On November 11, 2005, representatives of the SPD and the CDU/CSU met
in the Paul Löbe House in Berlin to sign a coalition agreement entitled
“Working together for Germany: With Courage and Compassion.” Franz
Müntefering (1st from left) was named Vice Chancellor and Federal
Minister of Labor and Social Policy, but he withdrew from the cabinet
for family reasons in November 2007. Elke Ferner (2nd from right) became
chairwoman of the Working Group of Social Democratic Women
[Arbeitsgemeinschaft sozialdemokratischer
Frauen]. Brandenburg minister-president Matthias Platzeck (3rd from
left) succeeded Müntefering as SPD chair in November 2005 but stepped
down for health reasons in April 2006. Angela Merkel, CDU chair and head
of the CDU Bundestag faction (3rd from left), was elected the first
female chancellor on November 22, 2005. During the negotiations on the
Grand Coalition, Bavarian minister-president Edmund Stoiber (2nd from
left) had announced his intention to move to Berlin and serve as “super
minister” for economics and technology, but he ultimately decided to
stay in Bavaria. As a result, the leader of the CSU regional group,
Michael Glos (right), was appointed Minister of Economic Affairs.
Signing of the Coalition Agreement (November 18, 2005)