Lars Klingbeil to become Germany's vice chancellor and finance minister, Social Democratic Party says

The Social Democratic Party's Lars Klingbeil has been tapped to become Germany's next finance minister in the incoming centrist coalition government, replacing Joerg Kukies, the party announced.

Klingbeil has also been selected to assume the vice chancellor position.

"The committee today firstly tasked Lars Klingbeil with taking on the vice-chancellorship and to enter the new government as federal finance minister," Matthias Miersch, the SPD's general secretary, said during a press conference on Wednesday, according to a CNBC translation.

Klingbeil would also be in charge of setting up the SPD's remaining team to serve under the new coalition by early next week, Miersch said.

The 47-year-old SPD veteran Klingbeil does not have extensive experience in the fiscal domain, but has served as one of the party's two co-leaders since 2021 and was elected as chief of the SPD parliamentary faction in early 2025. He was previously the SPD's general secretary for several years.

During and after his time as a political science, sociology and history student at the University of Hannover, Klingbeil worked in constituency offices for members of parliament, including then-chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. He was also a deputy leader of the SPD's youth organization, and took on various regional political roles.

Klingbeil is widely regarded as part of the more conservative wing of the SPD, calling for an increased minimum wage and reforms to Germany's pension policy in recent interviews, as well as remaining open to the option of higher taxes. He has also been supportive of strengthening the military and of infrastructure modernization, while criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy.

Beyond politics, Klingbeil has been a reportedly avid guitar player in rock bands for years and sits on the advisory board of FC Bayern Munich.

This breaking news story is being updated.