German Chancellor and US President Discussed Situation Near Ukraine's Borders | News from Germany about Germany

Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz held the first telephone conversations with US President Joe Biden. Biden congratulated Scholz on his appointment as chancellor, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Friday, December 10, on Twitter.

According to Hebestreit, the leaders of the two countries have confirmed the close ties between Germany and the United States. Scholz and Biden agree that the transatlantic friendship is indispensable for meeting current and future challenges.

Concentration of Russian troops near Ukraine

In turn, the White House said that President Biden had discussed with Chancellor Scholz the problem of the concentration of Russian troops near Ukraine. In addition, the leaders of the two states intend to continue to work together on the entire spectrum of global problems, including combating the COVID-19 pandemic and combating climate change.

The new government of the Federal Republic of Germany

Earlier, on December 10, it was reported that according to the results of a poll by the second German television channel ZDF Politbarometer, 77 percent of Germans believe that Scholz will lead the German government “fairly well”. In addition, 58 percent of respondents have a positive attitude towards the formed government of the “traffic light” coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP).

The new German government, headed by Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz, took office on 8 December.

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Germany’s new government

Olaf Scholz replaces Angela Merkel as German Chancellor

Social Democrat Olaf Scholz succeeds Angela Merkel. Scholz, 63, was vice-chancellor and finance minister in the previous government, and before that burgomaster of Hamburg. Has a reputation as a sober, pragmatic and reserved politician. During the period of the pandemic, his popularity in the party and his political rating have skyrocketed.

Germany’s new government

Wolfgang Schmidt

Wolfgang Schmidt of the SPD took over the office of the Federal Chancellor. They say that no one else knows the head of government, Olaf Scholz, as well as he does. The natives of Hamburg have been working together for 20 years. Schmidt, 51, believed that Scholz could become chancellor when many weren’t even thinking about it.

Germany’s new government

Robert Habek

Robert Habeck, 52, has been co-chairman of the Green Party since 2018. The real “star” of the party – in 2019 he was in second place after Angela Merkel in the list of politicians whom the Germans would like to see as chancellor. In the Scholz government, he received the post of vice-chancellor and became the head of the newly created Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection.

Germany’s new government

Annalena Berbok

Annalena Baerbock, co-chair of the Greens, was a candidate for Chancellor and had a good chance of becoming one. She did not succeed in achieving this goal, but Berbock became Minister of Foreign Affairs – the first woman in this post in Germany and, moreover, the youngest Foreign Minister of Germany. In Scholz’s office, Berbock is considered the most determined opponent of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Germany’s new government

Christian Lindner

Christian Lindner has been promoted to one of the most important positions in the new cabinet. He will head the Treasury Department, a position that is considered the second most important in the federal government after the Chancellor. The 42-year-old politician has been the chairman of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) since 2013.

Germany’s new government

Karl Lauterbach

One of the biggest surprises in the new cabinet is the arrival of 58-year-old Karl Lauterbach. A Social Democrat, a doctor by training, during the pandemic he became one of the media symbols of the fight against coronavirus, speaking in dozens of talk shows with advice and explanations. Many Germans wanted to see Lauterbach as the head of the Ministry of Health, although initially his appointment was not planned.

Germany’s new government

Christine Lambrecht

Christine Lambrecht of the SPD in the Merkel government was the Minister of Justice. Now she is the head of the Ministry of Defense. The 56-year-old lawyer got the ministry, which in Germany is considered one of the most difficult. Under the new minister, the foreign missions of the Bundeswehr will be systematically evaluated and have an “exit strategy”. Lambrecht is the third woman at the head of the German Defense Ministry.

Germany’s new government

Hubertus Heil

The 49-year-old Social Democrat Hubertus Heil retained the post of Labor Minister. He planned to give German workers the right to a “Home Office,” as telecommuting is called in Germany.

Germany’s new government

Clara Hewitz

Klara Geywitz became head of the newly formed Ministry of Construction and Housing. The government plans to build 400 thousand apartments annually. The 45-year-old native of Brandenburg has been active in local and state politics for many years. She is the deputy chairman of the regional branch of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Chancellor Scholz sees her as “a very great talent.”

Germany’s new government

Nancy Feather

For the first time, the Ministry of Internal Affairs was headed by a woman. 51-year-old lawyer Nancy Faeser is from Hesse, where she was the leader of the regional branch of the SPD and the head of the parliamentary faction in the Landtag. Feather wants to focus on fighting right-wing extremism and has already pledged to significantly improve police equipment. People have a right to security in the country, she said.

Germany’s new government

Svenja Schulze

Svenja Schulze, 53, of the SPD, was previously minister of the environment and will now run the ministry for economic cooperation and development. “Global issues have always occupied my thoughts,” Schulze said at the cabinet presentation. According to her, she feels confident in the international arena.

Germany’s new government

Folker Wissing

The FDP general secretary, 51, Volker Wissing, also received a ministerial post. He became Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. Wissing is already familiar with working in a coalition with the Greens and Social Democrats. In Rhineland-Palatinate, he was a member of the government with the participation of these parties.

Germany’s new government

Marko Bushman

Another liberal who has entered the new government is 44-year-old lawyer Marco Buschmann. He took over as Minister of Justice. Buschmann knows the party well and participated in its reform after the FDP did not enter the Bundestag in the 2013 elections. For the past four years, Buschmann has been the head of the FDP faction in the Bundestag.

Germany’s new government

Bettina Stark-Watzinger

The fourth member of the new government from the FDP is Bettina Stark-Watzinger, who heads the Ministry of Education and Science. She has been a member of the Bundestag for the past four years. During the election campaign, Stark-Watzinger paid much attention to the topic of education, calling for “fundamental changes in the system.”

Germany’s new government

Jem Ezdemir

Former Green Party co-chairman Cem Özdemir has taken over the Agriculture Ministry. This decision was preceded by a fierce struggle for ministerial portfolios among the Greens. It was lost by the head of the Green faction in the Bundestag, Anton Hofreiter, from the party’s left wing. Ezdemir will be the first member of the federal government to be of Turkish descent.

Germany’s new government

Steffi Lemke

Steffi Lemke became the head of the Ministry of Environment, Nuclear Reactor Safety and Consumer Protection. From 2002 to 2013, she was the federal executive secretary of the Green Party. Lemke is an agronomist and livestock technician by profession. In the Bundestag, the 53-year-old politician from East Germany has focused on the fight to protect the seas from pollution.

Germany’s new government

Anne Spiegel

Another Green representative, Anne Spiegel, heads the ministry for family, pensioners, women and youth affairs. She is very familiar with this topic, since she led a similar ministry in Rhineland-Palatinate. 40-year-old Spiegel belongs to the representatives of the left wing of the “green”.

Germany’s new government

Claudia Roth

Claudia Roth is the new Minister of State for Culture and Media. Roth, 66, has twice co-chaired the Green Party in the past and is still one of the most prominent Greens in the country. From 2013 until her appointment as minister, she served as deputy chairman of the Bundestag. In her youth, Roth was the manager of the anarchist music group Ton Steine Scherben.

Author: Sergey Gushcha, Marina Baranovskaya