Cabinet of Germany

The Cabinet of Germany (German: Bundeskabinett or Bundesregierung) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Chancellor and the cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's organization as well as the method of its election and appointment as well as the procedure for its dismissal are set down in articles 62 through 69 of the Grundgesetz (the Basic Law).

In contrast to the system under the Weimar Republic, the Bundestag may both only move a constructive vote of no-confidence (by electing a new Chancellor if it has lost trust in the existing) and can also only choose to dismiss the entire cabinet and not simply individual ministers. These procedures and mechanisms were put in place by the authors of the Basic Law to both prevent another dictatorship and to ensure that there will not be a political vacuum left by the removal of Chancellor through a vote of confidence and the failure to elect a new one in their place, as had happened during the Weimar period with the Reichstag removing Chancellors but failing to agree on the election of a new one. There is a grace period in-between the dismissal of a Chancellor by the Bundestag and until the Bundestag can elect a new Chancellor, so as to allow the federal government, if it so wishes, to advise the Federal President to dissolve the Bundestag so that elections may be held.

Nomination

The Chancellor is elected by the federal parliament (Bundestag) after being proposed by the President. Following the election, the Chancellor is appointed by the President. The ministers are appointed (and dismissed) by the President upon proposal of the Chancellor. Eventually, before taking office, the Chancellor and ministers swear an oath in front of the parliament.

Functioning

The Chancellor is responsible for guiding the cabinet and deciding its political direction (Richtlinienkompetenz). According to the principle of departmentalization (Ressortprinzip), the cabinet ministers are free to carry out their duties independently within the boundaries set by the Chancellor's political directives. The Chancellor also decides the scope of each minister's duties. If two ministers disagree on a particular point, the cabinet resolves the conflict by a majority vote (Kollegialprinzip or principle of deference).

The Chancellor is in charge of the government's administrative affairs, which are usually delegated to the head of the Chancellery. Details are laid down in the government's rules for internal procedures (Geschäftsordnung). These state, for example, that the cabinet is quorate only if at least half of the ministers including the chair are present. The cabinet regularly convenes Wednesday mornings in the Chancellery.

According to established practice, decisions on important armaments exports are made by the Federal Security Council (Bundessicherheitsrat), a cabinet committee chaired by the Chancellor. Pursuant to its (classified) rules of procedure, its sessions are confidential. According to practice, the Federal Government presents an annual report on arms exports, which contains statistical information on export permits issued and gives figures for the types of arms concerned as well as their destination. As a general rule, the Federal Government, if asked, is required to inform the Bundestag that the Federal Security Council has approved a given armaments export transaction or not.

Present German cabinet

See also: Third Merkel cabinet

The current federal cabinet (in office since 17 December 2013), consists of the following ministers:

Office	Image	Incumbent	Party	In office
Chancellor		Angela Merkel	CDU	22 November 2005 – present
Vice-Chancellor Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy	100px	Sigmar Gabriel	SPD	17 December 2013 – present
Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs		Frank-Walter Steinmeier	SPD	17 December 2013 – present
Federal Minister of the Interior		Thomas de Maizière	CDU	17 December 2013 – present
Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection	100px	Heiko Maas	SPD	17 December 2013 – present
Federal Minister of Finance		Wolfgang Schäuble	CDU	28 October 2009 – present
Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs		Andrea Nahles	SPD	17 December 2013 – present
Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture		Christian Schmidt	CSU	17 February 2014 - present
Federal Minister of Defence		Ursula von der Leyen	CDU	17 December 2013 – present
Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth		Manuela Schwesig	SPD	17 December 2013 – present
Federal Minister of Health		Hermann Gröhe	CDU	17 December 2013 – present
Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure		Alexander Dobrindt	CSU	17 December 2013 – present
Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety		Barbara Hendricks	SPD	17 December 2013 – present
Federal Minister of Education and Research		Johanna Wanka	CDU	14 February 2013 – present
Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development		Gerd Müller	CSU	17 December 2013 – present
Federal Minister for Special Tasks, Head of the Chancellery		Peter Altmaier	CDU	17 December 2013 – present

See also

• List of ministers of the Federal Republic of Germany — an alphabetical list of former ministers
• Council of Ministers (Ministerrat) of the German Democratic Republic
• Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
• German federal election, 2013

References

• Official English names of German ministers and ministries (German Foreign Office)

External links

• German cabinet website (German)
• German cabinet website (English)