# Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth

The Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (German: Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend, pronounced ; abbreviated BMFSFJ) is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is headquartered in Berlin with a secondary seat in Bonn. The ministry was represented by Anne Spiegel, the first woman minister of the Greens, who announced her resignment from office on 11 April 2022. On 14 April 2022, the Greens announced Lisa Paus to be her successor in office. Both Spiegel and Paus have to be officially dismissed respectively appointed by the Federal President.

## History

The original organization was first founded in 1953 as the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs (Bundesministerium für Familienfragen). In 1957, this was changed to the Ministry for Family and Youth Affairs (Bundesministerium für Familien- und Jugendfragen) and in 1963 to the Federal Ministry for Family and Youth (Bundesministerium für Familie und Jugend. In 1969 after the incorporation of the Federal Ministry for Health (Bundesministerium für Gesundheit, created in 1961), it was changed to the Federal Ministry for Youth, Family and Health (Bundesministerium für Jugend, Familie und Gesundheit). In 1986, it was renamed to the Federal Ministry for Youth, Family, Women, and Health (Bundesministerium für Jugend, Familie, Frauen und Gesundheit). The area of health was removed in 1991 and transferred to the Federal Ministry for Health. The remaining Ministry was divided into the Federal Ministry for Women and Youth (Bundesministerium für Frauen und Jugend), and the Federal Ministry for Family and Senior Citizens (Bundesministerium für Familie und Senioren). In 1994, these divided areas were recombined into the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend).
The activities of the Ministry were highlighted in media coverage in 2007 when the contents of one of the leaflets it distributed was claimed to encourage sexual massage between parents and their children. The leaflets were removed from circulation when the matter became national news.

## Organization
### Departments

* Department Z: Central Department
* Department 1: Democracy and Engagement
* Department 2: Family and Digital
* Department 3: Demographic Change, Older People and Welfare
* Department 4: Equality
* Department 5: Children and Young People

### Agencies and commissioners

* Federal Office for Family and Civil Society Affairs
* Federal Government Commissioner for the Acceptance of Sexual and Gender Diversity
* Federal Agency for Child and Youth Protection in the Media
* Federal Volunteers Service

## Federal Ministers

Political Party:  CDU  SPD  Green
| Name (Born-Died) | Name (Born-Died) | Portrait | Party | Term of Office | Term of Office | Chancellor (Cabinet) |
| Federal Minister for Family Affairs (1953–1957) Federal Minister for Family and Youth Affairs (1957–1963) Federal Minister for Family and Youth (1963–1969) |||||||
| 1 | Franz-Josef Wuermeling (1900–1986) | | CDU | 20 October 1953 | 13 December 1962 | Adenauer (II • III • IV) |
| 2 | Bruno Heck (1917–1989) | | CDU | 14 December 1962 | 2 October 1968 | Adenauer (V) Erhard (I • II) Kiesinger (I) |
| 3 | Aenne Brauksiepe (1912–1997) | | CDU | 16 October 1968 | 21 October 1969 | Kiesinger (I) |
| Federal Minister for Youth, Family and Health (1969–1986) Federal Minister for Youth, Family, Women and Health (1986–1991) |||||||
| 4 | Käte Strobel (1907–1996) | | SPD | 22 October 1969 | 15 December 1972 | Brandt (I) |
| 5 | Katharina Focke (1922–2016) | | SPD | 15 December 1972 | 14 December 1976 | Brandt (II) Schmidt (I) |
| 6 | Antje Huber (1924–2015) | | SPD | 16 December 1976 | 28 April 1982 | Schmidt (II • III) |
| 7 | Anke Fuchs (1937–2019) | | SPD | 28 April 1982 | 1 October 1982 | Schmidt (III) |
| 8 | Heiner Geißler (1930–2017) | | CDU | 4 October 1982 | 26 September 1985 | Kohl (I • II) |
| 9 | Rita Süssmuth (b. 1937) | | CDU | 26 September 1985 | 9 December 1988 | Kohl (II • III) |
| 10 | Ursula Lehr (1930–2022) | | CDU | 9 December 1988 | 18 January 1991 | Kohl (III) |
| Federal Minister for Family and Senior Citizens | Federal Minister for Family and Senior Citizens | Federal Minister for Family and Senior Citizens | Federal Minister for Family and Senior Citizens | 18 January 1991 | 17 November 1994 | Kohl (IV) |
| 11a | Hannelore Rönsch (b. 1942) | | CDU | 18 January 1991 | 17 November 1994 | Kohl (IV) |
| Kohl (IV) ||||
| 11b | Angela Merkel (b. 1954) | | CDU | 18 January 1991 | 17 November 1994 | Kohl (IV) |
| Federal Minister for Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth |||||||
| 12 | Claudia Nolte (b. 1966) | | CDU | 17 November 1994 | 26 October 1998 | Kohl (V) |
| 13 | Christine Bergmann (b. 1939) | | SPD | 27 October 1998 | 22 October 2002 | Schröder (I) |
| 14 | Renate Schmidt (b. 1943) | | SPD | 22 October 2002 | 22 November 2005 | Schröder (II) |
| 15 | Ursula von der Leyen (b. 1958) | | CDU | 22 November 2005 | 30 November 2009 | Merkel (I) |
| 16 | Kristina Schröder (b. 1977) | | CDU | 30 November 2009 | 17 December 2013 | Merkel (II) |
| 17 | Manuela Schwesig (b. 1974) | | SPD | 17 December 2013 | 2 June 2017 | Merkel (III) |
| 18 | Katarina Barley (b. 1968) | | SPD | 2 June 2017 | 14 March 2018 | Merkel (III) |
| 19 | Franziska Giffey (b. 1978) | | SPD | 14 March 2018 | 20 May 2021 | Merkel (IV) |
| 20 | Christine Lambrecht (b. 1965) | | SPD | 20 May 2021 | 8 December 2021 | Merkel (IV) |
| 21 | Anne Spiegel (b. 1980) | | Green | 8 December 2021 | 25 April 2022 | Scholz (I) |
| 22 | Lisa Paus (b. 1968) | | Green | 25 April 2022 | Incumbent | Scholz (I) |