Prime Minister of Lower Saxony

Prime Minister of Lower Saxony Ministerpräsident des Landes Niedersachsen
Coat of arms of Lower Saxony
Incumbent Stephan Weil since 19 February 2013
Residence	Hanover
Appointer	Legislative Assembly of Lower Saxony
Term length	Pending resignation or the election of a successor
Inaugural holder	Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf
Formation	1 November 1946
Salary	regulated by legislation (€13521, as of 2011)
Website	http://www.state-chancellery.niedersachsen.de

The Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (German: Ministerpräsident des Landes Niedersachsen), also referred to as Premier or Minister President, is the head of government of the German state of Lower Saxony. The position was created in 1946, when the states of Brunswick, Oldenburg, Schaumburg-Lippe and the State of Hanover were merged to form the state of Lower Saxony. The current Prime Minister is Stephan Weil, heading a coalition government between the Social Democrats and the Greens. Weil succeeded David McAllister following the 2013 state election.

The office of the Prime Minister is known as the State Chancellery (German: Staatskanzlei), and is located in the capital of Hanover, along with the rest of the cabinet departments.

The state of Lower Saxony sees itself in the tradition notably of the Kingdom of Hanover, having adopted many of its symbols. For the predecessor office in the Kingdom of Hanover, see Privy Council of Hanover. The head of the Privy Council held the title Prime Minister.

The German title Ministerpräsident may be translated literally as Minister-President, although the state government uses the title Prime Minister in English. Further, some third parties refer to the position in this fashion.