Jörg Kukies

Jörg Kukies (; born 21 February 1968) is a German economist and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as Minister of Finance in the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz from November 2024 to May 2025.

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.

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.

In 2025, Kukies and Christian Noyer were appointed 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.

Return to the private sector In 2026, Kukies joined Morgan Stanley in London for several months before moving to Frankfurt as country chief for Germany and Austria, as well as the head of Morgan Stanley's continental European operations.

Other activities International organizations European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Ex-Officio Deputy Member of the Board of Governors (2018–2021)

European Union organizations European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Ex-Officio Deputy Member of the Board of Governors (2018–2021) European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), Member of the Board of Directors (2018–2021)

Corporate boards DHL Group, Member of the Supervisory Board (2020–2021) KfW, Deputy Member of the Board of Directors (2018–2021) KfW IPEX-Bank, Member of the Supervisory Board (2018–2021)