Finance Minister Heinold of Schleswig-Holstein steps down due to personal reasons.
Monika Heinold, a former educator, has served as Kiel's Finance Minister for twelve years, having assumed the role in February 2018. She also functions as the deputy Minister-President under Governor Daniel Günther (CDU) and is a significant figure in the black-green coalition of Kiel.
Heinold joined the Greens in the northernmost federal state since the '80s and entered the state parliament in 1996, shortly after her party's first entry. As one of their representatives, she served in the state parliament until 2012, during which time she was also the parliamentary business manager for the Green-Fraktion. In 2012, the budget expert took charge of the Finance Ministry.
She led the Finance Ministry in various coalitions - first with the SPD and Südschleswigsche Wählerverband, later with CDU, Greens, and FDP, and in a two-party coalition of CDU and Greens. On Monday, all parties in the parliament commended her contributions and regreted her departure. CDU-Faction Leader Tobias Koch declared that she had "done an outstanding job for our federal state."
On Tuesday, the Greens plan to discuss her successor at the Finance Ministry. State Governor Anke Erdmann described the resignation as the end of an "era." Heinold has been a significant Green voice in the state parliament since their debut around 38 years ago. "Monika is now taking a step back from politics at the age of 65 to regain control over her time," she stated.
Heinold explained on Monday that her retirement decision was self-determined. Regarding her successor, she expressed it as a well-thought-out choice. The CDU-Green coalition is currently in the middle of its legislative period and remains stable. Schleswig-Holstein will be up for re-election again in 2027.
