Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Template:Langx, ; abbreviated BMZ) is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its main office is at the former German Chancellery in Bonn with a second major office at the Europahaus in Berlin.

Founded in 1961, the Ministry works to encourage economic development within Germany and in other countries through international cooperation and partnerships. It cooperates with international organizations involved in development including the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and the United Nations.

The BMZ was created in 1961 as a reflection of the growing prioritization of foreign aid beyond financial gain, a relatively unique choice at the time. Germany was a pioneer in establishing the BMZ, as most countries did not have established aid agencies for the explicit purpose of managing ODA. In the following decades, the BMZ increasingly prioritized sustainable development (SD) in policy discourse focusing on providing basic needs and explicitly incorporating Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs were replaced with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) upon the UN publication of Agenda 2030 in 2015. The BMZ strongly supported the reorientation led by the OECD towards tangible and measurable goals for sustainability.

Germany is the second-largest development co-operation provider of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). Bilateral co-operation constitutes the bulk of Germany’s official development assistance (ODA), under the overall lead of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), while the Federal Foreign Office oversees humanitarian aid, crisis prevention, stabilisation and peace-building.

According to the OECD, Germany’s total ODA (USD 35 billion, preliminary data) increased in 2022 due to an increase in in-donor refugee costs and increased contributions to international organisations. It represented 0.83% of gross national income (GNI).

List

Political Party: Template:Legend2 Template:Legend2 Template:Legend2

Name (Born–Died)		Portrait	Party	Term of Office		Chancellor (Cabinet)
Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation (1961–1993) Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (since 1993)
style="background:Template:Party color; color:blue;" | 1	Walter Scheel (1919–2016)	File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1989-047-20, Walter Scheel.jpg	FDP	14 November 1961	28 October 1966	Adenauer (IV • V) Erhard (I • II)
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 2	Werner Dollinger (1918–2008)	File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F017055-0030, Paris, Einweihung Deutsche Botschaft, Dollinger (cropped).jpg	CSU	28 October 1966	30 November 1966	Kiesinger (I)
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 3	Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski (1922–2005)	File:Besprekingen over ontwikkelingshulp door de Westduitse minister H.J. Wischnewski, Bestanddeelnr 920-9807 (cropped).jpg	SPD	1 December 1966	2 October 1968
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 4	Erhard Eppler (1926–2019)	File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F039410-0008, Hannover, SPD-Bundesparteitag, Eppler (cropped).jpg	SPD	16 October 1968	8 July 1974	Kiesinger (I) Brandt (I • II)
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 5	Egon Bahr (1922–2015)	File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F030521-0007, Egon Bahr.jpg	SPD	8 July 1974	14 December 1976	Schmidt (I)
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 6	Marie Schlei (1919–1983)	File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F046733-0013, Bonn, Jubiläum 25 Jahre Bundes-CDU, Marie Schlei (cropped).jpg	SPD	16 December 1976	16 February 1978	Schmidt (II)
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 7	Rainer Offergeld (born 1937)	File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F062774-0029, München, SPD-Parteitag, Offergeld, Haehser (cropped).jpg	SPD	16 February 1978	1 October 1982	Schmidt (II • III)
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 8	Jürgen Warnke (1932–2013)	File:Jürgen Warnke.jpg	CSU	4 October 1982	11 March 1987	Kohl I • (II)
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 9	Hans Klein (1931–1996)	File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F083495-0022, Hans Klein (cropped).jpg	CSU	12 March 1987	21 April 1989	Kohl (III)
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 10	Jürgen Warnke (1932–2013)	File:Jürgen Warnke.jpg	CSU	21 April 1989	18 January 1991
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 11	Carl-Dieter Spranger (born 1939)	File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F086613-0027, 1. Gesamtdeutsche Bundesratssitzung, Spranger (cropped).jpg	CSU	18 January 1991	26 October 1998	Kohl (IV • V)
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 12	Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul (born 1942)	File:Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul (2009).jpg	SPD	27 October 1998	27 October 2009	Schröder (I • II) Merkel (I)
style="background:Template:Party color; color:blue;" | 13	Dirk Niebel (born 1963)	File:Dirk Niebel 1c399 0357.jpg	FDP	28 October 2009	17 December 2013	Merkel (II)
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 14	Gerd Müller (born 1955)	File:Müller Gerd 2017 by Büro Dr. Gerd Müller.jpg	CSU	17 December 2013	8 December 2021	Merkel (III • IV)
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 15	Svenja Schulze (born 1968)	File:2493ri SPD, Svenja Schulze.jpg	SPD	8 December 2021	6 may 2025	Scholz (I)
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 16	Reem Alabali-Radovan (born 1990)	File:Reem Alabali Radovan.jpg	SPD	6 May 2025	Incumbent	Merz (I)

References

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