State Secretary for Digitization asks for dismissal

Berlin's State Secretary for Digitization and Administrative Modernization, Matthias Hundt, is resigning after just over two months in office. He asked the Governing Mayor today to relieve him of his duties, he announced. A Senate spokeswoman said that Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) would comply with the request. Hundt comes from Saxony.

"I took office to make a difference in Berlin. The current media campaign leaves me no chance to do so," said Hundt, who moved to Berlin from Dresden in mid-March. He spoke of an unbearable burden for himself and his family. "I very much regret that it has come to this and wish my successor every success in the tasks ahead."

Investigations in connection with company insolvency

It had previously become known through research by MDR and RBB that the Dresden public prosecutor's office was investigating the insolvency of one of Hundt's companies. According to the Dresden public prosecutor's office, insolvency proceedings were opened for the assets of Hundt's consulting company SDC Sachsen Digital Consulting GmbH on November 25, 2025.

According to a spokesperson, the authorities opened an investigation into various insolvency offenses in this context. "No further information can be provided at present in view of the ongoing investigations," he explained in response to a dpa inquiry. The presumption of innocence applies.

A lawyer for Hundt commented on the matter when asked by dpa: "My client has reached an agreement with all key parties affected by the insolvency. Unfortunately, we do not know why and against whom the public prosecutor's office is investigating. In any case, my client is not guilty of anything."

First started in Berlin in mid-March

Hundt, who was born in Dresden in 1969, was only appointed Chief Digital Officer and State Secretary for Digitalization and Administrative Modernization in the Berlin Senate Chancellery in mid-March. He succeeded Martina Klement, who moved to the Brandenburg state government as Minister of Economic Affairs.

"Matthias Hundt will drive forward the digitalization of the Berlin administration and focus on e-government, but also on IT security and the protection of critical infrastructure," Wegner explained on the occasion of his appointment. In addition to the largely completed administrative reform, which is regarded as a major achievement by both Wegner and Klement, the digitization of administrative services and the e-file are also part of Hundt's remit.

Personnel decision does not cast Wegner in a good light

It is very rare for a State Secretary to resign after just over two months in office. The personnel matter does not reflect well on Wegner's personnel policy, who selected and appointed Hundt.

Wegner is already under pressure in the election year. His crisis management after the major power outage following an arson attack in January attracted a lot of criticism - not least because he initially concealed a tennis match on the first day. Details of his procedures on that January 3 remain unclear to this day.

In April, Senator for Culture Sarah Wedl-Wilson (non-party) also resigned in the wake of an affair surrounding the unlawful allocation of funding to projects against anti-Semitism, according to the Court of Auditors. She had released the controversial funding decisions. Finance Senator Stefan Evers (CDU) is now also in charge of the culture department.