# Fourth Merkel cabinet

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The Fourth Merkel cabinet (German: Kabinett Merkel IV) was the 23rd Government of the Federal Republic of Germany during the 19th legislative session of the Bundestag. It was sworn in on 14 March 2018 following the 2017 federal election and dismissed on 26 October 2021, acting in a caretaker mode until 8 December 2021. It was preceded by the third Merkel cabinet and succeeded by the Scholz cabinet. Led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, it was the third cabinet under Merkel to be supported by a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU), and the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

## Composition

The cabinet consists of Chancellor Angela Merkel and fifteen (fourteen since 20 May 2021) federal ministers. Olaf Scholz (SPD) replaced Sigmar Gabriel as Vice Chancellor and CSU Leader Horst Seehofer became Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community. Fourteen ministers head a department (since 20 May 2021, one minister heads two departments); one member of the cabinet, the Head of the Chancellery, is Federal Minister for Special Affairs without a portfolio. The CDU has seven positions, the SPD has six and the CSU has three, as follows:
| Order | Office | Minister | Party | Took office | Left office |
| 1 | Chancellor | Angela Merkel | CDU | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 |
| 2 | Vice Chancellor | Olaf Scholz | SPD | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 |
| 2 | Federal Minister of Finance | Olaf Scholz | SPD | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 |
| 3 | Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community | Horst Seehofer | CSU | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 |
| 4 | Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs | Heiko Maas | SPD | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 |
| 5 | Federal Minister of Economics and Energy | Peter Altmaier | CDU | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 |
| 6 | Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection | Katarina Barley | SPD | 14 March 2018 | 27 June 2019 |
| 6 | Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection | Christine Lambrecht | SPD | 27 June 2019 | 8 December 2021 |
| 7 | Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs | Hubertus Heil | SPD | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 |
| 8 | Federal Minister of Defence | Ursula von der Leyen | CDU | 17 December 2013 | 17 July 2019 |
| 8 | Federal Minister of Defence | Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer | CDU | 17 July 2019 | 8 December 2021 |
| 9 | Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture | Julia Klöckner | CDU | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 |
| 10 | Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth | Franziska Giffey | SPD | 14 March 2018 | 20 May 2021 |
| 10 | Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth | Christine Lambrecht | SPD | 20 May 2021 | 8 December 2021 |
| 11 | Federal Minister of Health | Jens Spahn | CDU | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 |
| 12 | Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure | Andreas Scheuer | CSU | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 |
| 13 | Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety | Svenja Schulze | SPD | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 |
| 14 | Federal Minister of Education and Research | Anja Karliczek | CDU | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 |
| 15 | Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development | Gerd Müller | CSU | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 |
| 16 | Federal Minister for Special Affairs & Head of the Chancellery | Helge Braun | CDU | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 |

## 2018 government crisis

In June 2018, a government crisis erupted within the cabinet between Interior Minister and CSU Chairman Horst Seehofer and Chancellor Angela Merkel, after Seehofer had elaborated a masterplan on asylum policies, containing the rejection of asylum seekers already registered in other EU countries. Seehofer had threatened to resign over the crisis on 1 July, but an agreement was made between the CDU/CSU sister parties on 2 July.

## Caretaker government

The results of the 2017 election had necessitated a series of negotiations that required the Merkel III cabinet to remain in a caretaker capacity for a prolonged period of time (into 2018). Government formation after the 2021 elections lasted until 24 November 2021, and the caretaker government continued until December 8, making Merkel just 9 days short of the record for longest-serving Chancellor in post-war German history ahead of Helmut Kohl.