List of chancellors of Germany (original) (raw)
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- Top left: Otto von Bismarck was the first chancellor of Germany with the creation of the North German Confederation and later the German Empire.
- Top right: Konrad Adenauer was the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
- Bottom left: Helmut Kohl was chancellor during the period of German reunification in 1990.
- Bottom right: Angela Merkel was the first female chancellor of Germany.
The chancellor of Germany[1] is the political leader of Germany and the head of the federal government. The office holder is responsible for selecting all other members of the government and chairing cabinet meetings.[2]
The office was created in the North German Confederation in 1867,[3] when Otto von Bismarck became the first chancellor. With the unification of Germany and establishment of the German Empire in 1871, the Confederation evolved into a German nation-state and its leader became known as the chancellor of Germany.[4] Originally, the chancellor was only responsible to the emperor. This changed with the constitutional reform in 1918, when the Parliament was given the right to dismiss the chancellor. Under the 1919 Weimar Constitution the chancellors were appointed by the directly elected president, but were responsible to Parliament.[5]
The constitution was set aside during the 1933–1945 Nazi regime. During the Allied occupation, no independent German government and no chancellor existed; and the office was not reconstituted in East Germany, thus the head of government of East Germany was chairman of the Council of Ministers. The 1949 Basic Law made the chancellor the most important office in West Germany, while diminishing the role of the president.[1]
North German Confederation (1867–1871)
[edit]
Federal Chancellor of the North German Confederation
The North German Confederation came into existence after the German Confederation was dissolved following the Prussian victory in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. The chancellor was appointed by the Bundespräsidium, a position that was held constitutionally by the Prussian king.[3]
| Portrait | Name(born–died) | Term of office | Political party | | | |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------- | --------------- | ----------------- | | ------------ |
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | | | | |
| 
| Otto von Bismarck(1815–1898) | 1 July1867 | 21 March1871 | 3 years, 263 days | | Non-partisan |
German Reich (1871–1945)
[edit]
German Empire (1871–1918)
[edit]
Reich Chancellor of the German Reich
The German Empire was born out of the North German Confederation as result of the Franco-Prussian War (1870/71). The Präsidium (the Prussian king), which now had also the title Emperor, named the chancellor.[4]
Political parties: None Centre
| Portrait | Name(born–died) | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | | | | |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | | | | | | |
| 1 | | Otto von Bismarck(1815–1898) | 21 March1871 | 20 March1890 | 18 years, 364 days | | Non-partisan | Bismarck |
| 2 | 
| Leo von Caprivi(1831–1899) | 20 March1890 | 26 October1894 | 4 years, 220 days | | Non-partisan | Caprivi |
| 3 | 
| Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst(1819–1901) | 29 October1894 | 17 October1900 | 5 years, 353 days | | Non-partisan | Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst |
| 4 | 
| Bernhard von Bülow(1849–1929) | 17 October1900 | 14 July1909 | 8 years, 270 days | | Non-partisan | Bülow |
| 5 | 
| Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg(1856–1921) | 14 July1909 | 13 July1917 | 7 years, 364 days | | Non-partisan | Bethmann Hollweg |
| 6 | 
| Georg Michaelis(1857–1936) | 14 July1917 | 1 November1917 | 110 days | | Non-partisan | Michaelis |
| 7 | 
| Georg von Hertling(1843–1919) | 1 November1917 | 30 September1918 | 333 days | | Centre Party | Hertling |
| 8 | 
| Max von Baden(1867–1929) | 3 October1918 | 9 November1918 | 37 days | | Non-partisan | Baden |
Weimar Republic (1918–1933)
[edit]
On 9 November 1918, Chancellor Max von Baden handed over his office to Friedrich Ebert. Ebert continued to serve as head of government during the three months between the end of the German Empire in November 1918 and the first gathering of the National Assembly in February 1919 as Chairman of the Council of the People's Deputies, until 29 December 1918 together with USPD Leader Hugo Haase.[6]
The Weimar Constitution of 1919 set the framework for the Weimar Republic. The chancellors were officially installed by the president; in some cases the chancellor did not have a majority in parliament.[1][5]
Political parties: SPD Centre DVP NSDAP None
| Portrait | Name(born–died) | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | Reichstag | | | | |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------- | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | | | | | | | |
| 9 | 
| Friedrich Ebert(1871–1925) | 9 November1918 | 13 February1919 | 96 days | | Social Democratic Party | Council of the People's DeputiesSPD–USPD(as of 29 December 1918 SPD alone) | – |
| 10 | 
| Philipp Scheidemann(1865–1939) | 13 February1919 | 20 June1919 | 127 days | | Social Democratic Party | ScheidemannSPD–DDP–Z(Weimar Coalition) | Nat.Ass.(Jan.1919) |
| 11 | 
| Gustav Bauer(1870–1944) | 21 June1919 | 26 March1920 | 273 days | | Social Democratic Party | BauerSPD–DDP–Z(Weimar Coalition) | |
| 12 | 
| Hermann Müller(1876–1931) | 27 March1920 | 21 June1920 | 86 days | | Social Democratic Party | Müller ISPD–DDP–Z(Weimar Coalition) | Nat.Ass.(Jan.1919) |
| 13 | 
| Constantin Fehrenbach(1852–1926) | 25 June1920 | 10 May1921 | 319 days | | Centre Party | FehrenbachZ–DDP–DVP | 1 (Jun.1920) |
| 14 | 
| Joseph Wirth(1879–1956) | 10 May1921 | 22 November1922 | 1 year, 196 days | | Centre Party | Wirth IZ–SPD–DDP(Weimar Coalition) | |
| Wirth IIZ–SPD–DDP(Weimar Coalition) | | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | 
| Wilhelm Cuno(1876–1933) | 22 November1922 | 12 August1923 | 263 days | | Non-partisan | CunoInd.–DVP–DDP–Z–BVP | |
| 16 | 
| Gustav Stresemann(1878–1929) | 13 August1923 | 30 November1923 | 109 days | | German People's Party | Stresemann IDVP–SPD–Z–DDP | |
| Stresemann IIDVP–SPD–Z–DDP | | | | | | | | | |
| 17 | 
| Wilhelm Marx(1863–1946) | 30 November1923 | 15 January1925 | 1 year, 46 days | | Centre Party | Marx IZ–DVP–BVP–DDP | |
| Marx IIZ–DVP–DDP | 2 (May 1924) | | | | | | | | |
| 18 | 
| Hans Luther(1879–1962) | 15 January1925 | 12 May1926 | 1 year, 117 days | | Non-partisan | Luther IDVP–DNVP–Z–DDP–BVP | 3 (Dec.1924) |
| Luther IIDVP–Z–DDP–BVP | | | | | | | | | |
| 19 | | Wilhelm Marx(1863–1946) | 17 May1926 | 28 June1928 | 2 years, 42 days | | Centre Party | Marx IIIZ–DVP–DDP–BVP | |
| Marx IVZ–DNVP–DVP–BVP | | | | | | | | | |
| 20 | | Hermann Müller(1876–1931) | 28 June1928 | 27 March1930 | 1 year, 272 days | | Social Democratic Party | Müller IISPD–DVP–DDP–Z–BVP | 4 (May 1928) |
| 21 | 
| Heinrich Brüning(1885–1970) | 30 March1930 | 30 May1932 | 2 years, 61 days | | Centre Party | Brüning IZ–DDP–DVP–WP–BVP–KVP | 5 (Sep.1930) |
| Brüning IIZ–DSP–BVP–KVP–CLV | | | | | | | | | |
| 22 | 
| Franz von Papen(1879–1969) | 1 June1932 | 3 December1932 | 185 days | | Non-partisan | PapenInd.–DNVP | 6 (Jul.1932) |
| 23 | 
| Kurt von Schleicher(1882–1934) | 3 December1932 | 30 January1933 | 58 days | | Non-partisan | SchleicherInd.–DNVP | 7 (Nov.1932) |
| 24 | 
| Adolf Hitler(1889–1945) | 30 January1933 | 24 March1933 | 53 days | | National Socialist German Workers' Party | HitlerNSDAP – DNVP | 8 (Mar. 1933) |
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
[edit]
Soon after Adolf Hitler was appointed as chancellor in 1933, the German Reichstag (parliament) passed the so-called Enabling Act (German: _Ermächtigungsgesetz), officially titled "Law for Removing the Distress of People and Reich" (German: Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich), which effectively gave the chancellor the power of a dictator. This event marked the end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of Nazi Germany.[7] Hitler thereupon destroyed all democratic systems and consolidated all power to himself. After the death of president Paul von Hindenburg in 1934, Hitler merged the offices of chancellor and president in his own person and called himself Führer und Reichskanzler.
Political parties: NSDAP
| No. | Portrait | Name(born–died) | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | Reichstag[a] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
| 25 | |
Adolf Hitler(1889–1945) | 24 March1933 | 30 April1945 | 12 years, 37 days | National Socialist German Workers' Party | HitlerNSDAP | 9 (Nov. 1933) | |
| 10 (Mar. 1936) | |||||||||
| 11 (Apr. 1938) | |||||||||
| 26 |  |
Joseph Goebbels(1897–1945) | 30 April1945 | 1 May1945 | 1 day | National SocialistGerman Workers' Party | Goebbels[b]NSDAP | — | |
| 27 |  |
Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk(1887–1977) | 2 May1945 | 23 May1945 | 21 days | National SocialistGerman Workers' Party | Schwerin von KrosigkNSDAP | — |
- ^ No elections held during World War II. Last convened on 26 April 1942.
- ^ Cabinet nominated in Hitler's testament but never convened.
Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present)
[edit]
In 1949, two separate German states were established: the Federal Republic of Germany (known as West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (known as East Germany). The list below gives the chancellors of West Germany; the government of East Germany was headed by the chairman of the Council of Ministers.[8] In 1990, East Germany was dissolved as it merged with West Germany; Germany was reunified. It retained the name of the Federal Republic of Germany.[9]
Political parties: CDU (4) SPD (4) Independent (1)
Denotes acting (i.e. ad interim)
| Portrait | Name(born–died) | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | Bundestag | | | | |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------- | --------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | | | | | | | |
| 1 | | Konrad Adenauer(1876–1967) | 15 September1949 | 15 October1963 | 14 years, 30 days | | Christian Democratic Union(CDU) | Adenauer ICDU/CSU–FDP–DP | 1 (1949) |
| Adenauer IICDU/CSU–FDP/FVP–DP–GB/BHE | 2 (1953) | | | | | | | | |
| Adenauer IIICDU/CSU–DP | 3 (1957) | | | | | | | | |
| Adenauer IVCDU/CSU–FDP | 4 (1961) | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | 
| Ludwig Erhard(1897–1977) | 15 October1963 | 30 November1966 | 3 years, 45 days | | Independent[a] | Erhard ICDU/CSU–FDP | |
| Erhard IICDU/CSU–FDP | 5 (1965) | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | 
| Kurt Georg Kiesinger(1904–1988) | 30 November1966 | 21 October1969 | 2 years, 324 days | | Christian Democratic Union(CDU) | KiesingerCDU/CSU–SPD | |
| 4 | 
| Willy Brandt(1913–1992) | 21 October1969 | 7 May1974 | 4 years, 197 days | | Social Democratic Party(SPD) | Brandt ISPD–FDP | 6 (1969) |
| Brandt IISPD–FDP | 7 (1972) | | | | | | | | |
| – | 
| Walter Scheel(1919–2016)Acting[b] | 7 May1974 | 16 May1974 | 9 days | | Free Democratic Party(FDP) | Brandt II(acting) | |
| 5 | 
| Helmut Schmidt(1918–2015) | 16 May1974 | 1 October1982 | 8 years, 138 days | | Social Democratic Party(SPD) | Schmidt ISPD–FDP | |
| Schmidt IISPD–FDP | 8 (1976) | | | | | | | | |
| Schmidt IIISPD–FDP | 9 (1980) | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | 
| Helmut Kohl(1930–2017) | 1 October1982 | 27 October1998 | 16 years, 26 days | | Christian Democratic Union(CDU) | Kohl ICDU/CSU–FDP | |
| Kohl IICDU/CSU–FDP | 10 (1983) | | | | | | | | |
| Kohl IIICDU/CSU–FDP | 11 (1987) | | | | | | | | |
| Kohl IVCDU/CSU–FDP | 12 (1990) | | | | | | | | |
| Kohl VCDU/CSU–FDP | 13 (1994) | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | 
| Gerhard Schröder(born 1944) | 27 October1998 | 22 November2005 | 7 years, 26 days | | Social Democratic Party(SPD) | Schröder ISPD–Green | 14 (1998) |
| Schröder IISPD–Green | 15 (2002) | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | | Angela Merkel(born 1954) | 22 November2005 | 8 December2021 | 16 years, 16 days | | Christian Democratic Union(CDU) | Merkel ICDU/CSU–SPD | 16 (2005) |
| Merkel IICDU/CSU–FDP | 17 (2009) | | | | | | | | |
| Merkel IIICDU/CSU–SPD | 18 (2013) | | | | | | | | |
| Merkel IVCDU/CSU–SPD | 19 (2017) | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | 
| Olaf Scholz(born 1958) | 8 December2021 | Incumbent | 2 years, 345 days | | Social Democratic Party(SPD) | ScholzSPD–Green–FDP | 20 (2021) |
- ^ No party membership; but affiliated with the CDU.[10] Later on, Erhard briefly became the leader of the CDU from 1966 to 1967.
- ^ As Vice Chancellor under Brandt, Scheel served as acting Chancellor following Brandt's resignation.[11]
- Leadership of East Germany
- List of chancellors of Germany by time in office
- List of German monarchs
- List of German presidents
- Minister-Presidents of the French "Saar protectorate"
- Religious affiliations of chancellors of Germany
- List of vice-chancellors of Germany
- ^ a b c "Neuland Grundgesetz | Abkehr von Weimarer Verfassung – Reaktion auf Nazi-Deutschland" [Virgin Soil "Basic Law" | Departure from Weimar Constitution - Reaction to Nazi Germany] (in German). Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- ^ "Tasks of the Federal Chancellor". bundeskanzlerin.de. The Press and Information Office of the Federal Government. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- ^ a b Verfassung des Norddeutschen Bundes [_North German Constitution_] (in German). 26 June 1867 – via Wikisource.
- ^ a b Constitution of the German Empire [_Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs_]. 16 April 1871 – via Wikisource.
- ^ a b "The Seeds of Evil: The Rise of Hitler — The Constitution of the Weimar Republic". schoolshistory.org.uk. 2004. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- ^ "Biografie Friedrich Ebert 1871-1925" [Biography of Friedrich Ebert]. www.dhm.de/lemo (in German). LeMO/Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- ^ Hosch, William L. (23 March 2007). "The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act of March 23, 1933". Britannica Blog. Archived from the original on 11 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
- ^ "Entstehung der DDR: Verfassung und Führungsrolle der SED" [Formation of the GDR: Constitution and the SED's Leadership Role]. www.hdg.de/lemo (in German). LeMO/Haus der Geschichte. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- ^ Vertrag zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik über die Herstellung der Einheit Deutschlands (Einigungsvertrag) [Unification Treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic] (Treaty) (in German). 31 August 1990. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- ^ Jörges, Hans Ulrich; Wüllenweber, Walter (25 April 2007). "CDU-Altkanzler: Ludwig Erhard war nie CDU-Mitglied" (in German). Der Stern. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- ^ McFadden, Robert D. (24 August 2016). "Walter Scheel, Leading Figure in West German Thaw With the East, Dies at 97". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 March 2018.