| Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology | |
|---|---|
| Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1917 (as the Reichswirtschaftsamt) |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Germany |
| Headquarters | Berlin |
| Minister responsible | Philipp Rösler, Federal Minister of Economics and Technology |
| Website | |
| http://www.bmwi.de/ | |
The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (German: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie) is a ministry of the German Federal Government since 1998 (previously called "Ministry of Economics"). It was recreated in 2005 after it had previously been merged with other ministries to form the Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour between 2002 and 2005.
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The historical predecessor of the current Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology was the Reichswirtschaftsamt (Reich Economic Office), founded in 1917. In 1919, this became the Reichswirtschaftsministerium (Reich Ministry of Economics), which existed until 1945.
Its functions were exercised by the Verwaltungsamt für Wirtschaft (Administrative Office of Economics) from 1946 to 1949. After the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal Ministry of Economics existed from 1949 to 1998. From May 1971 to December 1972, it was temporarily merged with the Federal Ministry of Finance, in the Federal Ministry of Economics and Finance. In 1998 the technology section of the Ministry of Research was added, making it the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. Between 2002 and 2005, it was merged with parts of the former Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, in Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour. In the cabinet under Angela Merkel, the two parts were once again split up in 2005, so that there is now, once again, a Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.
The Ministry is organised into 8 departments and one central department.
The ministry is headquartered in Berlin.
In the second cabinet of Gerhard Schröder, the functions of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs were transferred to the newly formed Ministries of Economics and Labour, and of Health and Social Security. The Minister for Economics was thus also the Minister for Labour.