Hubertus Heil (born 3 November 1972) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who has been serving as Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in the fourth cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and the first cabinet of Chancellor Olaf Scholz since 14 March 2018. In 2005, Heil became general secretary of the SPD. In September 2009, after immense losses for the SPD during the German federal election, Heil announced his resignation from this position for November. Andrea Nahles succeeded him as general secretary in November 2009. After Katarina Barley's appointment as Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, he briefly returned to the office from 2 June to 8 December 2017. Early life and career Heil was born in Hildesheim in 1972 as son of a teacher. After graduation in 1992 at the Gymnasium am Silberkamp in Peine, Heil has been drafted for the Alternative civilian service (in German: Zivildienst) and in 1995 he started with his studies in political science and sociology at the University of Potsdam, which he graduated in 2006 at the University of Hagen. From 1995 to 1997, Heil was the assistant of Heidrun Förster, a member of the Brandenburg State Parliament and in 1998 assistant of Eva Folta, a member of the Bundestag. Political career Heil joined the SPD in 1988. At first, he was active at the Jusos and he was their chairman in the district of Braunschweig from 1991 to 1995. From 1995 to 1997 Heil was executive director of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Arbeitnehmerfragen, a leftist caucus in the SPD, representing the workers' wing of the party, although he was reputed to belong to the undogmatical reform socialist wing during his Juso time. Today Heil serves as chairman of the SPD in Braunschweig. Member of the German Bundestag, 1998–present Heil has been a member of the Bundestag since the 1998 German elections, representing the electoral district of Gifhorn-Peine. Between 1998 and 2005, when his party was leading the federal government with Gerhard Schröder, he was a member of the Committee on Economic Affairs. In this capacity, he served as the SPD parliamentary group's spokesperson for telecommunications and postal services from 2003. In addition to his committee assignments, he was a member of the executive board of the SPD parliamentary group under the leadership of chairman Franz Müntefering from 2002 to 2004. In November 2005