Bavarian Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich announces resignation ahead of phased political exit

Phased exit from Bavarian politics

Bavarian Minister of Justice Georg Eisenreich announced on 17 September 2026 that he will step down from his cabinet position on 30 September 2026. The 55-year-old Christian Social Union (CSU) politician informed Minister-President Markus Söder of his decision during a private meeting before holding a press conference in Munich. Eisenreich plans a three-stage withdrawal from public office: leaving the state government at the end of September, relinquishing the leadership of the CSU Munich district association in summer 2027, and exiting the Bavarian Landtag when the current legislative period finishes in autumn 2028.

Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder expressed personal regret over the departure while confirming that the transition would proceed quickly.

“Georg Eisenreich has made a deliberately private decision that I deeply regret.”

Motives and future career plans

Eisenreich explained that he had never intended to spend his entire working life in professional politics. Entering the Bavarian Landtag in 2003 at the age of 32, he completed 13 years in state government posts, including appointments as State Secretary and Minister for Digital Affairs before taking the justice portfolio.

“I decided to step down at a point when I am young enough for new professional tasks.”

Following his departure from cabinet, Eisenreich plans to resume legal practice as an attorney, concentrating on digitalization, legal technology, artificial intelligence, and startup advisory work. He also intends to co-edit an academic commentary on the Bavarian constitution and pursue writing cabaret texts without ministerial constraints, referencing his June charity performance alongside cabaret artists Django Asül and Luise Kinseher. He noted that leaving executive office would free him from constant personal security protection and provide more time for his family.

Eight-year tenure at the justice ministry

Eisenreich took charge of the Bavarian Ministry of Justice in November 2018, making him the longest-serving state justice minister in Germany. During his tenure, his ministry established Bavaria's first designated hate-speech commissioner in 2020 to prosecute online abuse. Eisenreich also managed the political fallout from prisoner mistreatment allegations at the Augsburg-Gablingen correctional facility, later guiding a preventative penal reform bill through the Landtag, which passed with unanimous support before the summer recess.

Succession process in the CSU cabinet

Söder announced that he will present Eisenreich's successor during the CSU parliamentary group retreat at Kloster Banz next week. The swearing-in ceremony for the new justice minister is scheduled to take place in the Landtag on 30 September 2026.

The appointment requires Söder to navigate regional representation within the CSU coalition. Munich currently holds strong representation through Eisenreich and Science Minister Markus Blume, with former prosecutor Alexander Dietrich and lawmaker Josef Schmid among theoretical local candidates. Lawmakers from Upper Franconia, who currently hold only one state secretary post through Martin Schöffel, have positioned parliamentary business manager Michael Hofmann as a candidate, while former justice minister Winfried Bausback of Lower Franconia and Landtag vice president Tobias Reiß of the Upper Palatinate remain potential options.