Federal agency (Germany) in the context of Federal Agency for Nature Conservation

The Federal Health Agency (German: Bundesgesundheitsamt) was a federal government agency and the central research institution for public health in Germany. It was founded in 1876, named the Imperial Health Agency (German: Kaiserliches Gesundheitsamt). It was succeeded by the Reichsgesundheitsamt in 1918 and by the Bundesgesundheitsamt in 1952 (both meaning Federal Health Agency). The agency was dissolved in 1994, and its responsibilities transferred to three institutions, the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, the Robert Koch Institute and the Federal Institute for Health Consumer Protection and Veterinary Medicine.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is a German federal government agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention. It is located in Berlin and Wernigerode. As an upper federal agency, it is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Health. It was founded in 1891 and is named for its founding director, the founder of modern bacteriology and Nobel laureate Robert Koch.

The Federal Chancellery (German: Bundeskanzleramt, pronounced [bʊndəsˈkant͡slɐˌʔamt] ) is a German federal agency serving the executive office of the chancellor of Germany, the head of the federal government, currently Friedrich Merz. The Chancellery's primary function is to assist the chancellor in coordinating the activities of the federal government. The head of the Chancellery (Chef des Bundeskanzleramtes) holds the rank of either a Secretary of State (Staatssekretär) or a Federal Minister (Bundesminister), currently held by Thorsten Frei. The headquarters of the German Chancellery is at the Federal Chancellery building in Berlin, which is the largest government headquarters in the world.

The Federal Foreign Office (German: Auswärtiges Amt, pronounced [ˈaʊsˌvɛʁtɪɡəs ˈʔamt] ; abbreviated AA) is the foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with the European Union. It is a cabinet-level ministry. Since May 2025, Johann Wadephul has served as Foreign Minister, succeeding Annalena Baerbock. The primary seat of the ministry is at the Werderscher Markt (de) square in the Mitte district, the historic centre of Berlin.

The term Auswärtiges Amt was the name of the Foreign Office established in 1870 by the North German Confederation, which then became the German Empire's Foreign Office in 1871. It is still the name of the German foreign ministry today. From 1871 to 1919, the Foreign Office was led by a Foreign Secretary, and since 1919, it has been led by the Foreign Minister of Germany.

The Federal Ministry of Defence (German: Bundesministerium der Verteidigung, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsminɪsˌteːʁiʊm deːɐ̯ fɐˈtaɪdɪɡʊŋ] ; abbreviated BMVg) is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The ministry is headquartered at the Hardthöhe barracks itself located at the Hardthöhe district in Bonn and has a second office in the Bendlerblock building in Berlin, which is occasionally used as a metonym to denote the entire Ministry.

According to Article 65a of the German Constitution (Grundgesetz), the Federal Minister of Defence is Commander-in-chief of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, with around 260,953 active soldiers and civilians. Article 115b decrees that in the state of defence, declared by the Bundestag with consent of the Bundesrat, the command in chief passes to the Chancellor. The ministry currently has approximately 2,000 employees.