© HMD / Jana Kay

Dr. Nicolas Sölter has served as Hesse’s State Secretary for Digitalization and Innovation since May 18, 2026. In this role, he supports the Minister of State and helps shape key strategic initiatives in digitalization and innovation policy in Hesse. He studied law at the Ruprecht Karls University of Heidelberg and the University of Hamburg. After earning his doctorate in law (Dr. iur.) from the University of Hamburg, he passed the Second State Examination for Lawyers in 2018. He completed his legal clerkship at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court of Hamburg, which included placements at the Federal Chancellery, the Senate Chancellery of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, and the German University of Administrative Sciences in Speyer.

Dr. Sölter’s international experience includes serving as an Assistant Professor of WTO Law, European Law, and Arbitration at the China-EU School of Law in Beijing. In 2019, he also earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Cambridge (Trinity Hall). From 2018 until his appointment as State Secretary, he worked as an attorney specializing in public commercial law at Freshfields in Hamburg.