Manfred Stolpe (16 May 1936 – 29 December 2019) was a German canonist, theologian and politician who served as Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs of Germany from 2002 until 2005.

Stolpe is considered to be the architect of modern Brandenburg[1] and left office with a 74% approval rating.

[2] He is credited with forging a new identity for the state, among other things, popularizing the Brandenburglied, though controversy surrounding several failed projects and his work for the Stasi[3] came up during his tenure.

[5] In July 1990 he joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and on 14 October of that year he was elected to the Brandenburg Landtag for a seat in Cottbus.

During his time in office, he spearheaded an unsuccessful attempt to unify Brandenburg and Berlin in 1996, though the states cooperate on many matters to this day.