Chancellor

Hans-Peter Friedrich, CSU (Christian Social Union), Federal Minister of the Interior, also called Interior Minister

Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, FDP (Liberal Democratic Party), Federal Minister of Justice, also called Justice Minister

Wolfgang Schäuble, CDU (Christian Democratic Union), Federal Minister of Finance, also called Finance Minister

Philipp Rösler, FDP (Liberal Democratic Party), Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, also called Economics Minister

Ursula von der Leyen, CDU (Christian Democratic Union), Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs

Ilse Aigner, CSU (Christian Social Union), Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection

Thomas de Maizière , CDU (Christian Democratic Union), Federal Minister of Defence, also called Defence Minister

Kristina Schröder, CDU (Christian Democratic Union), Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, also called Family Affairs Minister

Daniel Bahr, FDP (Liberal Democratic Union, Federal Minister of Health, also called Health Minister

Peter Ramsauer, CSU (Christian Social Union), Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, also called Transport Minister

Peter Altmeier, CDU (Christian Democratic Union), Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, also called Environment Minister

Johanna Wanka, CDU (Christian Democratic Union), Federal Minister of Education and Research, also called Education Minister

Dirk Niebel), FDP (Liberal Democratic Party, Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development

Ronald Pofalla, CDU (Christian Democratic Union, Head of the Federal Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Tasks