Jörg Kukies is former German Federal Minister of Finance, served as State Secretary in the Federal Chancellery for many years and was formerly Head of Goldman Sachs Germany. He combines international financial expertise with political influence – and makes complex issues understandable to a broad audience. Kukies (*1968) began his... Read more
Jörg Kukies is former German Federal Minister of Finance, served as State Secretary in the Federal Chancellery for many years and was formerly Head of Goldman Sachs Germany. He combines international financial expertise with political influence – and makes complex issues understandable to a broad audience.
Kukies (*1968) began his academic career by studying economics in Mainz and Paris, graduating with a Maîtrise degree in 1994. From 1995to 1997, he studied public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School (Master of Public Administration) on a McCloy scholarship. He then went on to earn his doctorate in finance at the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. in 2001.
Dr Jörg Kukies joined Goldman Sachs in 2000. He quickly assumed leadership roles in London and Frankfurt, eventually becoming head of German operations and co-chair of Goldman Sachs Germany and Austria.
A long-standing member of the SPD, Kukies was appointed one of three civil servant state secretaries in the Federal Ministry of Finance by then-Federal Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz in 2018. When Olaf Scholz took office as Federal Chancellor in 2021, Kukies became a civil servant state secretary in the Federal Chancellery. There, he was head of the Department of Economic, Financial and Climate Policy and the Department of European Policy. He also served as the Federal Chancellor’s personal representative at the G7 and G20 summits. After the break-up of the Ampel coalition, Kukies succeeded Christian Lindner (FDP) as Federal Minister of Finance in the Scholz cabinet on 7November 2024. He left office with the formation of the Merz cabinet on 6 May 2025.
What makes Jörg Kukies stand out is his combination of in-depth experience in the international financial sector and many years of responsibility in political governance. He understands the perspectives of both worlds – and brings this knowledge to bear in the dialogue on economic, financial and social issues.