North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia,commonly shortened to NRW,is a state (Land) in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants,it is the most populous state in Germany. Apart from the city-states,it is also the most densely populated state in Germany. Covering an area of 34,084 km2 (13,160 sq mi),it is the fourth-largest German state by size.
Wolfgang Clement was a German politician and a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). He was the 7th Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 27 May 1998 to 22 October 2002 and Federal Minister of Economics and Labour from 2002 to 2005. He was an Honorary Member of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.
Armin Laschet is a German politician who served as Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 27 June 2017 to 26 October 2021. He served as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 22 January 2021 to 31 January 2022. He was elected to the German Bundestag following the 2021 German federal election.
Tom Buhrow is a German journalist who has been serving as intendant of the WDR since 2013. He also served as Chair of the ARD from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021 and from 4 August to 31 December 2022.
Ronald Pofalla is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as the Chief of Staff of the German Chancellery and a Federal Minister for Special Affairs from 2009 to 2013,in the second coalition government of Chancellor Angela Merkel. From 2017 to 2022,he was the CEO of the infrastructure department of Deutsche Bahn.
The Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia is the state parliament (Landtag) of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia,which convenes in the state capital of Düsseldorf,in the eastern part of the district of Hafen. The parliament is the central legislative body in the political system of North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition to passing of laws,its most important tasks are the election of the Minister-President of the state and the administration of the government. The current government is a coalition of the CDU and the Greens,supporting the cabinet of Minister-President Hendrik Wüst since June 2022.
Oliver Wittke is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Hannelore Kraft is a German politician. She served as the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2010 until 2017. Kraft was the first woman to serve as head of government of this state and was the third woman to become head of a state government in Germany. Between 1 November 2010 and 31 October 2011,she was the President of the Bundesrat,again the first woman to hold the office. She is the former leader of the SPD North Rhine-Westphalia and served on the SPD's federal executive from November 2009 until May 2017,and was one of the four federal deputy chairs.
Andreas Pinkwart is a German politician and academic who served as State Minister for Economic Affairs,Digitization,Innovation and Energy in the governments of Ministers-President Armin Laschet and Hendrik Wüst of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2017 to 2022 and as Deputy Minister-President and State Minister for Innovation,Technology and Research from 2005 to 2010. He previously was the Dean of HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management and holder of the Stiftungsfonds Deutsche Bank Chair of Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship.
Moritz Buzna Körner is a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He is member of the board of the Free Democratic Party in Germany. Since 2024,he has been a member of the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties,Justice and Home Affairs,and a member of the Delegation for relations with Israel.
Irene Mihalic is a German politician of Alliance 90/The Greens from Gelsenkirchen. A former police officer,Mihailic has been a member of the Bundestag since 2013.
The 2022 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 15 May 2022 to elect the 18th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President Hendrik Wüst.
Herbert Schnoor was a German politician and lawyer.
Hendrik Josef Wüst is a German politician serving as Minister-President of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2021. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In October 2021,he succeeded Armin Laschet as state chairman of his party. Under Wüst's leadership,his party won the highest vote share in the 2022 North Rhine-Westphalia state election.
Serap Güler is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She has been a Member of the German Bundestag since 2021,representing the Leverkusen –Cologne IV district.
The Laschet cabinet was the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia between 2017 and 2021,sworn in on 30 June 2017 after Armin Laschet was elected as Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia by the members of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. It was the 24th Cabinet of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Yvonne Gebauer is a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) who served as the State Minister for School and Education of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2017 to 2022. She was active in the local politics of her home city Cologne before being elected to the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2012. She has served on her party's state board since 2016.
The second Wüst cabinet is the current state government of North Rhine-Westphalia,sworn in on 29 June 2022 after Hendrik Wüst was elected as Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia by the members of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the 26th Cabinet of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Marcus Optendrenk is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as Minister of Finance of North Rhine-Westphalia since 29 June 2022. He was first elected to the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2012.
The Constitutional Court of North Rhine-Westphalia is the constitutional court of the most populous German state NRW. Art. 76 of the state constitutions authorizes and establishes the court. In its history the method of composition has been changed multiple times.
