Second Merkel cabinet

Second Cabinet of Angela Merkel Cabinet Merkel II
21st Cabinet of the Federal Republic of Germany
28 October 2009 – 22 October 2013 (until 17 December 2013 as caretaker government)
Date formed	28 October 2009
Date dissolved	17 December 2013 (4 years, 1 month, 2 weeks and 5 days)
People and organisations
President	Horst Köhler (until 31 May 2010) Jens Böhrnsen (Acting; from 31 May 2010 to 30 June 2010) Christian Wulff (from 30 June 2010 to 17 February 2012) Horst Seehofer (Acting; from 17 February 2012 to 18 March 2012) Joachim Gauck (from 18 March 2012)
Chancellor	Angela Merkel
Vice Chancellor	Guido Westerwelle (until 18 May 2011) Philipp Rösler (from 18 May 2011)
Member party	Christian Democratic Union Christian Social Union of Bavaria Free Democratic Party
Status in legislature	Coalition government 332/622 (53%)
Opposition party	Social Democratic Party The Left The Greens
Opposition leader	Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD)
History
Election	2009 federal election
Legislature terms	17th Bundestag
Predecessor	Merkel I
Successor	Merkel III

The Second Merkel cabinet (German: Kabinett Merkel II) was the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany during the 17th legislative session of the Bundestag. Installed after the 2009 federal election, it left office on 17 December 2013. It was preceded by the first Merkel cabinet and succeeded by the third Merkel cabinet. Led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, it was supported by a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU), and the Free Democratic Party (FDP).

The cabinet served as a caretaker government following the elections on 22 September 2013; which saw the removal of the Free Democratic Party from the Bundestag. Negotiations between the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) took place to form a new cabinet.

Composition

Portfolio	Minister	Took office	Left office	Party
Chancellor	Angela Merkel	28 October 2009	17 December 2013		CDU
Vice Chancellor	Guido Westerwelle	28 October 2009	18 May 2011		FDP
	Philipp Rösler	18 May 2011	17 December 2013		FDP
Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs	Guido Westerwelle	28 October 2009	17 December 2013		FDP
Federal Minister of Defense	Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg	28 October 2009	3 March 2011		CSU
	Thomas de Maizière	3 March 2011	17 December 2013		CDU
Federal Minister of the Interior	Thomas de Maizière	28 October 2009	3 March 2011		CDU
	Hans-Peter Friedrich	3 March 2011	17 December 2013		CSU
Federal Minister of Finance	Wolfgang Schäuble	28 October 2009	17 December 2013		CDU
Federal Minister of Justice	Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger	28 October 2009	17 December 2013		FDP
Federal Minister of Economics and Technology	Rainer Brüderle	28 October 2009	12 May 2011		FDP
	Philipp Rösler	12 May 2011	17 December 2013		FDP
Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs	Franz Josef Jung	28 October 2009	27 November 2009		CDU
	Ursula von der Leyen	30 November 2009	17 December 2013		CDU
Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection	Ilse Aigner	28 October 2009	30 September 2013		CDU
	Hans-Peter Friedrich (Acting)	30 November 2009	17 December 2013		CDU
Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs	Peter Ramsauer	30 November 2009	17 December 2013		CSU
Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth	Ursula von der Leyen	28 October 2009	30 November 2009		CDU
	Kristina Schröder	30 November 2009	17 December 2013		CDU
Federal Minister of Health	Philipp Rösler	28 October 2009	12 May 2011		FDP
	Daniel Bahr	12 May 2011	17 December 2013		FDP
Federal Minister of Education, Science and Technology	Annette Schavan	28 October 2009	14 February 2013		CDU
	Johanna Wanka	14 February 2013	17 December 2013		CDU
Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation	Dirk Niebel	28 October 2009	17 December 2013		FDP
Federal Minister of Environment, Nature Conservation, and Reactor Security	Norbert Röttgen	28 October 2009	22 May 2012		CDU
	Peter Altmaier	22 May 2012	17 December 2013		CDU
Federal Minister of Special Affairs & Head of the Chancellery	Ronald Pofalla	28 October 2009	17 December 2013		CDU

Resignations, dismissals and replacements

The second Merkel cabinet was reshuffled several times. The first change occurred on 30 November 2009, when Franz Josef Jung resigned as Labour Minister amidst controversy surrounding the Kunduz airstrike, which happened while he was Defense Minister in the previous cabinet. He was succeeded by former Family Affairs Minister Ursula von der Leyen, who was in turn succeeded by Kristina Schröder.

On 3 March 2011, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg stepped down as Defense Minister following the discovery of plagiarized content in his doctoral dissertation. He was succeeded by former Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, who was in turn succeeded by Hans-Peter Friedrich.

On 10 May 2011, Rainer Brüderle was elected as the FDP's parliamentary leader and resigned his position as Economics Minister. He was succeeded by former Health Minister Philipp Rösler, who was in turn succeeded by Daniel Bahr. On 13 May 2011, the FDP elected Rösler to succeed Guido Westerwelle as party chairman. Rösler was then named Vice Chancellor on 16 May 2011, succeeding Westerwelle in this position as well. Westerwelle retained the position of Foreign Minister.

On 16 May 2012, Merkel requested that President Joachim Gauck dismiss Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen after the CDU's defeat in the North Rhine-Westphalia state election. Röttgen had been CDU chairman for that state. He was dismissed on 22 May 2012 and was succeeded as Environment Minister by Peter Altmaier.

On 5 February 2013, Annette Schavan was stripped of her doctorate by the University of Düsseldorf due to alleged plagiarism in her PhD thesis. She resigned on 9 February 2013 and was succeeded by Johanna Wanka.

See also

• Cabinet of Germany

External links

• Cabinet of Germany (English)
• Federal Ministries of Germany (English)