Federal Minister, 2013–2021
In the negotiations to form a government following the 2013 federal elections, Altmaier led the CDU/CSU delegation in the energy working group; his co-chair from the SPD was Hannelore Kraft, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia. In Angela Merkel's third Cabinet he serves as the Head of the Federal Chancellery and a Federal Minister for Special Affairs. In this capacity, he is also in charge of co-ordinating Germany's intelligence services.
In July 2015, Altmaier invited the United States Ambassador to Germany, John B. Emerson, to explain documents publicized by WikiLeaks that showed what appeared to be summaries of recorded conversations involving Chancellor Merkel or senior officials. Shortly after, WikiLeaks released additional documents including Altmaier's telephone number, adding to a growing pile of allegations that United States intelligence agencies conducted extensive surveillance of the German government.
In October 2015, Merkel put Altmaier in charge of coordinating Germany's response to the refugee crisis. From early 2017, he was a member of the German government's cabinet committee on Brexit at which ministers discussed organizational and structural issues related to the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union.
Following the 2017 elections, Altmaier became acting and temporary finance minister when Wolfgang Schäuble left office as Schäuble had agreed to become President of the Bundestag.
According to Der Spiegel, Altmaier as economics minister withheld an expert report on the coal phase-out, which served as the basis for legislation on the coal phase-out. Had the report been shared in good time, several resettlements in the Rhenish lignite mining area could have been prevented.
In January 2021 it was reported that Altmaier favoured "seizing control", possibly using Article 122 of the TFEU, "of the (COVID-19 vaccine) production process and ordering companies to manufacture vaccines at multiple sites."
