# Third Bouffier cabinet

The Third Bouffier cabinet was the state government of Hesse between 2019 and 2022, sworn in on 18 January 2019 after Volker Bouffier was elected as Minister-President of Hesse by the members of the Landtag of Hesse. It was the 22nd Cabinet of Hesse.
It was formed after the 2018 Hessian state election by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE). Excluding the Minister-President, the cabinet comprised eleven ministers. Seven were members of the CDU and four were members of the Greens.
After Bouffier's resignation as Minister-President, the third Bouffier cabinet was succeeded by the First Rhein cabinet on 31 May 2022.

## Formation

The previous cabinet was a coalition government of the CDU and the Greens led by Minister-President Volker Bouffier of the CDU.
The election took place on 28 October 2018, and resulted in significant losses for the CDU, while the Greens became the second-largest party for the first time by a margin of less than 100 votes. The opposition SPD also suffered major losses, while the AfD entered the Landtag with 13%, the FDP and The Left recorded modest gains.
Though preliminary results indicated that the incumbent government would retain its majority, it was not certain due to the narrow margins and issues with the vote count. Whether the Greens or SPD would claim second place was also unclear. Final results were determined weeks later after recounts. Nonetheless, the CDU quickly stated that they would seek to lead a two-party government with either the Greens or SPD, and held exploratory talks with both. The FDP were also invited to talks, but lead candidate René Rock ruled out joining a coalition with the CDU and Greens since his party would not be mathematically necessary for a majority.
Also discussed was the possibility of a traffic light coalition between the Greens, SPD, and FDP, which would also hold a one-seat majority. Initially, the FDP rejected this on the basis that Tarek Al-Wazir had expressed a lack of interest in becoming Minister-President. However, as reviews of the vote count indicated that the SPD may have won more votes than the Greens and would be able to lay claim to the Minister-Presidency, the FDP agreed to meet with them on 9 November. The day before final results were released on 16 November, the three parties held joint discussions, after which SPD lead candidate Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel voiced his confidence in their ability to come at an agreement. However, after final results showed that the Greens had indeed moved ahead of the SPD, a traffic light coalition was no longer considered possible as the FDP would not support a Green Minister-President. Schäfer-Gümbel subsequently declared the SPD would remain in opposition, leaving a renewed government between the CDU and Greens as the only practical option.
The same day, the CDU voted to extend an offer for coalition negotiations to the Greens, which they accepted. Discussions began on 19 November with the goal of finalising an agreement before Christmas. Negotiations were finalised on the morning of 19 December. The coalition contract, titled New Start in Change through Attitude, Orientation and Cohesion, was approved by 91% of Greens delegates and unanimously by the CDU committee, and was signed on 23 December.
Bouffier was elected as Minister-President by the Landtag on 18 January 2019, winning 69 votes out of 137 cast.

## Composition

| Portfolio | Minister | Party | Took office | Left office | State secretaries |
| Minister-President | Volker Bouffier born (1951-12-18) 18 December 1951 (age 73) | CDU | 18 January 2019 | 30 May 2022 | Michael Bußer |
| Deputy Minister-PresidentMinister for Economics, Energy, Transport and Housing | Tarek Al-Wazir born (1971-01-03) 3 January 1971 (age 54) | GRÜNE | 18 January 2019 | 30 May 2022 | Philipp Nimmermann Jens Deutschendorf |
| Minister for Interior and Sport | Peter Beuth born (1967-12-03) 3 December 1967 (age 57) | CDU | 18 January 2019 | 30 May 2022 | Stefan Sauer |
| Minister for Finance | Thomas Schäfer (1966-02-22)22 February 1966 – 28 March 2020(2020-03-28) (aged 54) | CDU | 18 January 2019 | 28 March 2020 | Martin Worms |
| Minister for Finance | Michael Boddenberg born (1959-07-15) 15 July 1959 (age 65) | CDU | 31 March 2020 | 30 May 2022 | Martin Worms |
| Minister for Justice | Eva Kühne-Hörmann born (1962-03-14) 14 March 1962 (age 62) | CDU | 18 January 2019 | 30 May 2022 | Thomas Metz |
| Minister for Education | Ralph Alexander Lorz born (1965-11-30) 30 November 1965 (age 59) | CDU | 18 January 2019 | 30 May 2022 | Manuel Lösel |
| Minister for Science and Art | Angela Dorn-Rancke born (1982-06-02) 2 June 1982 (age 42) | GRÜNE | 18 January 2019 | 30 May 2022 | Ayse Asar |
| Minister for Social Affairs and Integration | Kai Klose born (1973-12-23) 23 December 1973 (age 51) | GRÜNE | 18 January 2019 | 30 May 2022 | Anne Janz |
| Minister for Environment, Climate Protection, Agricultural Economics and Consumer Protection | Priska Hinz born (1959-03-10) 10 March 1959 (age 65) | GRÜNE | 18 January 2019 | 30 May 2022 | Oliver Conz |
| Minister for Federal Affairs and Europe | Lucia Puttrich born (1961-04-11) 11 April 1961 (age 63) | CDU | 18 January 2019 | 30 May 2022 | Uwe Becker |
| Minister for Digital Strategy and Development | Kristina Sinemus born (1963-09-16) 16 September 1963 (age 61) | CDU | 18 January 2019 | 30 May 2022 | Patrick Burghardt |
| Head of the State Chancellery | Axel Wintermeyer born (1960-01-01) 1 January 1960 (age 65) | CDU | 18 January 2019 | 30 May 2022 | |