The third Weil cabinet is the current state government of Lower Saxony, sworn in on 8 November 2022 after Stephan Weil was elected as Minister-President of Lower Saxony by the members of the Landtag of Lower Saxony. It is the 30th Cabinet of Lower Saxony.

Third Cabinet of Stephan Weil
Weil III

30th Cabinet of Lower Saxony
8 November 2022 –
Stephan Weil in December 2020
Date formed8 November 2022
People and organisations
Minister-PresidentStephan Weil
Deputy Minister-PresidentJulia Hamburg
No. of ministers10
Member partiesSocial Democratic Party
Alliance 90/The Greens
Status in legislatureCoalition government
81 / 146
Opposition partiesChristian Democratic Union
Alternative for Germany
History
Election2022 Lower Saxony state election
Legislature term19th Landtag of Lower Saxony
PredecessorSecond Weil cabinet

It was formed after the 2022 Lower Saxony state election by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE). Excluding the Minister-President, the cabinet comprises ten ministers. Six are members of the SPD and four are members of the Greens.

Formation

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The previous cabinet was a coalition government of the SPD and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Minister-President Stephan Weil of the SPD.

The election took place on 9 October 2022, and resulted in losses for both governing parties. The SPD remained the largest party and increased its lead over the CDU. The opposition Greens increased their vote share to a record 14.5%, while the AfD also improved to 11%.

Overall, the incumbent coalition retained its majority. Minister-President Weil ruled out continuing the grand coalition and voiced his preference for a coalition with the Greens. Four days after the election on 13 October, the SPD and Greens agreed to preliminary discussions, with the goal of finalising government negotiations by 3 November.[1] Formal coalition talks began on schedule on 26 October[2] and concluded successfully just a few days later on 31 October.[3] The coalition pact was approved by both parties[4] and signed on 7 November.[5]

Weil was elected as Minister-President by the Landtag on 8 November 2022, winning 82 votes out of 145 cast.[6]

Composition

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Portfolio Minister Party Took office Left office State secretaries
Minister-President   Stephan Weil
born (1958-12-15) 15 December 1958 (age 65)
SPD 8 November 2022 Incumbent
  • Jörg Mielke (Head of the State Chancellery)
  • Anke Pörksen (Speaker for the State Government)
Deputy Minister-President
Minister for Education
  Julia Hamburg
born (1986-06-26) 26 June 1986 (age 38)
GRÜNE 8 November 2022 Incumbent
  • Marco Hartrich
  • Andrea Hoops
Minister for Interior and Sport   Boris Pistorius
born (1960-03-14) 14 March 1960 (age 64)
SPD 8 November 2022 18 January 2023
  • Stephan Manke
  Daniela Behrens [de]
born (1968-05-12) 12 May 1968 (age 56)
SPD 25 January 2023 Incumbent
Minister for Economy, Housing, Transport and Digitalisation   Olaf Lies
born (1967-05-08) 8 May 1967 (age 57)
SPD 8 November 2022 Incumbent
  • Frank Doods
Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Protection   Christian Meyer
born (1975-07-23) 23 July 1975 (age 49)
GRÜNE 8 November 2022 Incumbent
  • Anka Dobslaw
Minister for Finance   Gerald Heere [de]
born (1979-04-18) 18 April 1979 (age 45)
GRÜNE 8 November 2022 Incumbent
Minister for Justice Kathrin Wahlmann [de]
born (1977-08-04) 4 August 1977 (age 47)
SPD 8 November 2022 Incumbent
  • Thomas Smollich
Minister for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection   Miriam Staudte
born (1975-11-04) 4 November 1975 (age 49)
GRÜNE 8 November 2022 Incumbent
  • Michael Marahrens
Minister for Science and Culture   Falko Mohrs
born (1984-07-23) 23 July 1984 (age 40)
SPD 8 November 2022 Incumbent
  • Joachim Schachtner
Minister for Social Affairs, Labour, Health and Equality   Daniela Behrens [de]
born (1968-05-12) 12 May 1968 (age 56)
SPD 8 November 2022 25 January 2023
  • Christine Arbogast
  Andreas Philippi
born (1965-07-04) 4 July 1965 (age 59)
SPD 25 January 2023 Incumbent
Minister for Federal and European Affairs and Regional Development Wiebke Osigus [de]
born (1981-06-27) 27 June 1981 (age 43)
SPD 8 November 2022 Incumbent
  • Matthias Wunderling-Weilbier


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  • "The Lower Saxon State Government". Niedersachsen.de (in German). Retrieved 10 November 2022.

References

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