German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a cabinet reshuffle on Friday. The current Federal Minister of Health, Nina Warken, will become the new Head of the Federal Chancellery, while Carsten Linnemann will replace her as health minister. Merz also said that further personnel changes should be expected.
Furthermore, as announced on Wednesday, the current Head of the Federal Chancellery, Thorsten Frei, will become the leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. He will replace Jens Spahn, who resigned following controversy over his use of a surrogate. On Sunday, Merz said that the situation surrounding Spahn provided a good opportunity for a broader government reshuffle. However, the scope of the changes announced on Friday was smaller than political commentators had anticipated.
Nina Warken is a lawyer, a Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) member of the Bundestag, and has served as Germany’s Federal Minister of Health since May 2025. She also heads the Frauen Union, the women’s organization affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU).
Carsten Linnemann is an economist, a Bundestag member, and has served as Secretary General of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) since July 2023.
Meanwhile, Philipp Amthor is expected to move to the Federal Chancellery, where he will take up the post of Minister of State responsible for cooperation between the federal government and Germany’s federal states.
Merz was sworn in as Chancellor in May 2025. The governing coalition of the conservative Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) with the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) has been marked by instability and internal disputes, while the chancellor’s approval ratings remain low.
A key test of Merz’s popularity, his government, and the conservative bloc will come in the September state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) hopes to secure its first-ever victory at the state level in these elections.