Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia

Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia
Ministerpräsident des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen
Coat of arms
Incumbent
Hendrik Wüst
since 27 October 2021
Status
Member ofCabinet
Landtag
ResidenceState Chancellery
NominatorPresident of the Landtag
AppointerLandtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
Inaugural holderRudolf Amelunxen
Formation24 July 1946
DeputyMona Neubaur
Salary€210,000 per annum
WebsiteOfficial website

The Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia (German: Ministerpräsident des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen), also referred to as Premier or Prime Minister, is the head of government of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The position was created in 1946, when the British administration merged the Prussian province of Westphalia and the northern part of the Prussian province of the Rhine (North Rhine) to form the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1947 the state was expanded with including of the state of Lippe.

The current Minister-President is Hendrik Wüst, heading a coalition government between the Christian Democratic Union and Alliance 90/The Greens. Wüst succeeded Armin Laschet following his resignation in 2021.[1]

The office of the Minister President is known as the State Chancellery (German: Staatskanzlei), and is located in the capital of Düsseldorf, along with the rest of the cabinet departments.

Title

The German title Ministerpräsident may be translated literally as Minister-President, although the state government sometimes uses the title Prime Minister in English.[2]

Origin of the office

After the Second World War, the Prussian province of Westphalia and the northern part of the Prussian province of the Rhine (North Rhine) were administered as part of the zone allocated to the British military administration and were merged to form the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1947 the state was expanded with including of the state of Lippe. The British government began to back the advocates of a merger of the states.

List

Political party:   CDU   SPD   Green

Portrait Name
(Born–Died) 		Term of office Political party
Took office Left office Days
North Rhine-Westphalia (1946–present)
British occupation zone in Allied-occupied Germany (1946–1949)
State of the Federal Republic of Germany (as of 23 May 1949)
1 Rudolf Amelunxen
(1888–1969) 		23 August 1946 16 June 1947 297 Non-partisan (until 1947)
Centre Party (from 1947)
2 Karl Arnold
(1901–1958) 		17 June 1947 20 February 1956
(replaced by a
Constructive vote
of no confidence) 		3170 Christian Democratic Union
3 Fritz Steinhoff
(1897–1969) 		20 February 1956 21 July 1958 882 Social Democratic Party
4 Franz Meyers
(1908–2002) 		21 July 1958 8 December 1966
(replaced by a
Constructive vote
of no confidence) 		3062 Christian Democratic Union
5 Heinz Kühn
(1912–1992) 		8 December 1966 20 September 1978 4304 Social Democratic Party
6 Johannes Rau
(1931–2006) 		20 September 1978 27 May 1998 7189 Social Democratic Party
7 Wolfgang Clement
(1940–2020) 		27 May 1998 22 October 2002
(resigned) 		1609 Social Democratic Party
8 Peer Steinbrück
(born 1947) 		6 November 2002 22 June 2005 959 Social Democratic Party
9 Jürgen Rüttgers
(born 1951) 		22 June 2005 14 July 2010 1848 Christian Democratic Union
10 Hannelore Kraft
(born 1961) 		14 July 2010 27 June 2017 2540 Social Democratic Party
11 Armin Laschet
(born 1961) 		27 June 2017 26 October 2021
(resigned) 		1582 Christian Democratic Union
12 Hendrik Wüst
(born 1975) 		27 October 2021 Incumbent 1157 Christian Democratic Union

See also

References

  1. ^ Wüst mit 98 Prozent zum CDU-Landesvorsitzenden gewählt. Retrieved 20 April 2022
  2. ^ Premier of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
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