Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

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Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung

Offices of the BMZ in the former Federal Chancellery in Bonn
Agency overview
Formed14 November 1961
JurisdictionGovernment of Germany
HeadquartersDahlmannstraße 4,
53113 Bonn
Employeesapprox. 1,100
Annual budget€9.94 billion (2025)[1]
Minister responsible
Agency executives
Websitewww.bmz.de

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (German: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsminɪsˌteːʁiʊm fyːɐ̯ ˈvɪʁt.ʃaftlɪçə tsuˈzamənˌʔaʁbaɪt ʔʊnt ʔɛntˈvɪklʊŋ] ⓘ; 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.[2] 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).[3] The MDGs were replaced with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) upon the UN publication of Agenda 2030 in 2015.[4] The BMZ strongly supported the reorientation led by the OECD towards tangible and measurable goals for sustainability.[3]

In 2024 Germany was the second biggest donor of development cooperation after the United States, spending 32.4 billion USD, equivalent to 0.67% of GNI, on Official development assistance.[5] 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.


List

[edit]

Political Party:   FDP   CSU   SPD

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)
1 Walter Scheel
(1919–2016) 		FDP 14 November 1961 28 October 1966 Adenauer (IV • V)
Erhard (I • II)
2 Werner Dollinger
(1918–2008) 		CSU 28 October 1966 30 November 1966 Kiesinger (I)
3 Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski
(1922–2005) 		SPD 1 December 1966 2 October 1968
4 Erhard Eppler
(1926–2019) 		SPD 16 October 1968 8 July 1974 Kiesinger (I)
Brandt (I • II)
5 Egon Bahr
(1922–2015) 		SPD 8 July 1974 14 December 1976 Schmidt (I)
6 Marie Schlei
(1919–1983) 		SPD 16 December 1976 16 February 1978 Schmidt (II)
7 Rainer Offergeld
(born 1937) 		SPD 16 February 1978 1 October 1982 Schmidt (II • III)
8 Jürgen Warnke
(1932–2013) 		CSU 4 October 1982 11 March 1987 Kohl I • (II)
9 Hans Klein
(1931–1996) 		CSU 12 March 1987 21 April 1989 Kohl (III)
10 Jürgen Warnke
(1932–2013) 		CSU 21 April 1989 18 January 1991
11 Carl-Dieter Spranger
(born 1939) 		CSU 18 January 1991 26 October 1998 Kohl (IV • V)
12 Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul
(born 1942) 		SPD 27 October 1998 27 October 2009 Schröder (I • II)
Merkel (I)
13 Dirk Niebel
(born 1963) 		FDP 28 October 2009 17 December 2013 Merkel (II)
14 Gerd Müller
(born 1955) 		CSU 17 December 2013 8 December 2021 Merkel (III • IV)
15 Svenja Schulze
(born 1968) 		SPD 8 December 2021 6 may 2025 Scholz (I)
16 Reem Alabali-Radovan
(born 1990) 		SPD 6 May 2025 Incumbent Merz (I)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Bundeshaushalt". www.bundeshaushalt.de. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  2. ^ https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/199376
  3. ^ a b https://doi.org/10.1080/19460171.2023.2265988
  4. ^ https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda-retired/
  5. ^ "Official development assistance (ODA)". OECD. Retrieved 18 September 2025.


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