Structure and organisation

type: Article , Topic: Ministry

The head of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community is the minister; next in line are the parliamentary state secretaries and the state secretaries with civil servant status. The ministry is organised according to directorates-general and divisions: each directorate-general has several divisions working on different aspects of the same general area.

Directorate-General PK – Executive Staff; Planning and Communication

Directorate-General PK is responsible for planning and communication in all areas of policy in the ministry’s remit. It is responsible for cabinet and parliamentary affairs, press relations and the ministry’s online and social media presence. Directorate-General PK is also responsible for the ministry’s position regarding projects of other ministries; issues of domestic protocol; public relations; and the ministry’s events management and visitors’ service. Questions from the public on domestic policy issues are answered by the public information service.

Directorate-General PK reports directly to Federal Minister Nancy Faeser.

Directorate-General Z – Central Tasks

The Directorate-General for Central Tasks has typical cross-cutting tasks including budgetary matters, human resources, legal services and organisation of the ministry and its remit. The divisions for information and communications technology, internal services, and security and building services maintain the infrastructure necessary for the operation of the ministry.

Directorate-General ÖS – Public Security

The Directorate-General for Public Security addresses legal and general policy issues, counter-terrorism, extremism and organised crime. Its tasks include supervising the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV); developing strategies to combat crime and to prevent and combat extremism and terrorism; and drafting legislation.

Directorate-General B – Federal Police Issues

The Directorate-General for Federal Police Issues is responsible for managing and coordinating the Federal Police. It deals with general operational, administrative, budgetary and human resources issues concerning the 41,000 Federal Police staff. At the same time, it advises the minister on Federal Police issues. Directorate-General B is thus positioned at the intersection between policy and administrative matters.

Directorate-General M – Migration; Refugees; Return Policy

Directorate-General M sets the Federal Government’s migration policy. It charts the course of law on residence, freedom of movement and asylum at national and European level and deals with issues related to the return of foreigners required to leave the country.

Directorate-General KM – Crisis Management and Civil Protection

The Directorate-General for Crisis Management and Civil Protection is responsible for coping with national emergencies (e.g. floods). It supervises the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) and the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) in the fields of civil defence and civil protection. It is also responsible for law on explosives and weapons and the National Firearms Register. The ministry’s Communications, Command and Control Centre with its 24/7 information service is also part of Directorate-General KM.

Directorate-General V – Public Law; Constitutional Law; Administrative Law

Tasks of Directorate-General V include drafting or co-drafting legislation in the fields of constitutional, public and administrative law. Directorate-General V also reviews all draft legislation submitted by the Federal Government or by individual federal ministries for compliance with the Basic Law and conformity with administrative rules and procedures.

Directorate-General D – Public Service

The Directorate-General for the Public Service is instrumental in creating the legal basis for the terms of service and employment for public service staff. Its areas of work include the legal status, remuneration and pensions of civil servants, government aid covering their medical treatment and care, and the law on collective bargaining for public employees who are not civil servants.

Directorate E – International and EU Issues

Directorate E is responsible for developing, shaping and coordinating the ministry’s European policy. To carry out this task, it must work closely with the other directorates-general and other federal ministries to further German interests in the EU and in bilateral relations.

Directorate-General DG – Digital Society; Information Technology (including the Federal Academy of Public Administration – BAköV)

Directorate-General DG deals with the sociopolitical questions of the digital revolution. It drives the digital transformation and modernisation of public administration so that it can meet current requirements for performance, responsiveness, efficiency and transparency. The Federal Academy of Public Administration (BAköV) is also part of Directorate-General DG.

The Federal Academy of Public Administration offers training courses tailored to staff needs so that federal employees can maintain and expand their professional knowledge and skills. It promotes the sharing of ideas and experience among the various branches of the federal administration and accompanies policy initiatives with suitable training measures.

Directorate-General DV – Digital Administration; Management of the Online Access Act

This new directorate-general was founded on 1 June 2020. Directorate-General DV covers all tasks related to the Online Access Act (OZG) and also addresses issues of administrative organisation and modernisation.

Directorate-General CI – Cyber and Information Security

The Directorate-General for Cyber and Information Security develops policies, monitors technological developments and proposes legislation to ensure cyber and information security for citizens, businesses and government. It develops measures to improve public authorities’ ability to act in the digital space, also drawing on input from the executive agencies under its supervision: the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the Federal Agency for Public Safety Digital Radio (BDBOS), the Central Office for Information Technology in the Security Sector (ZITiS), and parts of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). This directorate-general also contributes to more secure government systems in two key areas: network infrastructures and cyber security of Federal Government ICT systems.

Directorate-General H – Community, Cohesion and Democracy

On the basis of a modern, forward-looking understanding of the German term Heimat (community), Directorate-General H seeks to strengthen social cohesion and create equivalent living conditions in urban and rural areas across Germany. It addresses all issues related to community-building, from integration to civic engagement; it coordinates the Commission on Equivalent Living Conditions, which deals with topics such as the provision of vital services, mobility and demographic change; and it is responsible for regional planning, regional policy and spatial planning.

Directorate-General SP – Sport

Directorate-General SP is responsible for sports policy, in particular for promoting high-performance sport. It addresses general and legal issues of national sports policy; EU and international sports issues; the promotion of high-performance sport, including for persons with disabilities; the fight against doping; and support for the construction of facilities for high-performance sport.

Elected representation

Staff Council

The Staff Council represents the interests of the staff of the ministry and the Federal Academy of Public Administration (BAköV). The Staff Council members are elected by the staff for four-year terms. The Staff Council’s duties and powers are laid down in the Federal Personnel Representation Act (Bundespersonalvertretungsgesetz, BPersVG).

Representative for Disabled Staff Members

This elected body represents the interests of disabled staff members and promotes their professional integration. The representative is not a member of the Staff Council but an independent institution.

Gender Equality Officer

The Gender Equality Officer advises the ministry on reaching the ministry’s equality goals and monitors its progress in accordance with the Federal Act on Gender Equality (Bundesgleichstellungsgesetz, BGleiG). She is involved in all measures taken by the administration which affect the equal treatment of women and men, in particular concerning the balance between work and family life. She advises and supports women in their career advancement.

In accordance with Section 6 of the Act on the Appointment and Secondment of Women and Men to Bodies within the Remit of the Federation (Bundesgremienbesetzungsgesetz, BGremBG), an overview of supervisory and other essential bodies of the ministry and of the number of members to be appointed to these bodies by federal authorities is published on this website (in German).

Representation for Young Staff Members and Trainees

This body represents the interests of trainees and young staff members under the age of 25. It monitors whether the obligations of the public employer and the trainees and young staff members are fulfilled and their rights upheld.