# Federal Ministry of Health (Germany)

The Federal Ministry of Health (German: Bundesministerium für Gesundheit, pronounced; abbreviated BMG) is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is the highest German federal government department responsible for health. The ministry is officially located in Bonn and with a second office, which houses the ministry's management, located in Berlin.

## History

The Federal Ministry of Health was founded in 1961; in 1969 it was merged with the Federal Ministry for Family and Youth to create the new Federal Ministry for Youth, Family and Health.
In 1991, the Federal Ministry of Health was restored. In 2002, it was expanded to include social affairs and renamed "Federal Ministry of Health and Social Security" (Bundesministerium für Gesundheit und Soziale Sicherung). It was headed by the Federal Minister for Health and Social Security. Its portfolio included one part of the former Federal Ministry of Labour and the Social Order. The other part of the latter was added to the portfolio of the newly created Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour. Under the grand coalition headed by Angela Merkel in 2005, the portfolio reshuffle was reversed and responsibility for social affairs was moved back to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales).

## Ministers

Political Party:  CDU  CSU  SPD  Green  FDP
| Name (Born–Died) | Name (Born–Died) | Party | Term of Office | Term of Office | Chancellor (Cabinet) |
| Federal Minister for Health Affairs (1961–1969) Federal Minister for Youth, Family and Health (1969–1986) Federal Minister for Youth, Family, Women and Health (1986–1991) |||||||
| 1 | Dr. Elisabeth Schwarzhaupt (1901–1986) | CDU | 14 November 1961 | 30 November 1966 | Adenauer (IV • V) Erhard (I • II) |
| 2 | Käte Strobel (1907–1996) | SPD | 1 December 1966 | 15 December 1972 | Kiesinger (I) Brandt (I) |
| 3 | Dr. Katharina Focke (1922–2016) | SPD | 15 December 1972 | 14 December 1976 | Brandt (II) Schmidt (I) |
| 4 | Antje Huber (1924–2015) | SPD | 16 December 1976 | 28 April 1982 | Schmidt (II • III) |
| 5 | Anke Fuchs (1937–2019) | SPD | 28 April 1982 | 1 October 1982 | Schmidt (III) |
| 6 | Dr. Heiner Geißler (1930–2017) | CDU | 4 October 1982 | 26 September 1985 | Kohl (I • II) |
| 7 | Prof. Dr. Rita Süssmuth (b. 1937) | CDU | 26 September 1985 | 9 December 1988 | Kohl (II • III) |
| 8 | Prof. Dr. Ursula Lehr (1930–2022) | CDU | 9 December 1988 | 18 January 1991 | Kohl (III) |
| Federal Minister for Health (1991–2002, 2005–present) Federal Minister for Health and Social Security (2002–2005) |||||||
| 9 | Gerda Hasselfeldt (b. 1950) | CSU | 18 January 1991 | 6 May 1992 | Kohl (IV) |
| 10 | Horst Seehofer (b. 1949) | CSU | 6 May 1992 | 26 October 1998 | Kohl (IV • V) |
| 11 | Andrea Fischer (b. 1960) | Green | 27 October 1998 | 12 January 2001 | Schröder (I) |
| 12 | Ulla Schmidt (b. 1949) | SPD | 12 January 2001 | 27 October 2009 | Schröder (I • II) Merkel (I) |
| 13 | Dr. Philipp Rösler (b. 1973) | FDP | 28 October 2009 | 12 May 2011 | Merkel (II) |
| 14 | Daniel Bahr (b. 1976) | FDP | 12 May 2011 | 17 December 2013 | Merkel (II) |
| 15 | Hermann Gröhe (b. 1961) | CDU | 17 December 2013 | 14 March 2018 | Merkel (III) |
| 16 | Jens Spahn (b. 1980) | CDU | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 | Merkel (IV) |
| 17 | Prof. Dr. Karl Lauterbach (b. 1963) | SPD | 8 December 2021 | Incumbent | Scholz (I) |

## Responsibilities of the Federal Ministry of Health

The Federal Ministry of Health is responsible for:
* maintaining the effectiveness and efficiency of the statutory health insurance and long-term care insurance systems
* maintaining and enhancing the quality of the health care system
* strengthening the interests of patients
* maintaining economic viability and stabilization of contribution levels
* preventive and prophylactic healthcare
* the Protection against Infection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz, or IfSG)
* establishing guidelines for the manufacture, clinical trial, approval, distribution channels and monitoring of medicines and medical devices. The objectives are:
** quality, medical efficacy and safety
** safety of biological medical products such as blood products
* narcotics and addiction risk prevention
* prevention, rehabilitation and disability policy
** medical and occupational rehabilitation
** disability law
** providing assistance to the disabled and promoting their interests
* European and international health policy, including the work of the Federal Government Narcotics Officer and the patients' ombudsman.

## Supervisory role

The Federal Ministry of Health is responsible for the comprehensive (disciplinary) supervision of the following governmental institutions:
* Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (German: Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte, abbreviated BfArM) in Bonn
* Federal Centre for Health Education (German: Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung, abbreviated BZgA) in Cologne
* German Institute of Medical Documentation and Information (German: Deutsches Institut für medizinische Dokumentation und Information, abbreviated DIMDI) in Cologne
* Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI), the Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines in Langen, Hesse
* Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Berlin
* Federal Institute for Prevention and Education in Medicine in Berlin and Cologne
The Federal Ministry of Health is also responsible for the non-disciplinary supervision of
* the German Federal (Social) Insurance Authority (Bundesversicherungsamt).
and the legal supervision of the umbrella organizations of the statutory health insurance schemes.