Ministry distribution | This is what the red-red-green government looks like in the northeast

Manuela Schwesig (M, SPD), Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, presented the future state government with Hennis Herbst, state chairman of the Left Party in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Claudia Müller (r), leader of the Green Party in the state parliament. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa Schwerin.  Almost six weeks after the state elections, the new red-red-green government in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is under Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD). About half of the cabinet will be replaced. The SPD provides five ministers - one of them non-party - and the head of the State Chancellery, two from the Left, and the Greens get one ministerial post. Five department heads are women and five are men. Schwesig is set to be re-elected as Prime Minister next Monday. Before that, the SPD, Left and Greens have to approve the coalition agreement at party conferences. It starts with the Left, which will vote in Güstrow on Friday afternoon. On Saturday, the SPD and the Greens also want to let their party base decide on the coalition agreement.

Schwesig has been in office since 2017. She is not only considered experienced, but also popular. Although the AfD became the strongest force in the state elections, the 52-year-old led the SPD to a result in the northeast (35.5 percent) that the federal party can currently only dream of. According to surveys, a majority in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania wanted to see her continue as head of government. Despite recurring rumors about ambitions in Berlin, Schwesig herself emphasized that she sees her future in Schwerin. She said she wanted to stay for five years when she presented the coalition agreement.

The 54-year-old Mieth is a new face in the front row of state politics. She comes from Ribnitz-Damgarten. For several years she was state secretary in the Berlin Senate for Integration, Labor and Social Affairs, and later managing director of Volkssolidarität in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. After working as head of department in the Schwerin Ministry of Social Affairs, she most recently worked as deputy government spokeswoman for the red-red state government from 2021 to 2026. Mieth is also deputy prime minister.

Claudia Müller is new to the government. In the future, she will be responsible for issues relating to the environment, nature, climate protection and mobility. This means that the issues of energy and transport also fall under the 45-year-old's portfolio. The leader of the Green Party had already focused on these issues during the coalition negotiations. Müller comes from Rostock, but was most recently in Berlin as a member of the Bundestag. During the time of the traffic light coalition, she coordinated the maritime economy and tourism areas for the federal government. She is also second deputy prime minister.

As head of the State Chancellery, the previous Finance Minister Heiko Geue is returning to familiar territory - he already held this office from 2019 to 2021. It is an extremely important and trusting position. For example, he coordinates cooperation between the ministries. His position will be further strengthened on the topics of federal and European affairs, as Schwesig announced. Geue should transfer responsibility for digitalization from the Ministry of Finance to his new office. The economist, who comes from Baden-Württemberg, has known Schwesig since their time together at the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs in Berlin.

With Carola Voß, the tradition of strong social democratic women at the top of the finance department will continue, said Schwesig. The 63-year-old Voß joined the Ministry of Finance in 1991 and worked there for more than 30 years - interrupted by a few years as department head in the State Chancellery. According to Schwesig, she worked as State Secretary for Finance for the last five years. »She knows the Ministry of Finance and all budget issues from the inside out and has great passion and expertise when it comes to the topic of administrative modernization.«

Stefanie Drese (49) can also continue to work as a minister. She will be responsible for the education department in the future. The Rostock native has been in the state government for ten years and is considered Schwesig's confidant. Previously she headed the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs – not an easy task. In recent years, the lawyer has had to deal with the consequences of the corona pandemic and most recently with the hospital reform dictated by austerity measures. Nevertheless, Drese was able to defend her direct mandate in the 2026 state elections. 

Till Backhaus remains agriculture minister. His department is being reduced, but the veteran of the northeast government remains true to his profession, agriculture. The 67-year-old has been in office since 1998 - longer than any other minister at state level in Germany. “There is a rule in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Till Backhaus is the Minister of Agriculture,” said Schwesig when introducing the new old minister. Before the election, she personally asked Backhaus to run again and to continue as minister after the election.

Schwesig said the man was an original and not only the longest-serving but also the most popular minister in the northeast. Backhaus is tried and tested in crises, but criticism of him has recently increased. After the rescue operation of the humpback whale Timmy, which he had approved, was accompanied by enormous media hype but ultimately failed, the opposition accused him of having listened more to the political mood than to scientific advice.

The non-party Wolfgang Blank was born in 1959 and took over the office of Economics Minister two years ago when his predecessor Reinhard Meyer (SPD) withdrew for health reasons. Previously, Blank was President of the Neubrandenburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) for eastern Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. With him, the SPD is relying on “experience and continuity,” said Schwesig. Blank did his job well and his reappointment was also a signal to the economy and the political center, said the Prime Minister.

The Ministry of the Interior continues to be led by Christian Pegel. The Hamburg native has already held a number of positions in the state government - with varying degrees of success. As Energy Minister, he initiated the establishment of the Climate Foundation in the area of ​​the Nord Stream 2 pipeline operated by the Kremlin-affiliated Gazprom company. This blew up in the government's face after the start of the Ukraine war. As Interior Minister, the lawyer recently had to be responsible for the delays in the procurement of company cell phones for the police following a hacker attack.

A new face will also be seen in the Ministry of Justice in the future. Michael Noetzel is a lawyer, but was not considered a favorite for the office in the run-up to the coalition negotiations. Of course, he is not completely untouched on the field. He has been a lawyer and criminal defense attorney since 2009. The 51-year-old was a member of the state parliament from 2021 to 2026 and headed the parliament's legal committee during that time. He also accompanied the committee of inquiry into the right-wing extremist terrorist group NSU.  dpa/nd

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