It was formed after the 2017 Lower Saxony state election by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Excluding the Minister-President, the cabinet comprised ten ministers.

The election took place on 15 October 2017, and resulted in a modest improvement for the SPD and losses for the Greens.

Overall, the incumbent coalition lost its majority as the decline in Greens support outweighed SPD gains.

Weil was elected as Minister-President by the Landtag on 22 November 2017, winning 104 votes out of 137 cast.