Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany)

Federal Ministry of the Interior
Bundesministerium des Innern (BMI)
Agency overview
Formed	1 January 1879 as the Reichsamt des Inneren
Jurisdiction	Government of Germany
Headquarters	Alt-Moabit 101D 10559 Berlin 52°31′26″N 13°20′50″E / 52.52389°N 13.34722°E / 52.52389; 13.34722Coordinates: 52°31′26″N 13°20′50″E / 52.52389°N 13.34722°E / 52.52389; 13.34722
Employees	1,500
Minister responsible	Hans-Peter Friedrich, Federal Minister of the Interior
Agency executive	Ole Schröder, Parliamentary State Secretary
Website
http://www.bmi.bund.de

BMI in Berlin

BMI in Bonn

The Federal Ministry of the Interior (German: Bundesministerium des Innern), abbreviated BMI, is cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its main office is in Berlin, with a secondary seat in Bonn. The current minister of the interior is Dr. Hans-Peter Friedrich.

Responsibilities

The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for internal security and the protection of the constitutional order, for civil protection against disasters and terrorism, for displaced persons, administrative questions, and sports. It is host to the Standing Committee of Interior Ministers and also drafts all passport, identity card, firearms, and explosives legislation. The ministry also houses the Joint Anti-Terrorism Center formed in 2004 which is an information-sharing and analytical forum for all German police and intelligence agencies involved in the fight against terrorism.

Organization

State Secretaries

The minister is supported by two parliamentary state secretaries and two state secretaries who manage the ministry's various departments. One of the latter manages "P", "B", "IS" and "M" departments plus the crisis management cell and the working group on counter-intelligence development. The other supervises "Z", "G", "D", "O", "SP" and "V" departments plus the information technology director, data protection and freedom of information office and the doping task force.

Departments

• "P" Department (Abteilung P) is the ministry’s police department and has two branches: law enforcement and counter-terrorism. It analyses crime control issues and develops concepts and drafts laws to improve law enforcement and crime prevention efforts. It also manages the Federal Criminal Police Office, coordinates police support group deployments and represents federal interests in the sport and security arena. Due to Germany's federal structure, it can only promote internal security and public safety by cooperating with the state police forces and with agencies within the European Union (EU) and beyond.

• "IS" Department (Abteilung IS) is the internal security department that protects the German state against political extremism. It exercises supervisory control over the Federal Office for Constitution Protection, studies extremist groups and can ban them as a final resort. In addition, the department is responsible for the security of classified information and prevention of sabotage and espionage. It also manages civil defense and emergency management efforts at the national level and exercises supervisory control over the Civil Protection Center and Federal Agency for Technical Relief.

• "B" Department (Abteilung B) supervises and manages German Federal Police operations.

• "M" Department (Abteilung M) is responsible for immigration, integration, refugees and European harmonisation.

• "Z" Department (Abteilung Z) is the central office.

• "G" Department (Abteilung G) is responsible for policy, Europe and international developments

• "D" Department (Abteilung D) is responsible for the civil service.

• "O" Department (Abteilung O) is responsible for administrative modernisation and organisation.

• "SP" Department (Abteilung SP) is responsible for sport.

• "V" Department (Abteilung V) is responsible for constitutional, state, administrative and European law.

Special agencies

List of Federal Ministers of the Interior (since 1949)

Political Party:       CDU       CSU       FDP       SPD

External links

• Official site

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Interior Ministers of Germany Imperial Interior Secretaries (1871–1918) Karl Hofmann Karl Heinrich von Boetticher Arthur von Posadowsky-Wehner Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg Clemens von Delbrück Karl Helfferich Max Wallraf Karl Trimborn Weimar Republic (1918–1933) Friedrich Ebert Hugo Preuß Eduard David Erich Koch-Weser Georg Gradnauer Adolf Köster Rudolf Oeser Wilhelm Sollmann Karl Jarres Martin Schiele Otto Geßler Wilhelm Külz Walter von Keudell Carl Severing Joseph Wirth Wilhelm Groener Wilhelm von Gayl Franz Bracht Nazi Germany (1933–1945) Wilhelm Frick Heinrich Himmler Paul Giesler Wilhelm Stuckart German Democratic Republic (1949–1990) Karl Steinhoff Willi Stoph Karl Maron Friedrich Dickel Lothar Ahrendt Peter-Michael Diestel Federal Republic of Germany (1949–) Gustav Heinemann Robert Lehr Gerhard Schröder Hermann Höcherl Paul Lücke Ernst Benda Hans-Dietrich Genscher Werner Maihofer Gerhart Baum Jürgen Schmude Friedrich Zimmermann Wolfgang Schäuble Rudolf Seiters Manfred Kanther Otto Schily Wolfgang Schäuble Thomas de Maizière Hans-Peter Friedrich