Jörg Kukies becomes economic advisor to the future Chancellor Olaf Scholz

Olaf Scholz and Jörg Kukies

The future Chancellor takes his previous State Secretary into the Chancellery. There he will head the department for finance and economic policy.

(Photo: dpa)

Berlin The future Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has occupied a key position in the Chancellery: Jörg Kukies is to become his economic advisor and head of the finance and economic policy department. The Handelsblatt learned this from coalition circles. Up until now, Kukies was a permanent state secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance, responsible for financial market and European policy.

Kukies succeeds Lars-Hendrik Röller in the Chancellery, who headed the economic department under Angela Merkel (CDU) for ten years and was also the Chancellor’s Sherpa for the G7 and G20 summits. Before Röller, the outgoing Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann held the post.

Who should follow Weidmann at the central bank will be announced in the coming days. Former Bundesbank board member Joachim Nagel, who currently works at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), is the favorite for the post. The personnel has not yet been finally decided, it was said in coalition circles.

He used to be Co-Head of Goldman Sachs Germany

With Kukies, Scholz has now made the first important personnel decision for his future economic policy. The head of the finance and economic department has a lot of influence in the Chancellery.

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He advises the Federal Chancellor on questions of international economic policy and is therefore involved in the preparation of most talks with foreign heads of government or summit meetings. In addition, the business advisor maintains contact with the bosses of the German corporations.

Kukies earned Scholz’s trust in the Federal Ministry of Finance and is now one of his closest advisers. The economist and former co-head of Goldman Sachs Germany was initially also under discussion as Weidmann’s successor as Bundesbank president. But a few days ago it was said from coalition circles that Kukies was out of the running. He is indispensable for the future Chancellor in Berlin.

During the three years as Secretary of State for Finance, Kukies established contacts in Brussels and with his colleagues in other European capitals. He also has good connections to the German financial industry. The G7 and G20 summits will be new for him. State Secretary Wolfgang Schmidt, who is now the Minister of the Chancellery, took care of international financial policy in the Federal Ministry of Finance.

More: SPD introduces ministers: Karl Lauterbach becomes health minister – Nancy Faeser and Klara Geywitz also move into the cabinet

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