Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership
Federal Republic of Germany/Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Female suffrage 1918)

The Holy Roman Empire lasted 902-1806, 1806-66 the German Confederation consisted of a number of sovereign states and minor states. 1866 the North German Federation was established, the German Empire, lasted 1871-1918 before becoming a republic, but the name of the state remained Deutscher Reich until 1945 when it became a federal republic.

Also see Germany Parliament and East Germany Ministers

1957-59 State Secretary for Family and Youth Gabrielle Wülker 
University Professor, she lived (1911-2001).

1961-66 Federal Minister of Health Elisabeth Schwarzhaupt
Member of the Federal Assembly 1953-69 and Member of the CDU-leadership 1957-61. She was doctor in theology, and lived (1901-86).

1966-72 Federal Minister of Health Käte Strobel
1969-72 Federal Minister of Family and Youth
SPD Member of the Federal Assembly 1949-72, Member of the European Parliament 1958-67 and it Vice-President 1962-64 and President of the Socialist Group 1964-67 and Member of the City Council 1972-78, she lived (1907-96).

1966-69 Federal Minister of Family and Youth Aenne Brauksiepe
Deputy Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group 1964-68 and Deputy Chairperson of Christliche Democratische Union (CDU) 1967-76, she lived (1912-97).

1969-72 Parliamentary State Secretary for Economic Co-operation Brigitte Freyh
MP for SPD (b. 1924-).

1969-72 Parliamentary State Secretary by The Federal Chancellor Katharina Focke
1972-76 Federal Minister of Family and Health
Member of the Landtag of Nordhrein-Westphalen 1966-69, of the Federal Assembly 1969-80 and of the European Parliament 1979-89. (b. 1922-).

1969-72 Parliamentary State Secretary for Education and Science Hildegard Hamm-Brücher       
1977-82 State Minister for Foreign Affairs
1994 Presidential Candidate       
Minister of Culture and Education in Hessen 1967-69, Deputy Chairperson of Freie Demokratische Partei, FDP, the liberal party 1972-76. As she holds two doctorial titles she is known as Frau doctor doctor Hamm-Brücher. (b. 1921-).

1974-77 Parliamentary State Secretary by The Federal Chancellor Marie Schlei
1977-82 Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Aid
SPD Parliamentarian, she lived (1918-83).

1976-82 Federal Minister of Youth, Family and Health Antje Huber
SPD Parliamentarian (b. 1924-).

1977-80 State Secretary of Labour and Social Affairs Anke Fuchs
1980-82 Parliamentary State Secretary of Labour and Social Affairs
1982 Federal Minister of Youth, Family and Health
Deputy Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group 1983-87 and and from 1993, First Parliamentary Secretary General of Socialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD) 1987-91, Vice-President of the Bundestag 1998-2002. (b. 1937-).

1982-87 Federal Minister of Education and Science Dorothee Wilms
1987-91 Federal Minister of Intra-German Relations
Deputy Parliamentary Secretary General 1974-75 and Secretary General of CDU/CSU Faction 1980-82. (b. 1929-).

1982-87 Parliamentary State Secretary of Family, Youth and Health Irmgard Karwatzki
1987-89 Parliamentary State Secretary of Education
1994-98 Parliamentary State Secretary of Finance for Budget Affairs
Member of the Federal Assembly from 1976, Oberbürgermeisterin (Mayor) of Duisburg 1979-83 and Deputy Chairperson of CDU in Nordrhein-Westfalens 1981-98. (b. 1940-).

1984-88 Federal Minister of Youth, Family and Health Rita Süßmuth
1988-98 President of the Bundestag (Federal Assembly)
Vice-Chairperson of CDU 1987-91. (b. 1937-).

1987-89 (†) Parliamentary State Secretary by the Federal Chancellor and Representative of the Government in Berlin Liselotte Berger
CDU-Parliamentarian 1970-89, she lived (1920-89).

1987-91 State Minister of Foreign Affairs Irmgard Adam-Schwaetzer
1991-94 Federal Minister of Urban Planning, Housing and Construction
1992 Appointed Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs
Secretary General 1982-84, Treasurer 1984-87, Deputy Chairperson of FDP 1987-94, candidate for Party Chairperson 1988 and as Group Chairperson in 1991. Appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs the following year, but this was rejected by the parliamentary group and her appointment was revoked, and finally in 1994 she resigned all party-posts after the group rejected her as Vice-President of the Parliament but was later Chairperson of the Local FDP Branch of Aachen 1997-2002. (b. 1942- ).

1987-91 Parliamentary State Secretary of Defence Agnes Hürland-Brüning
Deputy Parliamentary Secretary General 1983-87 and Parliamentary Secretary General of CDU 1987. (b. 1926-).

1988-92 Federal Minister of Youth, Family and Health Prof. Ursula Lehr
(b. 1930-).

1989-91 Federal Minister of Urban Planning, Housing and Construction Gerda Hasselfeldt
1991-92 Federal Minister of Health
Deputy Chairperson of the CDU/CSU Faction in the Federal Assembly 2002-05 and Vice-President of the Bundestag 2005-2011 and Chairperson of the CSU-Group in the Bundestag from 2011. (b. 1951-).

1990-91 Federal Minister without Portfolio for the New Bundesstates Sabine Bergmann-Pohl
1991-98 Parliamentary State Secretary of Health
President of the People's Chamber and Acting Head of State of the German Democratic Republic, DDR/GDR in 1990 and Member of the Bundestag for CDU 1991-20002. (b. 1946-).

1991-94 Federal Minister of Family and Seniors Hannelore Rönsch      
Deputy Chairperson of the CDU/CSU Faction of the Bundestag since 1994. (b. 1942-).

1991-94 Federal Minister Women and Youth Angela Merkel
1994-98 Federal Minister of Environment, Protection of Nature and Reactor Safety
2005- Federal Chancellor
Deputy Spokesperson of the Government of the DDR in 1990, Deputy Chairperson of CDU 1990-98, Chairperson of CDU in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 1993-2000, Federal Secretary General 1998-2000, Federal Chairperson of CDU since 2000 and from 2002 also Parliamentary Leader. First half of 2007 she was Chairperson of the European Council and member of the EU-Troyka in the second half, and President of the Group of Eight, G-8 the whole year. Née Kasner and married secondly to Joachim Sauer, no children. (b. 1954-).

1991-94 State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ursula Seiler-Albring
Parliamentary Secretary General of the FDP 1987-91, Ambassador to Austria and the United Nations in Vienna 1995-99, to Bulgaria 1999-2003 and Hungary 2003-06. (b. 1943-).

1991-93 Parliamentary State Secretary of Economic Co-operation and Development Michaela Geiger
1993-97 Parliamentary State Secretary of Defence
Vice-President of the Bundestag 1997-98, and lived (1943-98).

1991-94 Parliamentary State Secretary of Family and Seniors Roswitha Verhülsdonk
Deputy Parliamentary Secretary General of the CDU 1991-98 and from 1994 President of the Central Committee of Union of German Catholics. (b. 1927-).

1992-95 and 2009-13 Federal Minister of Justice Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger
Chairperson of FDP in Bayern from 2000 and Deputy Chairperson of the FDP Faction in the Federal Assembly 2001-02 and 2005-09 and Federal Deputy Party Chairperson 2011-13. (b. 1951-).

1992-93 Parliamentary State Secretary of Defence Ingrid Roitzsch
Deputy Parliamentary Secretary General of the CDU 1987-90, (b. 1940-).

1992-94 Parliamentary State Secretary of Women and Youth Cornelia Yzer
1994-97 Parliamentary State Secretary of Education, Science and Technology
Member of the Federal Assembly for CDU 1990-97 and Senator for Science, Technology and Research in the government of Berlin from 2012.. (b. 1961-).

1994-98 Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Claudia Nolte
Deputy Chairperson of the Faction of CDU in the Landtag (State Assembly) of Thüringen 1991-94. (b. 1966-).

1994-98 Parliamentary State Secretary of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and YouthGertrud Dempwolf
CDU MP (b. 1936-).

1994-98 State Secretary of Urban Planning, Housing and Construction Christa Thoben
Leader of the CDU-Group of the Landtag of Nordrhein-Westphalen 1990-94 Deputy and from 1998 Chairperson of the Landes-CDU and deputy Chairperson of the federal CDU, 1999-2000 Deputy Reigning Mayor and Senator of Science and Technology in Berlin and from 2005 Minister of Economy, Industry, Small and Medium-Sized Entreprises and Energy in Nordrhein-Westphalen. (b. 1941-).

1997-98 Parliamentary State Secretary of Education, Science, Research and Technology Elke Wülfing
Member of the Federal Assembly since 1990 and Vice-Chairperson of CDU in Nordrhein-Westfalen 1991-2003. (b. 1947-).

1998-2002 Federal Minister of Justice Herta Däubler-Gmelin
Deputy Chairperson of the SPD-Faction of the Bundestag 1983-93 and Vice-Chairperson of SPD (as the first woman) 1988-97. (b. 1943-).

1998-2009 Federal Minister of Economic Co-operation and Development Aid Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul
Deputy Party Chairperson 1993-2005 and Deputy Chairperson of the SPD Faction 1995-98. (b. 1942-).

1998-2002 Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Christine Bergmann
President of the Town-Council of East Berlin 1990-91, Deputy Governing Mayor and Mayor of Berlin, 1991-98, Senator of Labour Women’s Affairs, 1996-98, Senator of Vocational Training and Representative of the Land of Berlin for Federal and European Affairs and from 1994 Vice-Chairperson of the State SPD. (b. 1939-).

1998-2005 Federal Minister of Education and Science Edelgard Bulmahn
MP from 1987, State Chairperson of SPD of Niedersachsen 1998-2003 and Vice-President of the Bundestag from 2013. (b. 1951-).

1998-2001 Federal Minister of Health Andrea Fischer
Member of the Leadership Council of the Bündnis90/Grüne (The Greens) (b. 1960-).

1998-2002 Parliamentary State Secretary of Defence Birgitte Schulte
In 1987-91 Parliamentary Secretary General of SPD, 1991-98 Sprecherin/Speaker of the North Atlantic Parliamentary Assembly and Deputy Defence Spokesperson of SPD. Former Regierungspräsidentin (Government Representative) of Hannover. (1943-).

1998-2009 Parliamentary State Secretary of Finance Barbara Hendriks
2013- Federal Minister of Environment, Protection of Nature, Building and Reactor Safety
Especially in charge of Taxation, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Finance in Nordhrein-Westphalen 1981-90, Ministerialrätin (Civil Servant) in the State-Ministry of Environment 1996-98 and Treasurer of SPD 2007-13. Lives with another woman. (b. 1952-).

1998-2005 Parliamentary State Secretary of Development Aid Ursula Eid
Member of the Federal Assembly for the Green Party. (b. 1949-).

1998-2009 Parliamentary State Secretary of Interior Cornelie Sonntag-Wolgast
Spokesperson of the SPD 1991-93. (b. 1942-).

1998-2001 Parliamentary State Secretary of Health and Commissioner of Drug Affairs Christa Nickels
Parliamentary Secretary General of Bündnis 90/Grüne 1984-85. (1952-).

1998-2002 Parliamentary State Secretary of Labour and Social Affairs Ulrike Mescker
Councillor in the Magistrate of München (Munich) 1984-90 and since 1995 Deputy Chairperson of Bayern SPD. (b. 1938-).

1998-2002 Parliamentary State Secretary of Family, Women, Youth and Seniors Edith Niehuis
SPD MP. (b. 1950-).

1998-2002 Parliamentary State Secretary of Environment, Natural Protection and Reactor Safety Gila Altmann
Green Parliamentarian. (b. 1949-).

1998-2005 Parliamentary State Secretary of Environment , Natural Protection and Reactor Safety Simone Probst
Parliamentary Secretary General of Bündnis 90/Grüne 1994-98. (b. 1967-).

1998-2002 State Secretary of Interior Brigitte Zypries
2002-09 Federal Minister of Justice
2013-17 Parliamentary State Secretary of Economy, Industry and Energy charged with coordination of Aviation and Space Industry
2017- Minister of Economy and Energy
State Secretary of Social Affairs of Niedersachsen 1997-98. In question as Parliamentary Leader of SPD in 2013 but that post was taken over by a man. (b. 1953-).

1998-2002 State Secretary of Building, Housing, Communication and Transport Elke Ferner
2013- Parliametary State Secretary of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
Deputy Spokesperson of the Parliamentary Faction of the SPD 1993-98 and from Party Vice-Chairperson from 2005. (b. 1958-).

2000-05 Parliamentary State Secretary of Traffic, Building and Housing Angelika Mertens
SPD Parliamentarian from 1994. (b. 1952-).

2001-05 Federal Minister of Consumer’s Protection, Food and Agriculture Renate Künast
Parliamentary Leader the Grüne/Alternative Liste of Berlin in 1999 and Co-Leader of Bündis 90/Grüne 2000-01 and Parliamentary Leader from 2005. (b. 1955-).

2001-09 Federal Minister of Health Ulla Schmidt
2002-05 Federal Minister of Social Affairs
MP from 1990, Deputy Chairperson of the SPD-Faction of the Bundestag 1998-2001 and Vice-President of the Bundestag from 2013. (b. 1949-).

2001-02 Parliamentary State Secretary of Health Gudrun Schaick-Walch
Deputy Chairperson of the SPD Parliamentary Faction from 2002. (b. 1946-).

2001-02 Parliamentary State Secretary of Economy, Industry, Trade and Technology and Federal Commissioner of the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises 
2002-05 Parliamentary State Secretary of Environment and Atomic Security Margareta Wolf
(b. 1957-).

2002-05 Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Women, Youth and Seniors Renate Schmidt
Vice-Chairperson of the Faction of SPD 1987-90, Vice-President of the Bundestag 1990-94 and Chairperson of SPD in Bayern 1991-2000. It was widely speculated that she should become the SPD-candidate for the post of Federal President in 2004, but since the party had no chance of winning, the party instead fielded a female university rector, who lost against the male conservative candidate. (b. 1943-).

2002-05 State Minister in the Office of the Federal Chancellor and Government Commissioner of Culture and the Media Christina Weiss
Senator (Minister) of Culture in the Federal State of Hamburg 1991-2001. (b. 1953-).

2002-05 State Minister of Foreign Affairs Kerstin Müller
Co-Leader of the Faction of the Bündnis '90/Die Grünen 1994-2002 (b. 1963-).

2002-05 Parliamentary State Secretary of Interior Ute Vogt
Chairperson of SPD in Baden-Württemberg from 1995, Candidate for the post of State Minister President in 2001 and 2006 and Chairperson of the Assembly Faction 2006-08 and Federal Vice-Chairperson of SPD 2003-07. (b. 1964-).

2002-05 Parliamentary State Secretary of Family, Seniors, Women and Youth in charge of Integration Marieluise Beck
Green Parliamentarian 1983-85, 1987-90 and again from 1990 and Government Commissioner of Immigration 1998-2002. (b. 1953-).

2002-05 Parliamentary State Secretary of Family, Seniors, Women and Youth Rev. Christel Riemann-Hanewinckel
Protestant Priest and Deputy Superintendent of Halle-Saale 1988-90, MP from 1990 and since 2002 Vice-Chairperson of SPD in Sachsen-Anhalt (b. 1947-).

2002-05 Parliamentary State Secretary of Social Insurance and Government Delegate for Drugs Affairs
2002-09 Parliamentary State Secretary of Health Marion Caspers-Merk
SPD Parliamentarian from 1990. (b. 1955-).

2002-05 Parliamentary State Secretary of Traffic, Building and Housing Iris Gleicke
2013- Parliamentary State Secretary of Economy, Industry and Energy and Commissioner of Rebuilding the Eastern Part of Germany
Deputy Faction Chairperson of SPD 1998-2002 and Parliamentary Secretary General 2009-13. (b. 1964-).

2005-09 Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Ursula von der Leyen
2009-13 Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
2013- Federal Minister of Defence
Minister of Social Affairs, Women, Family and Health in Niedersachsen since 2003. After the unexpected resignation of the newly re-elected President in 2010, she was considered the favourite to become the government's candidate, but a more conservative man was selected instead, and the SPD-candidate won. She is daughter of the former Minister-President of Niedersachsen, Ernst Albrecht, and mother of 7 children. (b. 1958-).

2005-13 Federal Minister of Education and Research Annette Schavan
2011 Acting Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport in Baden-Württemberg 1995-2005 and Deputy Chairperson of CDU since 1998. In 2004 she was mentioned as a possible Presidential Candidate, but instead she was candidate for the post of Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg in the internal CDU-elections but lost to the male candidate. Also Vice-President of the Central Committee of the German Catholics. Unmarried and no children. (b. 1955- ).

2005-08 State Minister in the Office of the Federal Chancellor and Government Commissioner of the Coordination between the Federation and the States Hildegard Müller
MP for CDU 2002-08 and on maternity leave from October 2006 till December 2007. Chairperson of the Federal Association of Energy- and Water Industries since 2008. (b. 1967-).

2005-13 State Minister in the Office of the Federal Chancellor and Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration 2013- State Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Böhmer
Vice-Chairperson of the Parliamentary Faction of CDU/CSU 200-05. (b. 1950-)

2005-09 Parliamentary State Secretary of Economy and Technology Dagmar Wöhrl
MP for CSU from 1994. (b. 1954-).

2005-09 Parliamentary State Secretary of Environment, Protection of Nature and Reactor Safety Astrid Klug
MP for SPD since 2002. (b. 1968-).

2005-09 Parliamentary State Secretary of Economic Co-operation and Development Aid Karin Kortmann
MP for SPD since 1998. (b. 1958-).

2007-09 Parliamentary State Secretary of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Ursula Heinen-Esser
2009-13 Parliamentary State Secretary of Environment
MP for CDU since 1998 and Vice-Chairperson of the State CDU of Nordhrein-Westphalen since 2003. (b. 1965-).

2008-13 Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Ilse Aigner
Member of the Assembly of Bavaria 1994-98 and Member of the Federal Assembly from 1998, Secretary of the Assembly 1998-2002, Vice-Chairperson of the CSU Group 2002-05 and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Industry in Bavaria from 2013. (b. 1964-).

2008- State Secretary of Education and Research Cornelia Quennet-Thielen
Deputy Head of the Office of the President 2006-08. (b. 1957-)

2009-13 Parliamentary State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Cornelia Pieper
Vice-President of the Landtag of Sachsen-Anhalt 1990-94, Chairperson of the FDP of Sachsen-Anhalt from 1995, Federal Party Vice-Chairperson 1997-2001 and 2005-11 and Secretary General of the party 2001-05 and Parliamentary Party Leader in 2002. (b. 1959-).

2009-13 Parliamentary State Secretary of Development Aid Gudrun Kopp
MP for the FDP from 1998. (b. 1950-).

2009-13 Parliamentary State Secretary of Environment Katharina Reiche
2013- Parliamentary State Secretary of Trafic and Digital Affairs
CDU MP from 1998 and Deputy Parliamentary Leader of the CDU 2005-09. (b. 1973-).

2009-11 Parliamentary State Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection Julia Klöckner
MP for CDU from 2002, Party Vice-Chairperson in Rheinland-Pfalz from 2006 and in 2009 she was named Candidate for Minister-President for the 2011-elections. (b. 1972-).

2009- Parliamentary State Secretary of Health Annette Widmann-Mauz
MP for CDU since 1998, and Party Vice-Chairperson in Baden-Württemberg from 2003. (b. 1966-).

2009-13 Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Kristina Schröder
CDU MP since 2002. When she married the Parliamentary Secretary of Interior Ole Schröder, she changed her name from Kristina Köhler and in 2011 she was the first Federal Minister to give birth while in office. (b. 1977-).

2010- State Secretary of Interior and Government Commissioner for Information Technology Cornelia Rogall-Grothe
Civil Servant (b. 1949-)

2011-13 Parliamentary State Secretary of Health Ulrike Flach
FDP MP since 1998 and Vice-Faction Chairperson 2009-11. (b. 1951-).

2011- State Secretary of Labour and Social Affairs Annette Niederfranke

2011- State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Emily Haber
Various diplomatic positions. Ambassador and Commissioner of South Eastern Europe and Turkey

2012- State Secretary of Economy and Technology Anne Ruth Herkes
2013- State Secretary of Economy, Industry and Energy
Former Diplomat, Ambassador to Doha 2010-12

2013- Federal Minister Education and Research Johanna Wanka
Minister of Science, Research and Culture in Brandenburg 2000-09 and Vice-Premier 2008-09, Vice-Chairperson of CDU in Brandenburg 2007-09 and Chairperson 2008-09 and Candidate for the post of Minister-President in 2009, Minister of Science and Culture in Niederscachsen 2010-13. (b. 1951-)

2013- Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Andrea Nahles
MP 1998-2002 and from 2005, Vice-Chairperson of SPD 2007-09 and Secretary General 2009-13. (b. 1970)

2013- Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Manuela Schwesig
Minister of Labour, Equality and Social Affairs in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2008-13 and Deputy Chairperson of SPD from 2009. (b. 1974-)

2013- State Minister in the Office of the Federal Chancellor and Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration Aydan Özoguz
SPD Member of the City Council of Hamburg 2001-08, MP from 2009 and Vice-Chairperson of SPD from 2011. Her German title is Staatsministerin für Migration, Flüchtlinge und Integration. (b. 1967-)

2013- State Minister in the Office of the Federal Chancellor and Government Commissioner for Culture Monika Grütters
MP for CDU. Her German title is Kulturstaatsministerin im Kanzleramt

2013- Parliamentary State Secretary of Trafic and Digital Affairs Dorothee Bär
Deputy Secretary General of CDU 2009-13. (b. 1978-)

2013- Parliamentary State Secretary of Labour and Social Affairs Annette Kramme
SPD MP from 1998. (b. 1967-)

2013- Parliamentary State Secretary of Labour and Social Affairs Gabriele Lösekrug-Möller.
SPD MP from 2001. (b. 1951-)

2013- Parliametary State Secretary of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Caren Marks
SPD MP from 2002. (b. 1963-)

2013- Parliamentary State Secretary of Environment, Protection of Nature, Building and Reactor Saftety Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter
SPD Local Councillor from 1999, Regional Councillor from 2004, MP 2005-09 and from 2010. (b. 1962-)

2013- Parliamentary State Secretary of Health Ingrid Fischbach
CDU MP from 1998 and Vice-Chairperson of the CDU Parliamentary Faction 2009-13. (b. 1953-)

2013- Parliamentary State Secretary of Food and Agriculture Maria Flachsbarth
CDU MP since 2002. (b. 1963-)

2014- State Secretary of Defence Katrin Suder

2016- State Secretary of Labour and Social Affairs Yasmin Fahimi
Secretary General of SPD 2014-16. (b. 1967-)

Last update 31.01.17