Hesse Economic Minister Kaweh Mansoori Reshuffles Ministry Leadership After Aide’s Dismissal

Kaweh Mansoori, the Economics Minister of Hesse and a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has appointed Johannes Loheide as the new State Secretary for the ministry. The appointment, reported on May 11, 2026, follows the mid-April 2026 dismissal of Mansoori’s long-time confidant, Umut Sönmez.

Johannes Loheide is also a member of the SPD and was previously serving as a department head within the ministry. In his former capacity, Loheide was responsible for the department overseeing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and technological innovation.

Prior to his role as department head, Loheide spent a significant period working at the Hesse Economic and Infrastructure Bank, known as WiBank. As the state’s development bank, WiBank provides financial support to municipalities, freelancers and companies through the provision of guarantees and loans.

Loheide is a social scientist who pursued his studies in Gießen, the same city where Minister Mansoori also studied.

The appointment comes after a period of instability at the top of the ministry. Umut Sönmez was removed from his position as State Secretary in mid-April 2026. According to reporting from hr-Informationen, Sönmez’s departure followed an internal investigation within the ministry, which later evolved into an investigation by the public prosecutor’s office after a criminal complaint was filed.

Specific details regarding the background of the investigation into Sönmez have not been disclosed, as a decision by the Cologne Regional Court currently prevents further public commentary on the matter.

This is the second time Minister Mansoori has had to replace a high-ranking political official since taking office. In the summer of 2024, approximately six months after the formation of the current coalition government in Hesse, Mansoori dismissed Lamia Messari-Becker from her role as State Secretary.

Messari-Becker, a 53-year-old non-partisan professor of construction, has been engaged in a legal dispute with the ministry since her dismissal in the summer of 2024. That conflict has further led to the establishment of an investigation committee within the state parliament.

The transition to Loheide as State Secretary marks a shift toward internal promotion, utilizing an official already familiar with the ministry’s operations and the state’s financial infrastructure through his tenure at WiBank.