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AT A GLANCE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Federal Ministries
The Federal Chancellor and the federal min-
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs
and Energy
→ bmwi.de
isters form the Federal Government, the cabinet. Alongside the Chancellor’s power to set
policy guidelines, within these general parameters ministers on principle run their
ministries independently; the collective
principle also applies, whereby the Federal
Government settles disputes by majority
decision. The federal cabinet consists of 14
ministers and the Head of the Federal
Chancellery. The federal ministries are the
highest federal authorities for the relevant
departments. The Basic Law assigns the
Chancellor a special role: “The Federal Chan-
Federal Foreign Office
→ auswaertiges-amt.de
Federal Ministry of the Interior
→ bmi.bund.de
Fe deral Ministry of Justice and
Consumer Protection
→ bmjv.de
Federal Ministry of Finance
→ bundesfinanzministerium.de
Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
→ bmas.de
cellor shall determine and be responsible for
the general guidelines of policy”. The Federal
Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture
→ bmel.de
Chancellery and the federal ministries employ around 18,000 staff members. The Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry
of Defence are among the ministries with
large payrolls. Eight ministries are based in
Berlin, six in the Federal City of Bonn. All the
ministries maintain offices in both cities.
Federal Ministry of Defence
→ bmvg.de
Federal Ministry of Family Affairs,
Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
→ bmfsfj.de
Federal Ministry of Health
→ bmg.bund.de
Federal Ministry of Transport
and Digital Infrastructure
→ bmvi.de
Federal Ministry for the Environment,
Nature Conservation, Building and
Nuclear Safety
→ bmub.bund.de
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
→ bmbf.de
Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development
→ bmz.de