The Federal Ministry for Atomic Issues was established in 1955, concentrating on research in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.2 The ministry was renamed in 1962 to Federal Ministry of Scientific Research, with a broader scope; it was renamed again, to Federal Ministry of Education and Science, in 1969.3
A separate ministry, the Federal Ministry of Research and Technology, was established in 1972. The two Ministries merged in 1994 to form the Federal Ministry for Education, Science, Research and Technology; this title was shortened to Federal Ministry for Education and Research in 1998.
The BMBF currently has eight directorates-general (as at November 2020). These are in addition to the central directorate-general that is responsible for administrative tasks:4
Each directorate-general consists of one or two subdivisions and 10 to 15 units. The greater part of the subdivisions is located in Bonn, the smaller part in Berlin. The BMBF has around 1000 employees. The head of the BMBF is formed by two parliamentary secretaries and two permanent state secretaries in addition to the minister.
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"Research excellence is a must in a country whose prosperity is built on the innovative strength of its industry. The aim of the High-Tech Strategy is to make Germany a leader in providing scientific and technical solutions to the challenges in the fields of climate/energy, health/nutrition, mobility, security, and communication." Ministry: Objectives and Tasks Archived 2018-09-04 at the Wayback Machine https://www.bmbf.de/en/objectives-and-tasks-1409.html ↩
"Atomminister" (in German). Retrieved 1 April 2022. https://www.fjs.de/der-politiker/aemter-funktionen/atomminister/ ↩
"Die Dienstsitze in Bonn und Berlin" (in German). Retrieved 1 April 2022. https://www.bmbf.de/bmbf/de/ueber-uns/das-bundesministerium-in-bonn-und-berlin/das-bundesministerium-in-bonn-und-berlin_node.html ↩
"Organizational Chart of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research". BMBF. p. 1. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2020-11-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20201125172253/https://www.bmbf.de/en/political-staff-and-organization-1403.html ↩