The Cabinet
The State Government consists of the Minister-President and eight line ministries. A coalition comprising the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) and CDU (Christian Democratic Union of Germany) is in office for the current legislative period (2016 to 2021). The SPD provides the Minister-President with five Ministers, while the CDU holds three cabinet posts.
Biographies of the Minister-President and Ministers
Manuela Schwesig - Minister-President
Manuela Schwesig was born in Frankfurt (Oder) on 23rd May 1974. She is married and has two children.
After taking her A-Levels at Seelow Grammar School, she took up a course of study at the University of Applied Sciences for Finance (Fachhochschule für Finanzen) in Königs Wusterhausen in 1992 and graduated in 1995, earning a degree in finance (Diplom-Finanzwirtin (FH)). She worked at Frankfurt (Oder) Tax Office from 1992 to 2000, and then at Schwerin Tax Office from 2000 to 2002. From 2002 to 2008 she worked at the Ministry of Finance of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Manuela Schwesig held the position of Minister for Social Affairs and Health in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern from October 2008 to October 2011, and Minister of Employment, Equality and Social Affairs, likewise in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, from October 2011 to December 2013. From December 2013 to June 2017 she was the Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.
She was a member of the Landtag (State Parliament) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern from October 2011 to December 2013.
Manuela Schwesig has been a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) since January 2003. From 2004 to 2008 she was a member of the Municipal Council of the state capital of Schwerin, from October 2007 to October 2008 she held the office of the Chairperson of the SPD Parliamentary Group. She has been a member of the SPD State Executive Committee since 2005, she acted as Deputy Regional Chairperson of the SPD from March 2013 to July 2017, and has held the post of Regional Chairperson of the SPD in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern since July 2017. She has been the Deputy Federal Chairperson of the SPD since November 2009.
Since 4th July 2017, Manuela Schwesig has been the Minister-President of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Minister of the Interior and for Europe and Deputy Minister-President Lorenz Caffier MdL (CDU)
Lorenz Caffier MdL
Minister for the Interior and Europe and Deputy Minister-President
Lorenz Caffier MdL
Minister for the Interior and Europe and Deputy Minister-President
24.12.1954: Born in Dresden, Protestant, married with 4 children
1976 - 1980: Technical University Berlin-Wartenberg
1980 - 1989: Engineer (customer service); engineering manager
1990: Member of the Volkskammer (People's Chamber) in the GDR
Since 1990: Member of the Landtag (State Parliament) Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MdL)
1990 - 2006: Chairperson of the CDU parliamentary group
Since 2006: Chairman of the Committee on Defense of the Bundesrat
Since 2009: Since 2009 Head of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern CDU
Since 2010: Head of delegation of the Bundesrat at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
Since 2013: Spokesman of the CDU/CSU-governed federal states at the Conference of the German Ministers and Senators of the Interior
Since 2006: Since 2006 Minister of the Interior and Sport and since 1 November 2016 Minister of the Interior and for Europe of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Minister of Justice Katy Hoffmeister (CDU)
17 Apr. 1973: born in Kühlungsborn, married
1996: First State Examination (Law) at the Higher Regional Court of Rostock
1999: Second State Examination (Law) at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court of Hamburg
2000 – 2003: Assistant at the Faculty of Law of the University of Rostock at the Chair of Public Law and Social Law
2003 – 2016: In the University Medical Centre Rostock, most recently Deputy Commercial Director and Head of the Human Resources and Legal Division
As of 1 Nov. 2016: Minister of Justice of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Minister of Finance Mathias Brodkorb MdL (SPD)
20th March 1977 born in Rostock; single; no religious affiliation
Education:
1984-1987: Attended schools in Rostock, Greifswald, Wismar
1987: Emigrated to Austria
1992: Returned to Rostock
1993-1996: A-levels in commercial secondary school in Rostock
1996-1997: Community service at a school for mentally handicapped children
1997-2005: Studied Philosophy and Ancient Greek at Rostock University (including given leave for several semesters)
Political and societal functions:
1994-1997: member of the PDS
Since 1997: member of the SPD
1998-2000: Regional Chairman of the Jusos (Young Socialists) in the SPD
Since 1999: Member of the Executive Committee of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern SPD
Member of ver.di (trade union).
Since October 2002: Member of the State Parliament (Landtag) Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
October 2002-October 2011: Spokesman for education policy, universities and civic education of the SPD parliamentary group
October 2008-October 2011: Vice-Chairman of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern SPD parliamentary group
Since 25th October 2011: Minister for Education, Science and Culture of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Since 1 November 2016: Minister of Finance of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Minister of Economics, Employment and Health Harry Glawe MdL (CDU)
Harry Glawe MdL
Minister for Economics, Employment and Health
Harry Glawe MdL
Minister for Economics, Employment and Health
15.12.1953: Born in Greifswald, Protestant, married with three children
Professional career
1970-1973: Nurse at the Greifswald Medical College
1985-1989: Distance learning at the Humboldt University Berlin with a degree in nursing
1973-1991: Nurse, from 1978 ward nurse at the Greifswald Ernst Moritz Arndt University, Clinic for Neurology and Psychiatry
Political and societal functions:
Since March 1990: Member of the CDU
Since 1994: Member of the CDU-Mittelstandsvereinigung (Association of Small and Medium-sized Businesses)
Since 1994: Member of the county council of Vorpommern-Rügen (until 2011 Nordvorpommern)
Since 2003: County Chairman of the Vorpommern-Rügen CDU (until 2011 Nordvorpommern)
Since 15th November 1994: Member of the State Parliament (Landtag) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MdL)
Since 2015: Deputy member of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR)
Since 25th October 2011: Minister of Economics, Construction and Tourism of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and since 1 November 2016 Minister of Economics, Employment and Health of the state of Mecklenhburg-Vorpommern
Minister for Agriculture and the Environment Dr. Till Backhaus MdL (SPD)
Dr. Till Backhaus MdL
Minister for Agriculture and the Environment
© Fotostudio Berger, Schwerin
Dr. Till Backhaus MdL
Minister for Agriculture and the Environment
© Fotostudio Berger, Schwerin
13.03.1959: Born in Neuhaus/Elbe, Protestant, married with two children
1976 - 1978: University entrance examination passed, vocational training to become an agro technician/ mechanisation specialist in Schwechow (Hagenow county)
1978 - 1980: Conscription
1980 - 1985: Studied at Rostock University, diploma in Agricultural Engineering specialising in plant production
1980 - 1990: Executive positions, e.g. as department head at the Lübtheen agricultural cooperative.
1990: Member of the first freely elected People’s Chamber (Volkskammer) of the GDR
1990: Foundation of the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) in Amt-Neuhaus (Hagenow county), member of the SPD ever since
1990 - 1994: Member of the Landtag (State Parliament) Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, from 1992 Chairman of the Agricultural Committee
1994 - 1998: Member of the Landtag (State Parliament) Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Chairman of the Committee for Agriculture and Nature Conservation
1998: Re-elected to the Landtag Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
1998 - 2006: Minister for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery
2001: PhD in Agriculture
2003 - 2007: Chairman of the SPD in the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Since 07.11.2006: Minister for Agriculture, the Environment and Consumer Protection of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Since 01.11.2016: Minister for Agriculture and the Environment of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Minister for Education, Science and Culture Birgit Hesse MdL (SPD)
Birgit Hesse MdL
Minister for Education, Science and Culture
Birgit Hesse MdL
Minister for Education, Science and Culture
16.02.1975: Born in Elmshorn, Schleswig-Holstein, married with one child
1994 – 1999: Studied Law at the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel
1996 – 1997: Period of study abroad at the University of Amsterdam, Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid
1999: First State Examination in Law
2001: Second State Examination in Law
2002 - 2005: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Police, including as Head of the Wismar Police district and as traffic expert
2007: Joined the SPD
2005 - 2008: Councillor and 2nd Deputy County District Commissioner of the Landkreis Nordwestmecklenburg (Northwest Mecklenburg county)
2008 - 2014: Landrätin (County District Commissioner) of the Landkreis Nordwestmecklenburg (Northwest Mecklenburg county)
Since 14th January 2014: Minister for Employment, Gender Equality and Social Affairs of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Since 1 November 2016: Minister for Education, Science and Culture of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Minister for Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization Christian Pegel MdL (SPD)
Christian Pegel MdL
Minister for Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization
Christian Pegel MdL
Minister for Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization
07.01.1974: Born in Hamburg, married, two children
1995 - 2001: After completing his A-Levels and performing community service, Christian Pegel studied Law at the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University in Greifswald, where he completed the First State Examination for the legal profession
1997 - 2001: Head of the SPD parliamentary group at the Bürgerschaft (Municipal Assembly) of Greifswald
2001 - 2002: Press spokesman for the Mecklenburg.Vorpommern Ministry of Justice
2002 - 2004: Trainee solicitor in the district court for the Stralsund area, and completed his Second State Examination for the legal profession
2005: Admitted as a solicitor
2006 - 2011: Alongside his solicitor work, he served as a research assistant at the Chair for Criminal Law - in particular, in relation to Economic Offenses and Tax Offenses, based at the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University in Greifswald
2009 - 2012: Member of the Greifswald Bürgerschaft and from 2011 to 2012 Member of the Kreistag (County council) of Vorpommern-Greifswald
June 2012: Appointed Head of the State Chancellery Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Since 14 January 2014: Minister for Energy, Infrastructure and State Development of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Since 1 November 2016: Minister for Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Minister for Social Affairs, Integration and Equality Stefanie Drese MdL (SPD)
Stefanie Drese MdL
Minister for Social Affairs, Integration and Equality
© Ecki Raff
Stefanie Drese MdL
Minister for Social Affairs, Integration and Equality
© Ecki Raff
9 Dec. 1976: Born in Rostock, married, two children (twins: a daughter and son)
1995-2000: Studied law at the University of Rostock
2000: First State Examination (Law)
2000-2002: Legal clerkship at the Regional Court of Mühlhausen, Thuringia
2002: Second State Examination (Law)
As of 2003: Independent attorney in Bad Doberan
1 May 2003: Joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
2011-2016: Member of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Parliament of the 6th legislative period; Deputy Chairman of the SPD parliamentary group
As of 4 Oct. 2016: Member of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Parliament of the 7th legislative period
As of 1 Nov. 2016: Minister for Social Affairs, Integration and Equality of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern