German lawyer and politician who has been serving as Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy since March 2018. Previously he was Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety from May 2012 to December 2013 and Head of the German Chancellery and as Federal Minister for Special Affairs from December 2013 to March 2018. Altmaier is widely seen as one of Chancellor Angela Merkel's most trusted advisors and advocates for her more centrist wing of the CDU. He is respected for his "compromising style" and has been described as "The most powerful man in Berlin".