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 (SPD)
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 from November 2009 to September 2019.
Since 4th July 2017, Manuela Schwesig has been the Minister-President of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Minister of the Interior and for Europe Torsten Renz MdL (CDU)
Minister of the Interior and for Europe Torsten Renz
© Ministry of the Interior and for Europe
Minister of the Interior and for Europe Torsten Renz
© Ministry of the Interior and for Europe
Torsten Renz was born on in Güstrow 13 August 1964. He is married with two children.
After attending the Polytechnic Secondary School, he completed a vocational training course with Abitur (the German equivalent of A levels) as a machine and plant fitter and then completed 18 months of basic military service. From 1986 to 1991, he studied at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and then, until 2002, worked as a vocational school teacher (graduate engineer with a degree in education).
From 2002 to 2006, Torsten Renz was a member of the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and subsequently worked as a consultant in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism from 2007 to 2009. Since July 2009, he has once again been a member of the state parliament, and from 2011 to 2016, he was deputy chairman of the CDU state parliament faction of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. From September 2016 to February 2020, Torsten Renz was Parliamentary Secretary of the CDU state parliament faction of MV, and from February to November 2020 its party whip.
Torsten Renz has been a member of the Güstrow municipal council since 1999. From 1999 to 2011, he was a member of Güstrow county council; since then, he has been a member of Rostock county council. Since October 2013, he has been chairman of the CDU local chapter of the administrative district of Rostock. From 2010 to 2020, he was chairman of the Güstrower Sportclub 09 e.V.
Torsten Renz has been appointed as Minister of the Interior and for Europe in November 2020.
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 Reinhard Meyer (SPD)
05.09.1959: Born in Bonn
1966-1979: Attended school in Bonn and Bremen, school leaving certificate: A levels
1979-1981: Soldier serving for a set time with the Bundeswehr
1982-1989: Studied Political Science with a minor in History and Economics at the Technical University of Braunschweig and at the University of Hamburg. Awarded a degree in Political Science
1989-1990: Research assistant at the Institute for Political Science at the University of Hamburg
1990-1991: Postgraduate course in Administrative Studies at the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer, degree awarded: Magister rer. publ. (Masters)
1991-1994: Scientific advisor to the SPD parliamentary group in the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
1994-1996: Head of the Ministerial Office of the Ministry of Economy and Affairs of the European Union Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
1996-1997: Policy advisor for the Federal Council Affairs and the Affairs of the Finance Ministers Conference in the Ministry of Finance Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
1997-1998: Department Head of the Representation of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to the Federation
1998-2001: Head of the Coordination of State and Federal Policy Department of the State Chancellery of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
04/2001-12/2001: Head of the Department of Federal and State Affairs Division, North German Cooperation and Economic, Financial and Tax Policy in the Planning Department of the Senate Chancellery of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
12/2001-12/2005: State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
01/2006-06/2012: Head of the State Chancellery of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
06/2012-06/2017: Minister of Economic Affairs, Employment, Transport and Technology of Schleswig-Holstein
01/2018-05/2019: Head of the State Chancellery of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
since 05/2019: Minister of Finance of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
since 11/2007: President of the German Tourism Association (honorary office)
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 Bettina Martin (SPD)
Minister for Education, Science and Culture Bettina Martin (SPD)
© Ute Grabowsky/photothek.net
Minister for Education, Science and Culture Bettina Martin (SPD)
© Ute Grabowsky/photothek.net
Bettina Martin has been appointed as Minister of Education, Science and Culture in May 2019.
Prior to that she worked as State Secretary to the Representation of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to the Federal Government where she had been appointed in August 2017. Before that she worked as Chief of Staff of the Federal Ministry of Family, Senior Citizens, Women Affairs and Youth during the last legislative period.
Between 2001 and 2009 she was part of several federal election campaigns of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). She worked as press secretary as well as consultant to education and youth issues. 2009-2013 she was Chief of Staff of the deputy hand of the federal party SPD, Manuela Schwesig in the SPD headquarters.
Bettina studied American Studies, Political Sciences an Economics at Free University of Berlin and at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA (as Fulbright scholar). She startet her professional career shortly after German unification in 1992 as press speaker of Berlin's Mayor and Senator of Labour and Women Affairs.
Bettina is a member of the Broadcasting Commission of Germany's Federal States and has a seat on the Advisory Board of the German public television station ZDF.
Bettina was born and grew up in Berlin. She is married and has two sons.
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