Olaf Scholz

Olaf Scholz
Scholz in 2024
Olaf Scholz
Born	14 6, 1958
Birthplace	Osnabrück, West Germany
Nationality	German
Occupation	Politician, lawyer
Known for	Chancellor of Germany (2021–2025), Zeitenwende speech
Spouse(s)	Britta Ernst
Website	[https://www.bundeskanzler.de/bk-en/chancellorship-olaf-scholz-2344810 Official site]

Olaf Scholz (born 14 June 1958) is a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who served as the ninth Chancellor of Germany from December 2021 to May 2025. A career politician and trained lawyer, Scholz held a series of senior positions in German government over more than two decades, including Federal Minister of Finance and Vice Chancellor under Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021, First Mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018, and Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs from 2007 to 2009. His chancellorship was defined by Germany's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, during which he delivered the landmark Zeitenwende ("turning point") speech announcing a fundamental shift in German defence and foreign policy. Scholz's governing "traffic light coalition" with Alliance 90/The Greens and the Free Democratic Party collapsed in November 2024, and he lost a vote of confidence the following month. He was succeeded as chancellor by Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union in May 2025.

Early Life

Olaf Scholz was born on 14 June 1958 in Osnabrück, in what was then West Germany. He grew up in Hamburg, where his family settled. His father worked in the textile industry. Scholz has a brother, Jens Scholz, who later became a medical professional and administrator.

Scholz joined the Social Democratic Party at the age of 17 in 1975 and became active in the party's youth wing, the Young Socialists in the SPD (Jusos). During his time in the Jusos, Scholz rose to a prominent position, eventually serving as a vice-chairman of the organisation. In this capacity, he participated in political events across both West and East Germany, including attending a "Manifestation of Youth" in the German Democratic Republic. His early political involvement in the Jusos during the late 1970s and 1980s placed him firmly within the left wing of the SPD, though he would later be associated with the party's more centrist, pragmatic faction.

Scholz was raised in a Christian cultural environment but later left the church. He has spoken publicly about valuing the "Christian imprint of our culture" while not being personally religious.

Education

Scholz studied law at the University of Hamburg, where he earned his legal qualifications. After completing his studies, he embarked on a career as a lawyer specialising in labour law and employment law. He practised law in Hamburg before transitioning fully into professional politics. His legal background in labour issues would later inform his policy work, particularly during his tenure as Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.

Career

Early Political Career and Hamburg Politics

Scholz's political career began in earnest when he was elected to the Bundestag in 1998, representing the constituency of Hamburg-Altona. He served as a member of the Bundestag continuously from October 1998, establishing himself as a reliable figure within the SPD's parliamentary group.

In 2001, Scholz briefly left the Bundestag to serve in the Hamburg city government. He was appointed Senator for the Interior of Hamburg under First Mayor Ortwin Runde, serving from May to October 2001. His tenure as interior senator was short-lived, as the SPD lost power in Hamburg. He also served as a deputy member of the Bundesrat for Hamburg during this period.

General Secretary of the SPD

Following the 2002 federal election, which saw the re-election of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, Scholz was appointed General Secretary of the SPD in October 2002. In this role, he served alongside SPD leader and Chancellor Schröder, tasked with managing the party's organisational apparatus and communicating its political programme. Scholz's time as general secretary coincided with the implementation of Schröder's controversial Agenda 2010 reform programme, which sought to overhaul Germany's welfare state and labour market. His association with these reforms would remain a notable aspect of his political identity within the SPD. Scholz served as general secretary until March 2004, when he was succeeded by Klaus Uwe Benneter.

Chief Whip and Federal Minister of Labour

After leaving the general secretary position, Scholz returned to the Bundestag and took on the role of chief whip (Erster Parlamentarischer Geschäftsführer) of the SPD parliamentary group from October 2005 to November 2007, serving under faction leader Peter Struck. In this role, he was responsible for managing the SPD's legislative agenda and ensuring party discipline in parliamentary votes.

In November 2007, Scholz entered the federal government for the first time when he was appointed Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in the first Merkel government, a grand coalition between the CDU/CSU and the SPD. He succeeded Franz Müntefering in the post. During his tenure, Scholz oversaw Germany's labour market policy during the onset of the global financial crisis of 2008–2009. His ministry managed the expansion of the Kurzarbeit (short-time work) scheme, which allowed companies to reduce employees' working hours rather than lay them off, with the government compensating workers for lost income. This approach was credited with helping Germany avoid the mass unemployment experienced by other European economies during the crisis.

Scholz served as minister until October 2009, when the SPD was voted out of the federal government following the 2009 federal election, in which the party suffered significant losses. He was succeeded by Franz Josef Jung of the CDU.

First Mayor of Hamburg (2011–2018)

After the SPD's move into federal opposition, Scholz returned to Hamburg politics. He was elected deputy leader of the SPD at the federal level in 2009, a position he held until 2019. In Hamburg, Scholz led the SPD to a decisive victory in the 2011 Hamburg state election, securing an absolute majority for the party in the Hamburg Parliament (Bürgerschaft). On 7 March 2011, he was elected First Mayor of Hamburg, succeeding Christoph Ahlhaus of the CDU.

As First Mayor, Scholz governed Germany's second-largest city for seven years. His administration focused on issues including housing construction, infrastructure development, and education policy. Hamburg hosted the G20 Hamburg summit in July 2017, an event that was overshadowed by significant protests and violent clashes between demonstrators and police. The summit's security challenges attracted considerable public scrutiny and criticism of Scholz's handling of the situation.

Scholz also served as a member of the Bundesrat for Hamburg throughout his time as First Mayor, from 2011 to 2018. He stepped down as First Mayor on 13 March 2018, when he was appointed to the federal cabinet. He was succeeded by Peter Tschentscher as First Mayor of Hamburg.

Federal Minister of Finance and Vice Chancellor (2018–2021)

In March 2018, after the SPD agreed to enter a fourth Merkel government as a junior coalition partner with the CDU/CSU, Scholz was appointed to the dual roles of Federal Minister of Finance and Vice Chancellor of Germany. He succeeded Peter Altmaier (who had served in an acting capacity) as finance minister and Sigmar Gabriel as vice chancellor.

As finance minister, Scholz maintained Germany's commitment to balanced budgets and fiscal discipline, adhering to the country's constitutionally enshrined debt brake (Schuldenbremse). However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 forced a dramatic departure from this approach. Scholz oversaw unprecedented fiscal stimulus measures, including large-scale borrowing and emergency spending programmes to support businesses and workers affected by pandemic-related restrictions. He famously invoked the concept of a fiscal "bazooka" to describe the scale of the government's financial response to the crisis.

During his time as finance minister, Scholz was also drawn into the Wirecard scandal, Germany's largest post-war financial fraud. The collapse of payment processing company Wirecard in 2020, following revelations that approximately €1.9 billion in reported assets did not exist, raised questions about regulatory oversight by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), which fell under the purview of the finance ministry. Scholz faced questions from a parliamentary inquiry committee about what the ministry knew and when regarding irregularities at Wirecard. He also faced scrutiny over the so-called cum-ex tax fraud scandal involving the Warburg Bank in Hamburg, with questions about meetings he held with bank representatives while serving as First Mayor of Hamburg.

Chancellor Candidacy and 2021 Federal Election

In August 2020, the SPD nominated Scholz as its candidate for chancellor in the 2021 federal election. At the time of his nomination, the SPD was polling significantly behind the CDU/CSU in opinion surveys, and many observers did not consider Scholz a likely winner.

However, the SPD's fortunes improved markedly during the campaign. Scholz positioned himself as a competent, steady administrator — a continuation of the Merkel era's pragmatic centrism. His campaign benefited from perceived weaknesses in the CDU/CSU's chancellor candidate, Armin Laschet, and a series of campaign missteps by Laschet. The SPD rose steadily in the polls during the summer and autumn of 2021, eventually overtaking the CDU/CSU.

In the federal election held on 26 September 2021, the SPD won 25.7% of the vote and secured a plurality of seats in the Bundestag, the party's first election victory since 2005. Scholz subsequently led negotiations to form a coalition government with Alliance 90/The Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), dubbed the "traffic light coalition" (Ampelkoalition) after the parties' traditional colours of red, green, and yellow.

Chancellorship (2021–2025)

On 8 December 2021, Olaf Scholz was elected Chancellor of Germany by the Bundestag and sworn in by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, succeeding Angela Merkel, who had served for 16 years. Scholz became the fourth Social Democrat to hold the office, after Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt, and Gerhard Schröder.

Response to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

The defining event of Scholz's chancellorship was the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022. The invasion prompted a fundamental reassessment of German foreign and security policy. Three days after the invasion, on 27 February 2022, Scholz delivered what became known as his Zeitenwende ("turning point") speech to the Bundestag. In this address, he announced a special fund of €100 billion for the German armed forces (Bundeswehr), committed Germany to meeting the NATO target of spending 2% of GDP on defence, and declared that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia would not be put into operation.

The Zeitenwende speech marked a significant departure from decades of German foreign policy, which had been characterised by restraint in military matters, reliance on diplomatic engagement with Russia, and deep energy dependence on Russian natural gas. Under Scholz's leadership, Germany began supplying weapons to Ukraine, including heavy military equipment — a step that broke with the country's long-standing practice of not sending weapons to conflict zones. Germany became one of the largest providers of military aid to Ukraine among European nations.

However, Scholz's handling of the Ukraine crisis also attracted criticism. Compared to leaders of other Western nations, particularly those in Eastern Europe and the United Kingdom, Scholz was perceived by some as hesitant and slow in approving weapons deliveries to Ukraine. His government was criticised for what opponents described as a cautious, incremental approach to military support, with decisions on major weapons systems — such as Leopard 2 tanks — coming only after extended deliberation and diplomatic pressure.

In September 2022, three of the four Nord Stream pipeline lines were destroyed in underwater explosions in the Baltic Sea, in what multiple governments described as sabotage. The incident further complicated Europe's energy security situation and underscored the geopolitical tensions surrounding the conflict.

Domestic Policy and Budget Crisis

Scholz's coalition government faced persistent internal tensions between its three constituent parties, which held differing positions on fiscal policy, energy, and social spending. The FDP, under Finance Minister Christian Lindner, advocated for fiscal discipline and adherence to the constitutional debt brake, while the Greens and parts of the SPD pushed for greater public investment in climate protection and social programmes.

In November 2023, the Federal Constitutional Court issued a ruling that invalidated the government's plan to repurpose €60 billion in unused COVID-era emergency borrowing for climate and industrial transformation funds. The court determined that this transfer violated the constitutional debt brake. The ruling forced significant budget cuts and restructuring, creating a major political crisis within the coalition. The resulting austerity measures contributed to public protests across Germany in late 2023 and into 2024.

Foreign Policy Beyond Ukraine

During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Scholz's government authorised substantial German military and medical aid to Israel and condemned the actions of Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups. This stance reflected Germany's long-standing policy of special responsibility toward Israel, rooted in the legacy of the Holocaust.

Collapse of the Coalition

On 6 November 2024, Scholz dismissed Christian Lindner from his position as Federal Minister of Finance, effectively ending the traffic light coalition. The dismissal followed months of irreconcilable disagreements over fiscal policy, particularly regarding the debt brake and the financing of military aid to Ukraine and domestic investment priorities. The FDP withdrew from the government, leaving Scholz leading a minority government composed of the SPD and the Greens.

On 16 December 2024, Scholz submitted to a vote of confidence in the Bundestag, which he lost, paving the way for the dissolution of the Bundestag and snap elections. The subsequent federal election resulted in a victory for the CDU/CSU under Friedrich Merz. On 6 May 2025, Scholz left office and was succeeded by Merz as chancellor.

Personal Life

Olaf Scholz is married to Britta Ernst, an SPD politician who served as Minister of Education, Youth and Sport in the state of Brandenburg. The couple does not have children. Scholz and Ernst reside in Potsdam.

Scholz left the church and does not identify as religiously observant, though he has expressed respect for the Christian cultural heritage of Germany. He is known for his restrained, technocratic public persona and has been described in media profiles as methodical and disciplined in his approach to governance. His communication style, characterised by measured and often understated rhetoric, earned him the nickname "Scholzomat" (a portmanteau of "Scholz" and "Automat") in German media, a reference to what journalists perceived as his mechanical, predictable manner of speaking.

After leaving office in May 2025, Scholz has remained active in public commentary. In interviews and media appearances, he has spoken about the threat of far-right populism in Germany, warning that the Alternative for Germany (AfD) would seek to abuse democratic institutions to consolidate power if it were to enter government. He has also discussed his experiences dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the geopolitical challenges Germany faced during his chancellorship.

Recognition

Scholz's Zeitenwende speech of 27 February 2022 is considered one of the most consequential political addresses in post-reunification German history. The speech signalled an end to what had been described as Germany's post-Cold War approach of restraint in military affairs and deep economic engagement with Russia. The term Zeitenwende itself entered widespread use in German and international political discourse as a shorthand for the fundamental shift in European security policy prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

As chancellor, Scholz represented Germany at numerous international forums, including the G7 and G20 summits, European Council meetings, and bilateral meetings with heads of state and government worldwide. His government's decision to significantly increase defence spending and provide military support to Ukraine marked a substantive change in Germany's role within NATO and European security architecture.

Scholz's tenure was also marked by controversy, including the ongoing investigations into the cum-ex tax scandal and the Wirecard affair, as well as criticism of his government's handling of inflation, energy prices, and immigration policy. Opinion polls during his final year in office reflected declining public approval for both Scholz personally and his coalition government.

Legacy

Olaf Scholz's chancellorship is likely to be assessed primarily in the context of the Zeitenwende and Germany's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Under his leadership, Germany broke with several decades-long foreign policy traditions: it began significant arms exports to a country at war, committed to a major increase in defence spending, and reduced its energy dependence on Russia. These changes, while implemented incrementally and amid criticism of their pace, represented a structural shift in German strategic policy that subsequent governments have continued to build upon.

Domestically, Scholz's tenure was shaped by the challenges of governing a three-party coalition with fundamentally different ideological orientations. The traffic light coalition introduced several policy reforms, including the legalisation of cannabis and changes to immigration law, but was hampered by persistent internal disagreements, particularly on fiscal matters. The November 2023 constitutional court ruling on the budget proved to be a turning point that accelerated the coalition's decline.

Scholz was the first SPD chancellor since Gerhard Schröder, who left office in 2005, and his election in 2021 marked a comeback for the SPD after years of declining electoral support. However, the SPD's performance in the snap election that followed the coalition's collapse reflected the difficulties his government had faced. His successor, Friedrich Merz, took office leading a different coalition configuration.