Wolfgang Clement

Wolfgang Clement Bundesminister a. D. Ministerpräsident a. D. MdL a. D.
Clement in 2004
Minister for Economics and Labour
In office 22 October 2002 – 22 November 2005
Chancellor	Gerhard Schröder
Preceded by	Werner Müller (Economic Affairs and Energy) Walter Riester (Labour and Social Affairs)
Succeeded by	Michael Glos (Economics and Technology) Franz Müntefering (Labour and Social Affairs)
Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia
In office 27 May 1998 – 22 October 2002
Deputy	Michael Vesper
Preceded by	Johannes Rau
Succeeded by	Peer Steinbrück
Minister of Economy and medium-sized Businesses, Technology and Transportation of North Rhine-Westphalia
In office 17 July 1995 – 9 June 1998
Minister-President	Johannes Rau
Preceded by	Günther Einert (Economy, medium-sized Businesses and Technology)
Succeeded by	Bodo Hombach
Minister for Special Affairs and Chief of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia
In office 12 June 1990 – 17 July 1995
Minister-President	Johannes Rau
Preceded by	Klaus Dieter Leister
Succeeded by	Rüdiger Frohn
Parliamentary constituencies Member of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia In office 1 June 1995 – 7 November 2002 Preceded by Georg Aigner Succeeded by Karsten Rudolph Constituency Bochum II In office 1 October 1993 – 1 June 1995 Preceded by Wilhelm Vollmann Succeeded by multi-member district Constituency Social Democratic Party List
Personal details
Born	(1940-07-07)7 July 1940 Bochum, Gau Westphalia-South, German Reich (now Germany)
Died	27 September 2020(2020-09-27) (aged 80) Bonn, Germany
Cause of death	Lung cancer
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Social Democratic Party (1970–2008)
Alma mater	University of Marburg

Wolfgang Clement (7 July 1940 – 27 September 2020) was a German politician and a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). He was the 7th Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 27 May 1998 to 22 October 2002 and Federal Minister of Economics and Labour from 2002 to 2005. He was an Honorary Member of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.

He was known for being one of the architects of the Agenda 2010 labor market reforms under chancellor Gerhard Schröder in the early 2000s. He was also credited with the merger of the federal ministry of economics and labor and the Hartz I through IV labor market reforms. The labor and welfare reforms have been credited with reducing unemployment and contributing to Germany's growth years. However, the reforms have been a divisive topic and created a lasting rift between the leftists and the centrists at the SPD.