Karsten Wildberger, currently CEO of Ceconomy AG - the parent company of consumer electronic companies MediaMarkt and Saturn - was nominated on Monday as Germany’s first ever digital minister by the incoming coalition government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Wildberger’s appointment came as a surprise as he lacks political experience, though as chairman of MediaMarktSaturn Group he has led an enterprise spanning 1,000 consumer electronics stores in eleven countries.
He has previously worked for Boston Consulting Group and had leading roles at Australian telecom company Telstra and German energy company E-ON.
“I am honoured by the trust that Friedrich Merz has placed in me and by the opportunity to become the new Minister for Digital Affairs. Digitalization and technology have been defining themes throughout my career, and the new ministry will play a decisive role in the modernization of our country,” Wildberger said in a statement published by Ceconomy.
Wildberger asked the Supervisory Board to release him from his duties as of May 5, 2025, in order to assume his ministerial position.
Merz’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has previously called for a ministry for digitisation to be created distinct from the Ministry of Transport, which currently handles digital issues.
The party’s election manifesto — which was announced in mid-December — said that while “future technologies need freedom, the state needs clear responsibilities".
Bitkom, a German digital industry association, said Wildberger has a core task of making Germany a “digitally sovereign country – in the economy, state and society”.
“The establishment of the new department is a milestone for Germany and its design will be decisive in determining whether it becomes a real driver of digitization in Germany. Now more than ever, we need to become competitive, innovative and digitally capable of acting: to get the economy going, strengthen social cohesion, improve security in cyberspace and bring the state up to date,” the statement said.
Seven ministries will go to the CDU within the new coalition, seven to the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and three to the Bavarian sister party of CDU, CSU. The new government will take office on 5 May. Elections were held on 23 February.
