Who's who in Germany's new cabinet?

By Thomas Escritt

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's new coalition government will be sworn in on May 6, with chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz picking close allies and corporate executives to tackle the country's economic malaise amid trade tensions and a surging far right.

The Social Democrats, junior coalition partners, have nominated more conventional career politicians.

Here are the key appointments:

VICE-CHANCELLOR AND FINANCE MINISTER, LARS KLINGBEIL (SPD)

Klingbeil, 47, was a leading figure in the party's youth wing and a constituency assistant to the pro-Russian former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder before becoming SPD general secretary in 2017.

He has since repudiated Schroeder's pro-Russian stance, but the one-time leftist has also dropped his opposition to scrapping some unemployment benefits on his journey  to the centre. Unlike many in the traditionally pacifist-leaning SPD, this son of a soldier wants to strengthen Germany's armed forces, including with armed drones.

Klingbeil, who as chairman since 2021 bears ultimate responsibility for the disastrous campaign that saw the SPD sink to third place in the election, must renew the party and steer a 2025 budget through the cabinet.

ECONOMY MINISTER, KATHERINA REICHE (CDU)

Reiche, 51, takes on the key ministry from the Greens' Robert Habeck at a time of prolonged economic downturn in Europe's largest economy.

She has been CEO of regional energy infrastructure firm Westenergie - a division of E.ON, Europe's largest operator of power grids - since early 2020.

She also sits on the supervisory boards of German machine and car parts maker Schaeffler and Swedish energy firm Ingrid Capacity.

Reiche is a member of Merz's conservative CDU party, having served as a member of Germany's parliament from 1998 until 2015 and held roles as parliamentary secretary at the environment and transport ministries.

FOREIGN MINISTER, JOHANN WADEPHUL (CDU)

Wadephul, 62, will succeed Annalena Baerbock of the Greens as Germany's top diplomat.

A member of Germany's parliament since 2009, he is deputy leader of the CDU/CSU conservative faction in parliament responsible for foreign and defence topics.

Wadephul is expected to be particularly loyal to Merz and implement his objectives on the world stage, according to Jana Puglierin of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

"Merz has created the conditions and structures to be a very strong chancellor in foreign policy. He will be responsible for relations with the United States, China and Russia," she said.

INTERIOR MINISTER, ALEXANDER DOBRINDT (CSU)

Dobrindt, a high-profile member of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the CSU, takes on the ministry overseeing migration at a time when the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is capitalising on public frustration over border security.

It is not the 54-year-old's first role in government: he served as transport minister under Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2013 until 2017.

He has been a member of the Bundestag parliament since 2002.

DEFENCE MINISTER, BORIS PISTORIUS (SPD)

The popular Pistorius, who until 2023 was Interior Minister in Lower Saxony, is the only SPD figure to remain in post from one government to the next. Appointed after his predecessor as defence minister was felled by a series of gaffes, Pistorius is seen to have made a success of a post that has traditionally been a poisoned chalice in a country that is uneasy about martial prowess.

The 65-year-old has said Germany should be ready to face a war by 2029 due to increasing threats from Russia.

Many SPD members had backed Pistorius as chancellor candidate for the SPD after the collapse of Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition last November but he withdrew from the race when it became clear Scholz was not backing out.

CHANCELLERY CHIEF-OF-STAFF THORSTEN FREI (CDU)

Frei, Merz's right-hand man in the chancellery, has often been pictured at the would-be chancellor's side during the coalition talks.

The 51-year-old has served in the Bundestag since 2013 and taken on leading roles in the CDU's parliamentary faction, with a focus on interior and justice policy. Between 2004 and 2013, he was the mayor of Donaueschingen, a town of some 22,000 on the edge of the Black Forest.

JUSTICE MINISTER, STEFANIE HUBIG (SPD)

A surprise appointment, Hubig, 56, was up till now education minister in her home state of Rhineland-Palatinate and previously served as a junior minister in the federal justice ministry. A former judge and public prosecutor, her role will be crucial at a time of growing calls for a ban on the far-right Alternative for Germany, which scored its best ever result in the elections. 

LABOUR MINISTER, BAERBEL BAS (SPD)

The former President of Parliament, who hails from the giant western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is underrepresented in the SPD's appointments, is a long-serving politician with previous stints as deputy caucus leader and manager.

DIGITAL MINISTRY, KARSTEN WILDBERGER (CDU)

Wildberger will step down from his role as chief executive of German tech retailer Ceconomy to join Merz's government.

His position puts him in charge of modernising the German economy in a digital world, a task that has often seen only sluggish progress in a country still known for using fax machines and cash transactions.

"We believe he is ideally equipped, both personally and professionally, to fulfil the high expectations associated with this special office," Wolfgang Steiger of the CDU-aligned Economic Council said.

The 55-year-old has previously served on the boards of German utility E.ON and telecoms groups Telstra, Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom. From 1998 until 2003, he worked as a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Sarah Marsh, Writing by Rachel More and Thomas Escritt, editing by Gareth Jones, Alexandra Hudson)