Jörg Kukies


Jörg Kukies is a German economist and politician of the Social Democratic Party who served as Minister of Finance in the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz from November 2024 to May 2025.
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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. During his studies, he headed the Rhineland-Palatinate branch of the Young Socialists ; in this position, he was succeeded by Andrea Nahles.

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.

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.
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.
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.

Other activities

International organizations

European Union organizations

Corporate boards