Wolfgang Schmidt (politician)

Wolfgang Schmidt (German pronunciation: [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ ˈʃmɪt]; born (1970-09-23)23 September 1970) is a German politician and jurist who has been serving as Federal Minister for Special Affairs, Head of the Chancellery and Commissioner for the Federal Intelligence Services since 2021. He was previously State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance under Minister Olaf Scholz in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021.[1]

Wolfgang Schmidt
Schmidt in 2014
Head of the Chancellery
Minister for Special Affairs
Assumed office
8 December 2021
ChancellorOlaf Scholz
Preceded byHelge Braun
State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance
In office
14 March 2018 – 8 December 2021
Serving with Werner Gatzer, Rolf Bösinger, Jörg Kukies
ChancellorAngela Merkel
MinisterOlaf Scholz
Preceded by
Succeeded by
  • Steffen Saebisch
  • Werner Gatzer
  • Luise Hölscher
Counselor of State of the State Chancellery of Hamburg
Representative for Federal Affairs
In office
7 March 2011 – 28 March 2018
First MayorOlaf Scholz
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byAnnette Tabbara
Personal details
Born
Wolfgang Schmidt

(1970-09-23) 23 September 1970
Hamburg, West Germany
Political partySocial Democratic Party (1989–)
Children2
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Spindoctor
  • Lawyer
  • Political Staffer
  • Civil Servant
WebsiteOfficial Government website

Schmidt has been a close associate of Scholz since 2002 and is considered his spin doctor.[2]

Early life and education

Schmidt was born 23 September 1970, in Hamburg. He studied law at the University of Hamburg as well as the University of the Basque Country from 1991, graduating with his first state examination by 1997. Thereafter, he worked as Research associate at the University of Hamburg until 2000. Schmidt then served a two-year legal clerkship term at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court until 2002, when he completed his second state examination.[3]

Career

From 2002 until 2005, Schmidt worked as advisor and later as chief of staff to Olaf Scholz in his capacity as the SPD’s secretary general.[4] He followed Scholz as chief of staff when the latter was appointed as whip of the SPD parliamentary group.

In the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, Schmidt again served as Scholz’s chief of staff at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.[4]

From 2010 to 2011, Schmidt served as director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) representative office in Germany.[4]

Political career

Schmidt joined the youth organization of the Social Democratic Party, called the Jusos, in 1989 due to his interest in the third world.[5]

On 6 December 2021, Schmidt was nominated as Federal Minister for Special Affairs and Head of the Chancellery in Scholz's cabinet,[6][7][8][9] and was inaugurated by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on 8 December.[10][11][12]

Since taking office, Schmidt has been described in news medias as "Olaf Scholz’s shadow foreign minister."[13] Early in his tenure, he became a key architect of the policies outlines in Scholz’s Zeitenwende speech.[14] In February 2023, he appeared in parliament for the first time, explaining and defending the government’s policies in a 90-minute question-and-answer session.[15]

In October 2023, Schmidt participated in the first joint cabinet retreat of the German and French governments in Hamburg, chaired by Scholz and President Emmanuel Macron.[16][17]

Other activities

International organizations

Corporate boards

Non-profit organizations

Personal life

Schmidt is married to Mexican writer Adriana Sabugal Fernández and has two daughters with whom he currently resides in Berlin.[25]

References
  1. "Wolfgang Schmidt". Federal Ministry of Finance. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  2. "Das sind die SPD-Kabinettsmitglieder: Zwei Überraschungen, ein Spin-Doktor und ein Publikumsliebling". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 6 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  3. "Staatssekretär im Bundesministerium der Finanzen Finanzpolitische und volkswirtschaftliche Grundsatzfragen, internationale Finanz- und Währungspolitik sowie Leitungsabteilung". Federal Ministry of Finance (in German). Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  4. "Wolfgang Schmidt will Scholz den Rücken freihalten" (in German). Bild. Axel Springer SE. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  5. Iken, Matthias (6 December 2021). "Neuer Kanzleramtschef: Wer ist Wolfgang Schmidt?" (in German). WAZ. Funke Mediengruppe. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  6. "Hamburger Wolfgang Schmidt wird neuer Kanzleramtschef" (in German). Norddeutscher Rundfunk. ARD. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  7. Müller-Neuhof, Jost (6 December 2021). "Neuer Chef des Bundeskanzleramts" (in German). Der Tagesspiegel. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  8. Kynast, Andreas (5 December 2021). "Schmidt: "Olaf Scholz will die Besten haben"" (in German). heute. ZDF. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  9. Neuhaus, Christina (6 December 2021). "Schmidt heißt der Vertraute von Scholz" (in German). n-tv. RTL Group. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  10. "Neue Bundesregierung vereidigt -Das ist das Ampel-Kabinett" (in German). heute. ZDF. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  11. "Das Kabinett Scholz ist im Amt" (in German). Die Zeit. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  12. von Bullion, Constanze; Gierke, Sebastian; Preuß, Roland; Stroh, Kassian (8 December 2021). "Merkel übergibt Amtsgeschäfte an Scholz" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  13. Hans von der Burchard (17 February 2023), Meet Olaf Scholz’s shadow foreign minister Politico Europe.
  14. Hans von der Burchard (17 February 2023), Meet Olaf Scholz’s shadow foreign minister Politico Europe.
  15. Hans von der Burchard (17 February 2023), Meet Olaf Scholz’s shadow foreign minister Politico Europe.
  16. Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke (9 October 2023), Germany, France hold unprecedented cabinet retreat to oil creaky EU motor Reuters.
  17. Erste deutsch-französische Kabinettsklausur: Zukunftsfragen und Weltpolitik diskutiert Cabinet of Germany, press release of 10 October 2023.
  18. Board of Governors Archived 29 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
  19. Board of Governors Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), World Bank Group.
  20. Board of Governors World Bank.
  21. Supervisory Board German Investment Corporation (DEG).
  22. Board of Trustees Baden-Badener Unternehmer-Gespräche (BBUG).
  23. Einsetzung eines Wirtschaftspolitischen Beirats Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, press release of 23 March 2020.
  24. Board of Trustees Institute for European Politics (IEP).
  25. "Der mächtigste Unbekannte Berlins" (in German). Bild. Axel Springer SE. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
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