List of chancellors 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]
- 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 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 dictatorship. During 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)
- 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 (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Political Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) | 1 July 1867 | 21 March 1871 | 3 years, 263 days | Non-partisan | ||
German Reich (1871–1945)
German Empire (1871–1918)
- 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
| No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| 1 | Fürst Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) | 21 March 1871 | 20 March 1890 | 18 years, 364 days | Non-partisan | Bismarck | ||
| 2 | Count Leo von Caprivi (1831–1899) | 20 March 1890 | 26 October 1894 | 4 years, 220 days | Non-partisan | Caprivi | ||
| 3 | Fürst Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1819–1901) | 29 October 1894 | 17 October 1900 | 5 years, 353 days | Non-partisan | Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst | ||
| 4 | Fürst Bernhard von Bülow (1849–1929) | 17 October 1900 | 14 July 1909 | 8 years, 270 days | Non-partisan | Bülow | ||
| 5 | Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg (1856–1921) | 14 July 1909 | 13 July 1917 | 7 years, 364 days | Non-partisan | Bethmann-Hollweg | ||
| 6 | Georg Michaelis (1857–1936) | 14 July 1917 | 1 November 1917 | 110 days | Non-partisan | Michaelis | ||
| 7 | Count Georg von Hertling (1843–1919) | 1 November 1917 | 30 September 1918 | 333 days | Centre Party | Hertling | ||
| 8 | Prince Max von Baden (1867–1929) | 3 October 1918 | 9 November 1918 | 37 days | Non-partisan | Baden | ||
Weimar Republic (1918–1933)
- Reich Chancellor of the German Reich
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 None
| No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | Reichstag | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
| Pre-constitutional Weimar Republic (1918–1919) | |||||||||
| 9 | Friedrich Ebert (1871–1925) (de facto head of government) | 9 November 1918 | 13 February 1919 | 96 days | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | Council of the People's Deputies SPD–USPD (as of 29 December 1918 SPD alone) | – | ||
| 10 | Philipp Scheidemann (1865–1939) as Reich Minister President[a] | 13 February 1919 | 20 June 1919 | 127 days | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | Scheidemann SPD–DDP–Z (Weimar Coalition) | Nat.Ass. (Jan.1919) | ||
| 11 | Gustav Bauer (1870–1944) as Reich Minister President[b] | 21 June 1919 | 14 August 1919 | 54 days | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | Bauer SPD–DDP–Z (Weimar Coalition) | |||
| Weimar Republic (1919–1933) | |||||||||
| 11 | Gustav Bauer (1870–1944) | 14 August 1919 | 26 March 1920 | 225 days | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | Bauer SPD–DDP–Z (Weimar Coalition) | Nat.Ass. (Jan.1919) | ||
| 12 | Hermann Müller (1876–1931) First term | 27 March 1920 | 21 June 1920 | 86 days | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | Müller I SPD–DDP–Z (Weimar Coalition) | |||
| 13 | Constantin Fehrenbach (1852–1926) | 25 June 1920 | 4 May 1921 | 313 days | Centre Party | Fehrenbach Z–DDP–DVP | 1 (Jun.1920) | ||
| 14 | Joseph Wirth (1879–1956) | 10 May 1921 | 14 November 1922 | 1 year, 188 days | Centre Party | Wirth I Z–SPD–DDP (Weimar Coalition) | |||
| Wirth II Z–SPD–DDP (Weimar Coalition) | |||||||||
| 15 | Wilhelm Cuno (1876–1933) | 22 November 1922 | 12 August 1923 | 263 days | Non-partisan | Cuno Ind.–DVP–DDP–Z–BVP | |||
| 16 | Gustav Stresemann (1878–1929) | 13 August 1923 | 30 November 1923 | 109 days | German People's Party | Stresemann I DVP–SPD–Z–DDP | |||
| Stresemann II DVP–SPD–Z–DDP | |||||||||
| 17 | Wilhelm Marx (1863–1946) First term | 30 November 1923 | 15 January 1925 | 1 year, 46 days | Centre Party | Marx I Z–DVP–BVP–DDP | |||
| Marx II Z–DVP–DDP | 2 (May 1924) | ||||||||
| 18 | Hans Luther (1879–1962) | 15 January 1925 | 12 May 1926 | 1 year, 117 days | Non-partisan | Luther I DVP–DNVP–Z–DDP–BVP | 3 (Dec.1924) | ||
| Luther II DVP–Z–DDP–BVP | |||||||||
| 17 | Wilhelm Marx (1863–1946) Second term | 17 May 1926 | 12 June 1928 | 2 years, 26 days | Centre Party | Marx III Z–DVP–DDP–BVP | |||
| Marx IV Z–DNVP–DVP–BVP | |||||||||
| 12 | Hermann Müller (1876–1931)[c] Second term | 28 June 1928 | 27 March 1930 | 1 year, 272 days | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | Müller II SPD–DVP–DDP–Z–BVP | 4 (May 1928) | ||
| 19 | Heinrich Brüning (1885–1970)[d] | 30 March 1930 | 30 May 1932 | 2 years, 61 days | Centre Party | Brüning I Z–DDP–DVP–WF–BVP–KVP | 5 (Sep.1930) | ||
| Brüning II Z–DSP–BVP–KVP–CLV | |||||||||
| 20 | Franz von Papen (1879–1969)[d] | 1 June 1932 | 17 November 1932 | 169 days | Non-partisan | Papen Ind.–DNVP | 6 (Jul.1932) | ||
| 21 | Kurt von Schleicher (1882–1934)[d] | 3 December 1932 | 28 January 1933 | 56 days | Non-partisan | Schleicher Ind.–DNVP | 7 (Nov.1932) | ||
- ^ The title of Reich Chancellor was not formally used until the Weimar Constitution took effect on 14 August 1919. Instead, Scheidemann was appointed as Reichsministerpräsident (Reich Minister President).
- ^ The title of Reich Chancellor was not formally used until the Weimar Constitution took effect. Instead, like Scheidemann, Bauer was appointed as Reichsministerpräsident (Reich Minister President). After the Weimar Constitution took effect on 14 August 1919, Bauer's official title became Reich Chancellor.
- ^ Müller was the last parliamentary chancellor until Konrad Adenauer in 1949.
- ^ a b c Non-parliamentary chancellor, appointed by Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg after no majority parliamentary coalition could be formed.
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
- Reich Chancellor of the German Reich
Adolf Hitler's Machtergreifung (seizure of power) marked the end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of Nazi Germany. Hitler reigned as dictator and consolidated all power to himself. After the death of president Hindenburg, Hitler took over the president's powers and called himself Führer und Reichskanzler.
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Political Party | Cabinet | Reichstag[a] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
| 22 | Führer Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) | 30 January 1933[b] | 30 April 1945 (died in office) | 12 years, 90 days | National Socialist German Workers' Party | Hitler NSDAP – DNVP (until 1933) | 8 (Mar. 1933) | ||
| 9 (Nov. 1933) | |||||||||
| 10 (Mar. 1936) | |||||||||
| 11 (Apr. 1938) | |||||||||
| 23 | Joseph Goebbels (1897–1945) | 30 April 1945 (de jure)[c] | 1 May 1945 (died in office) | 1 day | National Socialist German Workers' Party | (Cabinet nominated in Hitler's testament but never convened) NSDAP | — | ||
| 24 | Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk (1887–1977) as Leading Minister[d] | 1 May 1945 | 23 May 1945 (arrested)[e] | 21 days | National Socialist German Workers' Party | Schwerin von Krosigk NSDAP | — | ||
- ^ No elections held during World War II. Last convened on 26 April 1942.
- ^ Non-parliamentary chancellor, appointed by Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg after no majority parliamentary coalition could be formed
- ^ Appointed by Adolf Hitler in his Political Testament
- ^ The title of Chancellor was not used formally. On May 2, 1945, Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz appointed him as Leading Minister and Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs after the suicide of Goebbels. He was de facto the Chancellor of Germany.
- ^ Arrested; government dissolved by the Allies.[7]
Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present)
- Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Germany
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) FDP (1) Independent (1)
| No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | Bundestag | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
| 25 | Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967) | 15 September 1949 | 20 October 1953 | 14 years, 30 days | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | Adenauer I CDU/CSU–FDP–DP | 1 (1949) | ||
| 20 October 1953 | 29 October 1957 | Adenauer II CDU/CSU–FDP/FVP–DP–GB/BHE | 2 (1953) | ||||||
| 29 October 1957 | 14 November 1961 | Adenauer III CDU/CSU–DP | 3 (1957) | ||||||
| 14 November 1961 | 15 October 1963 | Adenauer IV CDU/CSU–FDP | 4 (1961) | ||||||
| 26 | Ludwig Erhard (1897–1977) | 15 October 1963 | 26 October 1965 | 3 years, 45 days | Independent (No party membership; but affiliated with the CDU)[10][a] | Erhard I CDU/CSU–FDP | |||
| 26 October 1965 | 30 November 1966 | Erhard II CDU/CSU–FDP | 5 (1965) | ||||||
| 27 | Kurt Georg Kiesinger (1904–1988) | 30 November 1966 | 21 October 1969 | 2 years, 324 days | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | Kiesinger CDU/CSU–SPD | |||
| 28 | Willy Brandt (1913–1992) | 21 October 1969 | 15 December 1972 | 4 years, 197 days | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | Brandt I SPD–FDP | 6 (1969) | ||
| 15 December 1972 | 7 May 1974 | Brandt II SPD–FDP | 7 (1972) | ||||||
| – | Walter Scheel (1919–2016) Acting[b] | 7 May 1974 | 16 May 1974 | 9 days | Free Democratic Party (FDP) | Brandt II (acting) | |||
| 29 | Helmut Schmidt (1918–2015) | 16 May 1974 | 14 December 1976 | 8 years, 138 days | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | Schmidt I SPD–FDP | |||
| 14 December 1976 | 4 November 1980 | Schmidt II SPD–FDP | 8 (1976) | ||||||
| 4 November 1980 | 1 October 1982 | Schmidt III SPD–FDP | 9 (1980) | ||||||
| 30 | Helmut Kohl (1930–2017) | 1 October 1982 | 29 March 1983 | 16 years, 26 days | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | Kohl I CDU/CSU–FDP | |||
| 29 March 1983 | 11 March 1987 | Kohl II CDU/CSU–FDP | 10 (1983) | ||||||
| 11 March 1987 | 18 January 1991 | Kohl III CDU/CSU–FDP | 11 (1987) | ||||||
| 18 January 1991 | 17 November 1994 | Kohl IV CDU/CSU–FDP | 12 (1990) | ||||||
| 17 November 1994 | 27 October 1998 | Kohl V CDU/CSU–FDP | 13 (1994) | ||||||
| 31 | Gerhard Schröder (born 1944) | 27 October 1998 | 22 October 2002 | 7 years, 26 days | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | Schröder I SPD–Green | 14 (1998) | ||
| 22 October 2002 | 22 November 2005 | Schröder II SPD–Green | 15 (2002) | ||||||
| 32 | Angela Merkel (born 1954) | 22 November 2005 | 28 October 2009 | 16 years, 16 days | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | Merkel I CDU/CSU–SPD | 16 (2005) | ||
| 28 October 2009 | 17 December 2013 | Merkel II CDU/CSU–FDP | 17 (2009) | ||||||
| 17 December 2013 | 14 March 2018 | Merkel III CDU/CSU–SPD | 18 (2013) | ||||||
| 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 | Merkel IV CDU/CSU–SPD | 19 (2017) | ||||||
| 33 | Olaf Scholz (born 1958) | 8 December 2021 | Incumbent | 1 year, 29 days | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | Scholz SPD–Green–FDP | 20 (2021) | ||
- ^ 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]
Timeline
See also
References
- ^ 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 [North German Constitution] (in German). 26 June 1867 – via Wikisource.
- ^ a b [Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs]. 16 April 1871 – via Wikisource.
- ^ a b . 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.
- ^ Hillmann, Jörg; Zimmermann, John (2014) [2002]. "Die »Reichsregierung« in Flensburg" [The "Government" in Flensburg]. Kriegsende 1945 in Deutschland (in German). Munich: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. pp. 35–65. ISBN 978-3-486-83332-4.
- ^ "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 of 31 August 1990 (in German). 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.