Second Merkel cabinet

Second Angela Merkel Cabinet
52nd cabinet of Germany
28 October 2009 – 17 December 2013
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Date formed	28 October 2009
Date dissolved	17 December 2013
People and organisations
Head of government	Angela Merkel
Member party	Christian Democratic Union Christian Social Union of Bavaria Free Democratic Party
Status in legislature	CDU led coalition government
Opposition party	Social Democratic Party of Germany The Left The Greens
Opposition leader	Frank-Walter Steinmeier
History
Election(s)	German federal election, 2009
Legislature term(s)	17th legislature of the Bundestag
Predecessor	Merkel I
Successor	Merkel III

The second Merkel cabinet was the Government of Germany during the 17th legislative session of the Bundestag following the 2009 federal election, and left office on 17 December 2013. It was preceded in office by the first Merkel cabinet. Led by Chancellor Angela Merkel (the first female chancellor in German history), it was supported by a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU), and the Free Democratic Party (FDP).

The cabinet served as a caretaker government following the elections on 22 September 2013; which saw the removal of the Free Democratic Party from the Bundestag. Negotiations between the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democratics (SPD) took place to form a new cabinet, and the second Merkel cabinet was succeeded by the Merkel III cabinet on 17 December 2013.

Composition

The second Merkel cabinet was composed of the following ministers:

Office	Image	Incumbent	Party	In office
Chancellor	100px	Angela Merkel	CDU	22 November 2005 – present
Vice-Chancellor		Guido Westerwelle	FDP	28 October 2009 – 18 May 2011
		Philipp Rösler		18 May 2011 – 17 December 2013
Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs		Guido Westerwelle	FDP	28 October 2009 – 17 December 2013
Federal Minister of the Interior		Thomas de Maizière	CDU	28 October 2009 – 3 March 2011
		Hans-Peter Friedrich	CSU	3 March 2011 – 17 December 2013
Federal Minister of Justice		Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger	FDP	28 October 2009 – 17 December 2013
Federal Minister of Finance		Wolfgang Schäuble	CDU	28 October 2009 – present
Federal Minister of Economics and Technology		Rainer Brüderle	FDP	28 October 2009 – 12 May 2011
		Philipp Rösler		12 May 2011 – 17 December 2013
Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs		Franz Josef Jung	CDU	28 October 2009 – 27 November 2009
		Ursula von der Leyen		30 November 2009 – 17 December 2013
Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection		Ilse Aigner	CSU	31 October 2008 – 30 September 2013
Federal Minister of Defence		Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg	CSU	28 October 2009 – 3 March 2011
		Thomas de Maizière	CDU	3 March 2011 – 17 December 2013
Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth		Ursula von der Leyen	CDU	22 November 2005 – 30 November 2009
		Kristina Schröder		30 November 2009 – 17 December 2013
Federal Minister of Health		Philipp Rösler	FDP	28 October 2009 – 12 May 2011
		Daniel Bahr		12 May 2011 – 17 December 2013
Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs		Peter Ramsauer	CSU	28 October 2009 – 17 December 2013
Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety		Norbert Röttgen	CDU	28 October 2009 – 22 May 2012
		Peter Altmaier	CDU	22 May 2012 – 17 December 2013
Federal Minister of Education and Research		Annette Schavan	CDU	22 November 2005 – 14 February 2013
		Johanna Wanka	CDU	14 February 2013 – present
Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development		Dirk Niebel	FDP	28 October 2009 – 17 December 2013
Federal Minister for Special Tasks, Head of the Chancellery		Ronald Pofalla	CDU	28 October 2009 – 17 December 2013

Resignations, Dismissals, and Replacements

The second Merkel cabinet has been reshuffled several times. The first change occurred on 30 November 2009, when Franz Josef Jung resigned as Labour Minister amidst controversy surrounding the Kunduz airstrike, which happened while he was Defense Minister in the previous cabinet. He was succeeded by former Family Affairs Minister Ursula von der Leyen, who was in turn succeeded by Kristina Schröder.

On 3 March 2011, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg stepped down as Defense Minister following the discovery of plagiarized content in his doctoral dissertation. He was succeeded by former Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, who was in turn succeeded by Hans-Peter Friedrich.

On 10 May 2011, Rainer Brüderle was elected as the FDP's parliamentary leader and resigned his position as Economics Minister. He was succeeded by former Health Minister Philipp Rösler, who was in turn succeeded by Daniel Bahr. On 13 May 2011, the FDP elected Rösler to succeed Guido Westerwelle as party chairman. Rösler was then named Vice-Chancellor on 16 May 2011, succeeding Westerwelle in this position as well. Westerwelle retained the position of Foreign Minister.

On 16 May 2012, Merkel requested that President Joachim Gauck dismiss Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen after the CDU's defeat in the North Rhine-Westphalia state election. Röttgen had been CDU chairman for that state. He was dismissed on 22 May 2012 and was succeeded as Environment Minister by Peter Altmaier.

On 5 February 2013, Annette Schavan was stripped of her doctorate by the University of Düsseldorf due to alleged plagiarism in her PhD thesis. She resigned on 9 February 2013 and was succeeded by Johanna Wanka.

See also

• Cabinet of Germany

External links

• Cabinet of Germany (English)
• Federal Ministries of Germany (English)