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Second State Secretary in Brandenburg: 164,000 euros for bureaucracy!
Brandenburg's Interior Ministry is planning the costs for a second state secretary to be 164,000 euros annually. Find out more about the background.
Second State Secretary in Brandenburg: 164,000 euros for bureaucracy!
A hotly debated topic in the state of Brandenburg is the appointment of a second state secretary in the Ministry of the Interior, which is putting a significant strain on the budget. The annual price for this position is around 164,000 euros, as Tagesspiegel reports. The information comes from a response from Minister Kathrin Schneider (SPD) to a small question from CDU state parliament member Rainer Genilke, which was published in the state parliament on Monday.
Interior Minister René Wilke, independent and working for the SPD, caused a stir in the spring when he planned to appoint a second state secretary. Previously, this position only existed in the Ministry of Finance, where, in addition to the State Secretary for Finance, there was also a State Secretary for European Affairs. In the last legislative period, the Ministry of Science temporarily pursued a similar approach. During this time, the former State Secretary Ulrike Gutheil was reactivated as founding representative for the Medical University of Lausitz.
Reasons for the Additional Secretary of State
Those responsible in the ministry emphasize that this decision is the simplest and most cost-effective solution. Historically, from 1990 to 2004, various ministries, such as the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment, had two state secretaries.
At the head of the new state secretary position is Ernst Bürger, who has had extensive legal training. He started his professional career as a lawyer and tutor in Münster. He later worked in the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland, particularly in the Department for Aliens Law, where he was involved in the 2001 Immigration Act. His role as office manager for State Secretaries Zypries and Dr. Wewer from 2001 to 2005 is remarkable.
His expertise extends over several years and positions, including heading the policy department for information society and e-government as well as the labor and collective bargaining law department. In June 2020, he finally took over the management of the department for digital administration and also works as the IT officer for the state of Brandenburg. His most important goal as State Secretary for Justice and Digitalization since December 11, 2024, is the digital transformation of the administration.
Current challenges of digitalization
The challenges that come with digitalization in administration should not be underestimated. Spiegel reports that federal spending on software has increased significantly in recent years. This development shows how high the priority is on the digital transformation of administrative institutions.
Investments in digitalization are crucial for the efficiency and proximity of public administration. The new State Secretary Ernst Bürger, with his many years of experience, seems to be a good choice to successfully handle the upcoming tasks.