Olaf Scholz

**Olaf Scholz** (; born ) is a German politician who was the Chancellor of Germany from 8 December 2021 until 6 May 2025. He was First Mayor of Hamburg from 7 March 2011 to 13 March 2018. From 2018 until 2021, Scholz was the Vice Chancellor of Germany and Federal Minister of Finance during the Angela Merkel cabinet.

## Early life

Scholz was born on June 14, 1958, in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, but grew up Hamburg's Rahlstedt district. He began studying law at the University of Hamburg in 1978 as part of a one-stage legal training course.

## Hamburg and national politics

From May to October 2001, he was Minister of the Interior _(Innensenator)_ of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and from 2002 to 2004 he was general secretary of the SPD.

In 2005 Scholz was elected a member of the sixteenth Bundestag, and succeeded Franz Müntefering as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, when the latter left office in 2007.

In 2010, Scholz took part in the annual Bilderberg Meeting in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain.

On 20 February 2011, the Social Democrats led by Scholz won the Hamburg state election, 2011 with 48.3% of the votes, resulting in 62 out of 121 seats in the Hamburg Parliament.  Scholz resigned as a member of the seventeenth Bundestag on 11 March 2011 shortly after his election as First Mayor.

## Merkel cabinet

After the 2017 federal election, the CDU, CSU and SPD agreed to continue a coalition, Scholz was accepted by all parties as Federal Minister of Finance. Scholz was sworn in alongside the rest of the Government on 14 March 2018. He also took the role of Vice-Chancellor of Germany under Angela Merkel. Within his first months in office, Scholz became one of Germany's most popular politicians, reaching an approval rating of 50 percent.

### 2021 federal election

On August 10, 2020, the SPD party executive nominated him as its chancellor candidate for the 2021 federal election in Germany. Scholz led the SPD to a narrow victory in the election, winning 25.8% of the vote and 206 seats in the Bundestag.

On 8 December 2021, Scholz was elected and sworn-in as Chancellor by the Bundestag with 395 votes in favour and 303 against. At  of age, Scholz is the oldest person to become Chancellor of Germany since Ludwig Erhard who was  old when he assumed office on 17 October 1963.

### Tenure

During his campaign in the 2021 election, Scholz was against forcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. However, since the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant began to rise in late November 2021, he supported a vaccine mandate, including closure of non-essential retail stores to unvaccinated adults and a vaccine mandate for adults.

On 16 December 2024, Scholz lost a vote of no confidence, with an early election held on 23 February 2025. In the election, the SPD fell to third place and fell below 20% for the first time since 1933, while also having its worst result in terms of vote share since the 1887 federal election, held in the German Empire.

## Personal life

Scholz is married to SPD politician Britta Ernst since 1998. The couple live in Potsdam since 2018.

Scholz was raised in member of the Protestant Church in Germany. At his inauguration as chancellor in 2021, Scholz took the oath of office without a reference to God (the second chancellor to do so after Gerhard Schröder). He is the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany who is not a member of a church.

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **embed**: yes
- **office9**: Member of the German Bundestag, Member of the Bundestag
 for Potsdam – Potsdam-Mittelmark II – Teltow-Fläming II
- **term start9**: 21st Bundestag, 25 March 2025
- **office10**: Member of the German Bundestag, Member of the Bundestag
 for Potsdam – Potsdam-Mittelmark II – Teltow-Fläming II
- **term start10**: List of members of the 20th Bundestag, 26 October 2021
- **term end10**: 25 March 2025
- **predecessor10**: Manja Schüle (2019)
- **office11**: German Bundesrat#Today, Member of the German Bundesrat, Bundesrat
 for Hamburg
- **term start11**: 7 March 2011
- **term end11**: 13 March 2018
- **predecessor11**: Christoph Ahlhaus
- **successor11**: Peter Tschentscher
- **office12**: Member of the
Hamburg Parliament
- **term start12**: 2015 Hamburg state election, 2 March 2015
- **term end12**: 2 March 2015
- **1blankname12**: Preceded by
- **1namedata12**: Himself (2011)
- **2blankname12**: Electoral list
- **2namedata12**: Electoral system of Germany, Social Democratic Party
- **term start13**: 2011 Hamburg state election, 7 March 2011
- **term end13**: 7 March 2011
- **1blankname13**: Preceded by
- **1namedata13**: Multi-member district
- **2blankname13**: Succeeded by
- **2namedata13**: Andrea Rugbarth
- **3blankname13**: Electoral list
- **3namedata13**: Electoral system of Germany, Social Democratic Party
- **office14**: Member of the German Bundestag, Member of the Bundestag
 for Hamburg-Altona (electoral district), Hamburg-Altona
- **term start14**: 2002 German federal election, 17 October 2002
- **term end14**: 11 March 2011
- **predecessor14**: Himself (2001)
- **successor14**: Ingo Egloff
- **term start15**: 1998 German federal election, 26 October 1998
- **term end15**: 6 June 2001
- **successor15**: Himself (2002)
- **predecessor15**: Marliese Dobberthien
- **office16**: German Bundesrat#Today, Deputy Member of the German Bundesrat, Bundesrat
 for Hamburg
- **appointer16**: Ortwin Runde
- **term start16**: 30 May 2001
- **term end16**: 31 October 2001
- **predecessor16**: Hartmuth Wrocklage
- **successor16**: Multi-member district


## Infobox (officeholder)

- **embed**: yes
- **office4**: Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party in the Bundestag
- **alongside4**: , , , , , , , ,
- **term start4**: 27 October 2009
- **term end4**: 11 March 2011
- **leader4**: Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- **predecessor4**: Ludwig Stiegler
Walter Kolbow
Fritz Rudolf Körper
Klaas Hübner
Christel Humme
- **successor4**: Christine Lambrecht
- **office5**: Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Minister for Labour and Social Affairs
- **chancellor5**: Angela Merkel
- **term start5**: 21 November 2007
- **term end5**: 27 October 2009
- **predecessor5**: Franz Müntefering
- **successor5**: Franz Josef Jung
- **office6**: Whip (politics), Chief Whip of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party in the Bundestag
- **leader6**: Peter Struck (politician), Peter Struck
- **term start6**: 13 October 2005
- **term end6**: 21 November 2007
- **predecessor6**: Wilhelm Schmidt
- **successor6**: Thomas Oppermann
- **office7**: General Secretary of the
Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party
- **leader7**: Gerhard Schröder
- **term start7**: 20 October 2002
- **term end7**: 21 March 2004
- **predecessor7**: Franz Müntefering
- **successor7**: Klaus Uwe Benneter
- **office8**: Government of Hamburg#Executive, Senator for the Interior of Hamburg
- **1namedata8**: Ortwin Runde
- **term start8**: 30 May 2001
- **term end8**: 31 October 2001
- **predecessor8**: Hartmuth Wrocklage
- **successor8**: Ronald Schill


## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Olaf Scholz
- **honorific-suffix**: Member of the German Bundestag, MdB
- **image**: Olaf Scholz September 2024.jpg
- **caption**: Scholz in 2024
- **office**: Chancellor of Germany
- **president**: Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- **1namedata**: Robert Habeck
- **term start**: 8 December 2021
- **term end**: 6 May 2025
- **predecessor**: Angela Merkel
- **successor**: Friedrich Merz
- **office1**: Vice Chancellor of Germany
- **chancellor1**: Angela Merkel
- **term start1**: 14 March 2018
- **term end1**: 8 December 2021
- **predecessor1**: Sigmar Gabriel
- **successor1**: Robert Habeck
- **office2**: Federal Ministry of Finance (Germany), Minister of Finance
- **chancellor2**: Angela Merkel
- **term start2**: 14 March 2018
- **term end2**: 8 December 2021
- **predecessor2**: Peter Altmaier (acting)
- **successor2**: Christian Lindner
- **office3**: List of mayors of Hamburg, First Mayor of Hamburg
- **1namedata3**: Dorothee Stapelfeldt
Katharina Fegebank
- **term start3**: 7 March 2011
- **term end3**: 13 March 2018
- **predecessor3**: Christoph Ahlhaus
- **successor3**: Peter Tschentscher
- **birth place**: Osnabrück, West Germany
- **party**: Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic
(since 1975)
- **alma mater**: University of Hamburg
- **signature**: Olaf Scholz Signature.svg