# Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia

The Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia (German: Ministerpräsident des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen), also referred to as Premier or Prime Minister, is the head of government of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The position was created in 1946, when the British administration merged the Prussian province of Westphalia and the northern part of the Prussian province of the Rhine (North Rhine) to form the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1947 the state was expanded with including of the state of Lippe.
The current Minister-President is Hendrik Wüst, heading a coalition government between the Christian Democratic Union and Alliance 90/The Greens. Wüst succeeded Armin Laschet following his resignation in 2021.
The office of the Minister President is known as the State Chancellery (German: Staatskanzlei), and is located in the capital of Düsseldorf, along with the rest of the cabinet departments.

## Title

The German title Ministerpräsident may be translated literally as Minister-President, although the state government sometimes uses the title Prime Minister in English.

## Origin of the office

After the Second World War, the Prussian province of Westphalia and the northern part of the Prussian province of the Rhine (North Rhine) were administered as part of the zone allocated to the British military administration and were merged to form the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1947 the state was expanded with including of the state of Lippe. The British government began to back the advocates of a merger of the states.

## List

Political party:  CDU  SPD  Green
| Portrait | Portrait | Name (Born–Died) | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Political party |
| Portrait | Portrait | Name (Born–Died) | Took office | Left office | Days | Political party |
| North Rhine-Westphalia (1946–present) |||||||
| British occupation zone in Allied-occupied Germany (1946–1949) |||||||
| State of the Federal Republic of Germany (as of 23 May 1949) |||||||
| 1 | | Rudolf Amelunxen (1888–1969) | 23 August 1946 | 16 June 1947 | 297 | Non-partisan (until 1947) Centre Party (from 1947) |
| 2 | | Karl Arnold (1901–1958) | 17 June 1947 | 20 February 1956 (replaced by a Constructive vote of no confidence) | 3170 | Christian Democratic Union |
| 3 | | Fritz Steinhoff (1897–1969) | 20 February 1956 | 21 July 1958 | 882 | Social Democratic Party |
| 4 | | Franz Meyers (1908–2002) | 21 July 1958 | 8 December 1966 (replaced by a Constructive vote of no confidence) | 3062 | Christian Democratic Union |
| 5 | | Heinz Kühn (1912–1992) | 8 December 1966 | 20 September 1978 | 4304 | Social Democratic Party |
| 6 | | Johannes Rau (1931–2006) | 20 September 1978 | 27 May 1998 | 7189 | Social Democratic Party |
| 7 | | Wolfgang Clement (1940–2020) | 27 May 1998 | 22 October 2002 (resigned) | 1609 | Social Democratic Party |
| 8 | | Peer Steinbrück (born 1947) | 6 November 2002 | 22 June 2005 | 959 | Social Democratic Party |
| 9 | | Jürgen Rüttgers (born 1951) | 22 June 2005 | 14 July 2010 | 1848 | Christian Democratic Union |
| 10 | | Hannelore Kraft (born 1961) | 14 July 2010 | 27 June 2017 | 2540 | Social Democratic Party |
| 11 | | Armin Laschet (born 1961) | 27 June 2017 | 26 October 2021 (resigned) | 1582 | Christian Democratic Union |
| 12 | | Hendrik Wüst (born 1975) | 27 October 2021 | Incumbent | 1093 | Christian Democratic Union |