New minister - Dörte Schall to become new minister in Rhineland-Palatinate
North Rhine-Westphalia SPD politician Dorothee Schall is set to become a new minister in the upcoming cabinet of Alexander Schweitzer (SPD) in Rhineland-Palatinate. Schweitzer presented the 46-year-old in Mainz as his successor at the helm of the Ministry for Labour, Social Affairs, Transformation and Digitalization. Schweitzer is set to be elected as the successor of Minister President Malu Dreyer (also SPD) on coming Wednesday (10th July). The 63-year-old Dreyer had announced her resignation shortly after the European and local elections, citing a lack of energy for the role.
With the appointment of Schall, a surprise has been achieved for the 50-year-old Palatinate native Schweitzer. Schall had previously worked as deputy mayor of Mönchengladbach, Schweitzer stated. She is also deputy chairwoman of the SPD in North Rhine-Westphalia. No further changes in the cabinet have been planned so far. The other five ministers and three ministers remain in office.
However, a reshuffle is evident among the state secretaries under Social Democrats. Schweitzer's state secretary and long-term confidant Fedor Ruhose is set to become head of the State Chancellery. Ruhose's successor is reportedly to be Denis Alt, according to a report in "Trierischer Volksfreund" and "Rheinzeitung". The 43-year-old has been state secretary in the Ministry of Science and Health up until now.
Alt is set to be succeeded by Nicole Steingaß as interior state secretary and coordinator for the rebuilding in the Ahr Valley. Her successor is expected to be Daniel Stich, currently ministerial director in the Ministry of Science and Health and state immunization coordinator during the pandemic. His planned transfer to the European Parliament was unexpectedly thwarted, he could not secure the nomination as a candidate at the SPD party conference.
- The upcoming cabinet in Rhineland-Palatinate, led by Alexander Schweitzer, will include a new Minister for Labour, Social Affairs, Transformation, and Digitalization from North Rhine-Westphalia, Dorothee Schall, who has been a SPD politician in that state.
- In preparation for the local elections, the SPD in Rhineland-Palatinate is undergoing changes, with Malu Dreyer, the current Minister President, stepping down due to a lack of energy and being replaced by Schweitzer.
- Prior to her new role, Dorothee Schall served as deputy mayor of Mönchengladbach and holds a significant position within the SPD in North Rhine-Westphalia, serving as deputy chairwoman.
- In the reshuffle among state secretaries under Social Democrats, Fedor Ruhose, Schweitzer's long-term confidant, is expected to assume the position of head of the State Chancellery, with Denis Alt slated to take over his role as state secretary in the Ministry of Science and Health.
- Amidst the reshuffle, Daniel Stich, who had been ministerial director in the Ministry of Science and Health and state immunization coordinator during the pandemic, found his planned transfer to the European Parliament unexpectedly halted and will now remain in his current role in Rhineland-Palatinate.
