List_of_Chancellors_of_Germany

List of chancellors of Germany

List of chancellors of Germany

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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)

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]

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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

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Weimar Republic (1918–1933)

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   Nazi   None

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Nazi Germany (1933–1945)

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:   Nazi

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  1. No elections held during World War II. Last convened on 26 April 1942.
  2. Cabinet nominated in Hitler's testament but never convened.

Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present)

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)
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  1. No party membership; but affiliated with the CDU.[10] Later on, Erhard briefly became the leader of the CDU from 1966 to 1967.
  2. As Vice Chancellor under Brandt, Scheel served as acting Chancellor following Brandt's resignation.[11]

Timeline

Olaf ScholzAngela MerkelGerhard SchröderHelmut KohlHelmut SchmidtWalter ScheelWilly BrandtKurt Georg KiesingerLudwig ErhardKonrad AdenauerLutz Graf Schwerin von KrosigkJoseph GoebbelsAdolf HitlerKurt von SchleicherFranz von PapenHeinrich BrüningHans LutherWilhelm MarxGustav StresemannWilhelm CunoJoseph WirthConstantin FehrenbachHermann Müller (politician, born 1876)Gustav BauerPhilipp ScheidemannFriedrich EbertMaximilian of BadenGeorg von HertlingGeorg MichaelisTheobald von Bethmann HollwegBernhard von BülowChlodwig zu Hohenlohe-SchillingsfürstLeo von CapriviOtto von Bismarck

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chancellors of Germany.

References

  1. [1]
    "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.
  2. [2]
    "Tasks of the Federal Chancellor". bundeskanzlerin.de. The Press and Information Office of the Federal Government. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  3. [3]
    Verfassung des Norddeutschen Bundes  [North German Constitution] (in German). 26 June 1867 – via Wikisource.
  4. [4]
    Constitution of the German Empire  [Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs]. 16 April 1871 – via Wikisource.
  5. [5]
    "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.
  6. [6]
    "Biografie Friedrich Ebert 1871-1925" [Biography of Friedrich Ebert]. www.dhm.de/lemo (in German). LeMO/Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  7. [7]
    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.
  8. [8]
    "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.
  9. [9]
    "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.
  10. [10]
    Jörges, Hans Ulrich; Wüllenweber, Walter (25 April 2007). "CDU-Altkanzler: Ludwig Erhard war nie CDU-Mitglied" (in German). Der Stern. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  11. [11]
    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.
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