Hardly anyone knew who Helge Braun was before now. From now on, though, as minister of the chancellery, he will coordinate all the work of governance. Peter Altmaier's successor is more of a man behind the scenes.
Image: DW/R. Oberhammer
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Helge who? This was the question on many people's lips when he was appointed to the post. The 45-year-old CDU politician has been part of the government machinery for years, but until now he's remained in the background. In Merkel's second cabinet he was a parliamentary undersecretary in the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Merkel then drew him into her inner circle back in 2013, when she brought him to the Chancellery as a Minister of State to the Federal Chancellor in her third cabinet. Braun was primarily in charge of overseeing relationships between the federal and the individual state governments. The refugee crisis also fell within his sphere of responsibility, and with his handling of this, in particular, Braun seems to have proven himself in Merkel's eyes.
Angela Merkel's new chief of staff in the studioImage: DW/R. Oberhammer
He also knows, though, how controversial Merkel's policies were, and continue to be. "I think many people who voted for the AfD [Alternative for Germany] in the general election were unhappy with the policy on refugees,” Helge Braun admitted in an interview with DW. In this regard, though, he said that the government wants to "solve problems, and win back these AfD voters in so doing.”
Helge Braun had an indirect path into the Berlin political world. He joined the youth wing of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in his home state of Hesse at the age of 17 and was involved in politics at local level. Then, though, he went on to study medicine and became an anesthetist. He sees parallels between the two worlds: "Regardless of the situation, if someone gets nervous very quickly – this applies to both political challenges and to a situation in the operating theater – they end up not making good decisions.” He evidently considers himself as a calm person, and others have confirmed this. With his background, he could perhaps also have become minister for health or research. But what particularly attracted him to his new task is the fact that he has to deal with pretty much every issue of governance. "That's why my new position as head of the Office of the Chancellery is my chosen task,” he told the local newspaper in his hometown of Giessen.
His quiet work in the background is over, once and for all. The Minister of the Chancellery is in a particularly exposed position: He coordinates the entire work of government, is in constant communication with other ministers, the Bundestag, and the individual states, and he heads up a department with around 600 employees. As minister of the Chancellery, what Helge Braun particularly needs is, therefore, the ability to mediate, to find compromises, resolve conflicts. He seems to have plenty of these qualities. He is described as friendly, matter-of-fact and pragmatic – not the kind of man to parade himself in the limelight. In this, Helge Braun seems to be very like his boss.
Apparently, Braun made a particularly positive impression on the Chancellor during the coalition negotiations. Together with Dorothee Bär from the CSU, he headed up the working group for digital strategy. Digitalization will remain one of his focus areas. "We have to lay fiber-optic cables all over the country. We plan to spend between ten and twelve billion euros on this in this legislative period, more than ever before,” Braun told DW.
At 45, Helge Braun brings down the average age of the cabinet, which now stands at just over 51. He's also part of the reason why this CDU ministerial team is considerably more Catholic than the last. Braun's predecessor, Peter Altmaier, was the only Catholic on a team of Protestants. Now it's Angela Merkel, the daughter of an evangelical priest, together with Ursula von der Leyen who are the only Protestants among their Roman Catholic CDU cabinet colleagues.
The conservative CDU and CSU formed a "grand coalition" government with the center-left SPD in March 2018. DW takes a look at who's who in Chancellor Angela Merkel's fourth Cabinet.
Image: picture alliance/SvenSimon/E. Kremser
Chancellor: Angela Merkel (CDU)
Christian Democrat (CDU) Angela Merkel is Germany's chancellor. She is in her fourth term as leader of the German government and in her third at the head of a "grand coalition" between the CDU, its conservative Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democrats (SPD). Merkel says she will not run for chancellor at the next general election in 2021.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Minister of the Interior, Heimat and Construction: Horst Seehofer (CSU)
Seehofer was Bavaria's state premier until he took over the interior portfolio in Merkel's Cabinet. This will be the first time that the vaguely patriotic "Heimat" concept (roughly "homeland") is included in the interior minister's domain. Bavaria, however, has had a state Heimat Ministry for five years. Seehofer remains head of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) in Bavaria.
Image: Reuters/M. Rehle
Minister for Foreign Affairs: Heiko Maas (SPD)
Former Justice Minister Heiko Maas succeeded his Social Democrat colleague, Sigmar Gabriel, as foreign minister in March. Maas was in charge of the Justice Ministry when the government passed a controversial internet law to combat hate speech online.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler
Finance Minister: Olaf Scholz (SPD)
Scholz served as mayor of Hamburg before moving to Berlin to take the reins at the Finance Ministry. The Finance Ministry's capture was a significant win for the SPD. Scholz will also serve as vice-chancellor. He had been in Merkel's Cabinet once before, as minister of labor and social affairs from 2007 to 2009.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Sabrowsky
Minister of Defense: Ursula von der Leyen (CDU)
Von der Leyen has been defense minister since 2013 and kept her job in the new government. This comes despite numerous scandals within the Bundeswehr, Germany's military, that broke since she took over the Defense Ministry. Her relationship with the troops suffered, but Merkel trusts her.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Lübke
Economic and Energy Affairs Minister: Peter Altmaier (CDU)
Altmaier was Merkel's chief of staff at the Chancellery before his nomination to take over the Economy Ministry. The last time a CDU politician was in the post was half a century before. Altmaier is regarded as extremely loyal to the chancellor.
Image: Getty Images/M. Tantussi
Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection: Katarina Barley (SPD)
Katarina Barley took over as justice minister after serving as both minister of family affairs and labor in the previous government. The 49-year-old is a lawyer by training and holds both British and German citizenship.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
Minister of Labor and Social Affairs: Hubertus Heil (SPD)
Hubertus Heil succeeded Andrea Nahles, who stepped down to take over as head of the SPD. A member of the Bundestag since 1998, Heil has twice served as the party's secretary general.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. von Jutrczenka
Minister for the Environment: Svenja Schulze (SPD)
Svenja Schulze replaced party colleague Barbara Hendricks, Germany's former minister for the environment, nature conservation and nuclear safety, in March. Schulze previously served as minister for innovation, science and research in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R.Vennenbernd
Minister for Health: Jens Spahn (CDU)
Jens Spahn, 37, is representative of a new political generation within the CDU and seen as a future contender for party leadership. In the last government, he served as the parliamentary state secretary in the Finance Ministry. Prior to that, he helped lead the CDU's health policy in the Bundestag.
Image: Getty Images
Minister of Education and Research: Anja Karliczek (CDU)
Anja Karliczek, a former hotel manager who is relatively unknown, was nominated by Merkel to take over the Education Ministry. She had a lot of money to spend: The ministry's budget was increased by €11 billion ($13.6 billion) to pay for school and university improvements shortly before her appointment.
Image: imago/M. Popow
Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth: Franziska Giffey (SPD)
Franziska Giffey's elevation from the mayor of Berlin's Neukölln district to cabinet minister was perhaps one of the most eye-catching appointments. Giffey bypassed the Bundestag altogether to ascend into government. But the SPD leadership believed her experience in charge of what has often been described as Berlin's "troubled" district made her the most suitable candidate for the role.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Gambarini
Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development: Gerd Müller (CSU)
Gerd Müller, 62, retained his post as development minister, which he has held since December 2013. He won the job over fellow CSU member Dorothee Bär, who was also in the running. Bär became the state minister for digital affairs in the chancellery, a newly created job.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure: Andreas Scheuer (CSU)
Scheuer, considered a close ally of CSU party head Seehofer, took over the Transport Ministry from party colleague Alexander Dobrindt. He is experienced in the field: From 2009 to 2013, he was parliamentary state secretary in the Transport Ministry. Prior to his latest appointment, he was the CSU's secretary general.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Minister for Food and Agriculture: Julia Klöckner (CDU)
Klöckner previously worked as parliamentary state secretary in the Agriculture Ministry from 2009 to 2011. Between her ministerial stints in Berlin, she was deputy chair of the CDU and headed the CDU in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Image: imago/Future Image/J.xKrickx
Chief of Staff at the Chancellery: Helge Braun (CDU)
Helge Braun took over from CDU colleague Peter Altmaier as Chancellery head in March. He had previously served in deputy positions in the Chancellery and Education Ministry.
