Ex-chancellor Scholz tipped to lead German body for Global South ties

Former German chancellor Olaf Scholz is set to head a government committee aimed at improving and intensifying relations with countries in the Global South, the Tagesspiegel daily reported on Saturday.

The spokeswoman for the Development Ministry did not confirm the report when asked by dpa, but said internal government consultations were ongoing to select a chair to lead the North-South Committee, which is expected to be appointed in the second quarter of 2026.

The creation of the body was set out in the coalition deal between Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD), the party of former leader Scholz.

The committee is to draw up recommendations for the government on how to diversify and intensify bilateral relations with countries in the Global South and developing them into a global network, according to the spokeswoman.

She stressed the importance of further developing relations with those countries in light of geopolitical challenges.

In particular, the commission is to address development policy issues which are closely linked to security and foreign policy interests and which should be consistent with the objective of sustainable development.

Scholz, a veteran SPD politician, served as Germany's chancellor from 2021 until May 2025, a tenure that ended prematurely after his three-party centre-left alliance collapsed spectacularly amid infighting over how to fix the German economy.

Scholz continues to serve as a lawmaker in the Bundestag, representing a constituency south-west of Berlin.