Germany sets up new digital ministry to spearhead WOG digitalisation
By Si Ying Thian
Former businessman Dr Karsten Wildberger is the country’s first ever Digital Minister, and the new ministry will take over and consolidate the digital matters from six other ministries.
-1746676691459.jpg)
The new Minister for Digital Affairs and State Modernisation, Dr Karsten Wildberger (middle), was formally inaugurated his two Parliamentary State Secretaries, Philipp Amthor and Thomas Jarzombek on May 6. Image: Federal Ministry for Digital and State Modernisation
The head of the new German government, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, signed a decree on May 6 to establish the country’s first Digital Ministry (Federal Ministry for Digital and State Modernisation).
Germany has appointed its first ever Digital Minister, Dr Karsten Wildberger, who has strong industry experience in the consumer electronics sector and does not belong to any of the coalition parties that make up the new government.
“With the establishment of Germany's first Digital Ministry, Germany is sending a clear signal: digitalisation and government modernisation are a top priority for this federal government,” said Dr Wildberger in an official statement.
To subscribe to the GovInsider bulletin, click here.
What does it mean
By creating a dedicated ministry, the new German government is looking to focus on country-wide digitalisation efforts and make the government more modern and efficient.
“We want to noticeably reduce burdens on the economy and modernise the entire government apparatus to increase the country's competitiveness. Our clear goal is to make Germany the driving force behind digitalisation in Europe,” said Dr Wildberger.
The official statement outlined a list of key priority areas, including developing a data policy for artificial intelligence (AI), strengthening the digital sovereignty of Germany and Europe, developing interoperable platforms, introducing a digital identity wallet and citizen accounts, and more.
Who is involved
The digital departments and responsibilities of six ministries would be transferred to the new digital ministry, according to the organisational decree (in German) which defined the exact departmental structures and responsibilities.
These ministries are the Federal Chancellery, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Ministry of Transport, the Federal Ministry of Economics, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Other news reports shared that that, for example, the Federal Ministry of Interior would dissolve two of its existing departments that were managing digital administration, digital society and IT procurement.
The Federal Ministry of Justice would hand over the AI matters to the new ministry, with plans to set up a market surveillance authority to ensure business compliance with EU’s AI Act, reported MSN previously.
Why does it matter
A 2024 report published by the European Commission highlighted connectivity infrastructure and digitalisation of public services as the main weaknesses for Germany.
As we see, these weaknesses are not problems that one single agency can solve in isolation, and would require a coordinated, strategic and resource-aligned effort to achieve meaningful improvement.
Earlier this year, Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation's Policy Advisor, Dr Pencho Kuzev, outlined the value of setting up a dedicated ministry to create clear mandates and harmonise data protection in digitalising public administration.
“International role models such as Singapore, Taiwan, Estonia, and Denmark demonstrate that a modern digital state is shaped by streamlined, citizen-centric administrative processes and a digital identity for society and the economy – an approach that should serve as a blueprint for Germany,” he said.
DigitalService’s Chief Product Officer, Stephanie Kaiser, previously shared with GovInsider how her GovTech agency was crafting its own identity and role in Germany’s complex digital government landscape.
DigitalService is a government agency that develops and operates digital applications for Germany.
The agency was previously working with the Ministry of Interior to develop digital-ready legislation.
“If the regulation is not digital-ready, then we can build interface layer after interface layer, but it doesn't really change the big picture,” she explained.
With the new ministry setup, Kaiser has expressed optimism in her latest LinkedIn post (Translated from German via LinkedIn), highlighting that “Just the fact that these two words [Digitalisation and State Modernisation] appear together in the name of a ministry and have a direct seat at the cabinet table is a great sign!”
“It can be read as a reservation of approval for all significant IT expenditures. This is a real opportunity to use budgets in a targeted manner where they have an impact – and to anchor standards such as the service standards across the board.”