Federal Ministry of Finance (Germany)

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Federal Ministry of Finance
Bundesministerium der Finanzen (BMF)
DEgov-BMF-Logo en.svg
Berlin Finanzministerium Wilhelmstr asv2019-07.jpg
The Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus on Wilhelmstraße, headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Finance since August 1999. Formerly the Air Ministry headquarters building and an example of classical-modern architecture.
Agency overview
Formed14 July 1879;145 years ago (1879-07-14) (Reichsschatzamt)
Jurisdiction Flag of Germany.svg Federal Republic of Germany
Headquarters Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus
Wilhelmstraße 97, 10117 Berlin
52°30′31″N13°23′3″E / 52.50861°N 13.38417°E / 52.50861; 13.38417
Employees1,965 (ministry)
Annual budget 8.742 billion (2021) [1]
Minister responsible
Agency executives
  • Katja Hessel, Parliamentary State Secretary
  • Florian Toncar, Parliamentary State Secretary
  • Steffen Saebisch, State Secretary
  • Werner Gatzer, State Secretary
Parent agency Cabinet of Germany
Website http://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de

The Federal Ministry of Finance (German : Bundesministerium der Finanzen), abbreviated BMF, is the cabinet-level finance ministry of Germany, with its seat at the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus in Berlin and a secondary office in Bonn.

Contents

History

In German politics, the Ministry of Finance beside the Interior, Foreign, Justice and Defence ministries is counted as one of the "classical portfolios" (denoted by the definite article der), which were also part of the first German government under Otto von Bismarck following the Unification of 1871.

Pre-war ministry on Wilhelmplatz, Berlin, 1930s Bundesarchiv Bild 147-0269, Berlin, Reichsfinanzministerium.jpg
Pre-war ministry on Wilhelmplatz, Berlin, 1930s

Fiscal policy in the German Empire was predominantly the domain of the various states responsible for all direct taxation according to the 1833 Zollverein treaties. The federal government merely received indirect contributions from the states. Matters of fiscal policy at the federal level initially was the exclusive responsibility of the German Chancellery under Otto von Bismarck. However, in 1877 a special finance department was established, which with effect from 14 July 1879 was separated from the chancellery as the Imperial Treasury (Reichsschatzamt), a federal agency in its own right. With its seat vis-à-vis on Wilhelmplatz in Berlin, it was first headed by a subsecretary, and from 1880 by a State Secretary only answerable to the chancellor.[ citation needed ]

After World War I, the newly established Weimar Republic had to face huge reparations and a fiscal emergency. To cope with the implications, the former Reichsschatzamt in 1919 was re-organised as a federal ministry, the Reichsministerium der Finanzen, as supreme financial authority headed by a federal minister. Besides a Reich Treasury Ministry (Reichsschatzministerium) was established for the administration of the federal property, both agencies were merged in 1923.[ citation needed ]

Already in the German cabinet of Chancellor Franz von Papen, Undersecretary Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk was appointed Finance Minister in 1932, an office he held throughout the Nazi era until 1945. The ministry played a vital role in financing the German re-armament, in the "Aryanization" of Jewish property ("Reich Flight Tax"), German war economy, and the plundering of occupied countries in World War II. The budget deficit had already reached heady heights on the eve of the war, aggrandised by hidden Mefo and Oeffa bill financing. In turn, saving banks and credit institutions were obliged to sign war bonds while price stability was enforced by government intervention and the German public was called up to bank surplus money.[ citation needed ]

After World War II the ministry was re-established in 1949 and renamed the West German Bundesministerium der Finanzen. [2] Since 1999, the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus (former Air Ministry Building) in Berlin has been the headquarters of the ministry.[ citation needed ]

During the period of Reunification in the 1990s', the Ministry of Finance headed by Theo Waigel, refused to return eight buildings in East Germany belonging to six Austrian Jewish citizens / NS victims. Allgemeine Judische Wochenzeitung; 10 September 1992; "Expropriation through the back door; German Government adds to its coffers / Loopholes in German bureaucracy make Injustice permanent." ("Enteignung durch die Hintertur; Der Bund bereichert sich / Winkelzuge deutscher Burocratie schreiben Unrecht fest").

Structure and function

The Ministry is the supreme federal authority in revenue administration and governs a number of subordinate federal, intermediate, and local authorities such as the Federal Centre for Data Processing and Information Technology (ZIVIT). The Ministry's wider portfolio includes public-law agencies and corporations such as the Federal Finance Regulator (BaFin) and Real Estate regulatory bodies. The finance minister is the only cabinet minister who can veto a decision of the government if it would lead to additional expenditure. The German newspaper FAZ stated, the Ministry of Finance is the most important Ministry in the German government. [3]

The Finance Ministry is responsible for all aspects of tax and revenue policy in Germany and plays a significant role in European Union policy. It has nine directorates-general: [4]

Subordinate agencies

Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus, Berlin headquarters Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus Berlin.jpg
Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus, Berlin headquarters
Entrance to the headquarters in Bonn Bundesfinanzministerium Bonn Eingang 2008a.jpg
Entrance to the headquarters in Bonn

The federal ministry directly governs the following agencies: [5]

Legally independent entities in the Ministry's wider portfolio include:

Federal Ministers of Finance

Political Party:   CSU    CDU    FDP    SPD

Name
(Born-Died)
PortraitPartyTerm of Office Chancellor
(Cabinet)
1 Fritz Schäffer
(1888–1967)
KAS-Schaffer, Fritz-Bild-395-1 (cropped).jpg CSU 20 September 194929 October 1957 Adenauer
(I • II)
2 Franz Etzel
(1902–1970)
KAS-Etzel, Franz-Bild-638-1 (cropped).jpg CDU 29 October 195714 November 1961 Adenauer
(III)
3 Heinz Starke
(1911–2001)
FDP 14 November 196119 November 1962 Adenauer
(IV)
4 Rolf Dahlgrün
(1908–1969)
Dahlgrun, Rolf cropped (Kiel 77.423).jpg FDP14 December 196228 October 1966 Adenauer (V)
Erhard (I • II)
5 Kurt Schmücker
(1919–1996)
Kurt Schmucker1.jpg CDU8 November 196630 November 1966 Erhard
(II)
6 Franz Josef Strauß
(1915–1988)
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F023363-0016, Empfang in der Landesvertretung, Franz Josef Strauss (cropped).jpg CSU1 December 196621 October 1969 Kiesinger
(I)
7 Alex Möller
(1903–1985)
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F039419-0010, Hannover, SPD-Bundesparteitag, Moller (cropped).jpg SPD 22 October 196913 May 1971 Brandt
(I)
8 Karl Schiller
(1911–1994)
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F029983-0017, Bonn, SPD-Pressekonferenz, Karl Schiller (crop).jpg SPD13 May 19717 July 1972
9 Helmut Schmidt
(1918–2015)
Bundeskanzler Helmut Schmidt.jpg SPD7 July 19721 May 1974 Brandt
(III)
10 Hans Apel
(1932–2011)
Verteidigungsminister Dr. Hans Apel (4909219537).jpg SPD16 May 197415 February 1978 Schmidt
(I • II)
11 Hans Matthöfer
(1925–2009)
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F060860-0013, Bonn, Sitzung Bundesrat, Matthofer (cropped).jpg SPD16 February 197828 April 1982 Schmidt
(II • III)
12 Manfred Lahnstein
(b. 1937)
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F064991-0014, Bonn, SPD-Pressekonferenz, Manfred Lahnstein (cropped).jpg SPD28 April 19821 October 1982 Schmidt
(III)
13 Gerhard Stoltenberg
(1928–2001)
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F082409-0032, Bremen, CDU-Bundesparteitag, Stoltenberg (cropped).jpg CDU4 October 198221 April 1989 Kohl
(IIIIII)
14 Theodor Waigel
(b. 1939)
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F074462-0012, Bonn, Pressekonferenz Koalitionsverhandlungen (cropped).jpg CSU21 April 198927 October 1998 Kohl
(IIIIVV)
15 Oskar Lafontaine
(b. 1943)
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F079276-0010 Lafontaine (cropped).jpg SPD27 October 199818 March 1999 Schröder
(I)
Werner Müller was acting Federal Minister from 18 March to 12 April 1999.
16 Hans Eichel
(b. 1941)
2015-12 Hans Eichel SPD Bundesparteitag by Olaf Kosinsky-12 (cropped).jpg SPD12 April 199922 November 2005 Schröder
(III)
17 Peer Steinbrück
(b. 1947)
Next Peer Steinbruck (SPD) (cropped).jpg SPD22 November 200528 October 2009 Merkel
(I)
18 Wolfgang Schäuble
(1942–2023)
Wolfgang Schauble - 2017 (cropped).jpg CDU28 October 200924 October 2017 Merkel
(IIIII)
Peter Altmaier was acting Federal Minister from 24 October 2017 to 14 March 2018.
19 Olaf Scholz
(b. 1958)
Olaf Scholz, 15-12-2022 (1) (cropped).jpg SPD14 March 20188 December 2021 Merkel
(IV)
20 Christian Lindner
(b. 1979)
2020-02-14 Christian Lindner (Bundestagsprojekt 2020) by Sandro Halank-2.jpg FDP8 December 20217 November 2024 Scholz
(I)
21 Jörg Kukies
(b. 1968)
Jorg Kukies (born 1968) at World Economic Forum Davos 2023.png SPD7 November 2024 Scholz
(I)

See also

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References

  1. "Bundeshaushalt". bundeshaushalt.de. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  2. Die Geschichte des BMF (archived)
  3. "Neuauflage der Groko?: Schulz beansprucht Finanzministerium für SPD". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
  4. BMF: What We Do [ permanent dead link ](in English) retrieved 1 June 2012.
  5. BMF: Subordinate Agencies [ permanent dead link ]