Berlin - 6 May 2025 | The publicist and publisher Wolfram Weimer is new Minister of State for Culture and the Media. Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz officially appointed the independent media entrepreneur to office on Monday. The swearing-in ceremony took place in the Federal Chancellery. Weimer succeeds Claudia Roth (Greens), who has held the office since 2021.

With the change at the head of the culture department, Weimer takes over a central interface between politics, the media and the cultural sector. As the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), he is responsible for cultural policy strategy at federal level. He also heads a supreme federal authority with around 470 employees.

Weimer is regarded as a prominent face in the German media landscape. He holds a doctorate in history and studied history, German studies, political science and economics. After working as a journalist at the dpa news agency in Washington and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung he became editor-in-chief of the Worldthe Berliner Morgenpost and later at the magazine Focus. In 2004 he founded the political monthly magazine CiceroThis was followed in 2012 by the founding of Weimer Media Groupwhich includes The European, Business Punk and a book publisher.

Weimer's appointment represents a break with the previous party-political occupation of the office. As an independent Minister of State for Culture, he brings with him many years of experience in the field of tension between the media, the public and politics. In initial statements, Weimer announced his intention to strengthen cultural diversity in Germany and defend media freedom against increasing threats.

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