It was formed after the resignation of First Mayor Olaf Scholz, and was a continuation of the coalition government formed by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE) after the 2015 Hamburg state election.

The previous Senate was a coalition government of the SPD and Greens led by First Mayor Olaf Scholz.

On 9 March 2018, he announced his switch to federal politics after being nominated as Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Finance in the fourth Merkel cabinet.

[1] The same day, finance senator Peter Tschentscher was nominated as his successor by the SPD executive.

[3] Peter Tschentscher was elected as First Mayor by the Parliament on 28 March, winning 71 votes out of 121 cast.