Jörg Kukies

Jörg Kukies
Kukies in 2025
Minister of Finance
In office
7 November 2024 – 6 May 2025
ChancellorOlaf Scholz
Preceded byChristian Lindner
Succeeded byLars Klingbeil
Secretary of State of the Chancellery
In office
8 December 2021 – 7 November 2024
ChancellorOlaf Scholz
Secretary of State of Finance
In office
14 March 2018 – 8 December 2021
ChancellorAngela Merkel
MinisterOlaf Scholz
Personal details
BornJörg Kukies
(1968-02-21) 21 February 1968
Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany
(current-day Germany)
PartySocial Democratic Party
(1986–present)
EducationParis 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University (BA)
Harvard Kennedy School (MPA)
University of Chicago Booth School of Business (PhD)

Jörg Kukies (German pronunciation: [jœʁk ˈkuːki̯ɛs]; born 21 February 1968) is a German economist and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as Minister of Finance in the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz from November 2024 to May 2025.[1]

Early life and education

Kukies began his studies in Economics at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and transferred to the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, where he received his Maîtrise diploma. He then completed postgraduate studies in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School from 1995 to 1997 with a Master of Public Administration degree as a McCloy Scholar. He went on to earn a doctorate from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Kukies has been a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany since the age of 18.[2] During his studies, he headed the Rhineland-Palatinate branch of the Young Socialists (Jusos); in this position, he was succeeded by Andrea Nahles.[3]

Career in the private sector

Kukies spent 17 years working at investment bank Goldman Sachs, where he rose to become co-chief of Germany Austria and head of the securities division in the region.[4]

Career in government

From 2018 to 2021, Kukies served as State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance under minister Olaf Scholz, in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel.[4]

From 2021 to 2024, Kukies was a State Secretary in the German Chancellery; in this capacity, he also served as Chancellor Scholz's sherpa for G7 and G20 summits.

Kukies briefly served as Minister of Finance following the 2024 German government crisis, replacing Christian Lindner.[2]

In 2025, Kukies and Christian Noyer were appoined by France's Minister of the Economy, Finance and Recovery Éric Lombard and Germany's Minister of Finance Lars Klingbeil to co-chair a French-German Taskforce on Financing Innovative Ventures in Europe.[5][6]

Other activities

International organizations

European Union organizations

Corporate boards

  • DHL Group, Member of the Supervisory Board (2020–2021)[7]
  • KfW, Deputy Member of the Board of Directors (2018–2021)
  • KfW IPEX-Bank, Member of the Supervisory Board (2018–2021)

References

  1. ^ "Ministerium > Der Minister". www.bundesfinanzministerium.de (in German). 2024-11-07.
  2. ^ a b "Allemagne: l'opposition réclame un vote de confiance autour du chancelier Scholz dès la semaine prochaine" [Germany: The opposition demands a vote of confidence in Chancellor Scholz from the coming week]. RFI (in French). 7 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  3. ^ Guy Chazan (19 March 2018), Goldman chief Jörg Kukies named as German deputy finance minister Financial Times.
  4. ^ a b Guy Chazan (19 March 2018), Goldman chief Jörg Kukies named as German deputy finance minister Financial Times.
  5. ^ Lars Klingbeil and Éric Lombard (15 July 2025), Gastkommentar: Aus jedem ausgegebenen Euro mehr rausholen Handelsblatt.
  6. ^ Anne-Sylvaine Chassany and Paola Tamma (10 October 2025), Germany open to handing more power to EU markets watchdog Financial Times.
  7. ^ Annual General Meeting approves stable dividend of EUR 1.15 DHL Group, press release of 27 August 2020.