The head of government in Germany has traditionally been called Kanzler (Chancellor). The
name of the office today is Bundeskanzler (Federal Chancellor); from 1871 to 1945, it was
Reichskanzler (Imperial Chancellor). During the period of the North German Confederation
from 1867 until the German unification in 1871, Bundeskanzler was also the title used by Bismarck.
Reichskanzler of Germany
Otto von Bismarck (1815 - 1898) |
Before World War II, the title in Germany was Reichskanzler,
meaning Imperial Chancellor. In the 1871 German Empire,
the Reichskanzler served both as the Kaiser's first minister, and as presiding officer of the
Bundesrat, the upper chamber of the Imperial German parliament. He was neither elected by nor
responsible to Parliament (the Reichstag). Instead, the Reichskanzler was appointed by the
Emperor.
This was only changed on 29. October 1918 with an amendment to the 1871 constitution. However,
the change could not prevent the outbreak of the revolution a few days later. The new constitution
of the 1919 Weimar Republic said that the Reichskanzler was
appointed by the Imperial President, but that the parliament had the right to dismiss a chancellor
or any of the ministers. In fact many of the Weimar governments depended highly on the cooperation
of the President, due to uncertain circumstances in the parliament. The last of 15 Weimar
chancellors was Adolf Hitler, appointed on 30. January 1933.
Reichskanzler of the 1871 German Empire:
Bernhard von Bülow (1849 - 1929) |
- 1871-1890 Prince Otto von Bismarck
- 1890-1894 Count Leo von Caprivi
- 1894-1900 Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
- 1900-1909 Prince Bernhard von Bülow
- 1909-1917 Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg
- 1917 Georg Michaelis
- 1917-1918 Count Georg von Hertling
- 1918 Prince Maximilian of Baden
- 1918 Friedrich Ebert (SPD)
Ebert continued to serve as Head of Government during the two months between the end of the
German Empire in November 1918 and the first gathering of the National Assembly in February
1919, but did not hold the title of Chancellor.
Reichskanzler of the 1919 Weimar Republic:
Wilhelm Marx (1863 - 1946) |
- 1919 Philipp Scheidemann (SPD)
- 1919-1920 Gustav Bauer (SPD)
- 1920 Hermann Müller (SPD)
- 1920-1921 Konstantin Fehrenbach (Centre Party)
- 1921-1922 Joseph Wirth (Centre Party)
- 1922-1923 Wilhelm Cuno (unaffiliated)
- 1923 Gustav Stresemann (DVP)
- 1923-1925 Wilhelm Marx (Centre Party)
- 1925-1926 Hans Luther (DVP)
- 1926-1928 Wilhelm Marx (Centre Party)
- 1928-1930 Hermann Müller (SPD)
- 1930-1932 Heinrich Brüning (Centre Party)
- 1932 Franz von Papen (Centre Party)
- 1932-1933 Kurt von Schleicher
Adolf Hitler (1898 - 1945) |
Reichskanzler of the Nazi Era
- 1933-1945 Adolf Hitler;
the office was combined with that of the Reichspräsident in 1934 and
called Führer und Reichskanzler
- 1945 Joseph Goebbels (formally for one day between Hitler's and his own suicide)
- 1945 Count Lutz Schwerin von Krosigk
Bundeskanzler in West Germany
Konrad Adenauer (1876 - 1967) |
Germany's 1949 constitution, the Grundgesetz (Basic Law),
invests the chancellor, now called
Bundeskanzler, with central executive authority. For that reason, some observers refer to the
German political system as a "chancellor democracy."
Germany's federal government (Bundesregierung)
consists of the chancellor and his cabinet ministers.
The chancellor's authority emanates from the provisions of the Basic Law and from his
status as leader of the party or coalition of parties holding a majority of seats in the Bundestag.
In the past the chancellor has also frequently been the chairman of his own party.
Helmut Schmidt (born 1918) |
Every four years, after national elections and the seating of the newly elected Bundestag members,
the chancellor is elected by a majority of the members of the Bundestag upon the proposal of the
Bundespräsident. If the nominee of the president is not elected, the Bundestag may elect its own
nominee within fourteen days. If no one is elected within this period, the Bundestag will attempt
an election.
The chancellor is the only member of the government elected by the Bundestag, the ministers are
chosen by the chancellor himself (officially nominated by the Bundespräsident).
Unlike other parliamentary legislatures,
Helmut Kohl (born 1930) |
the Bundestag cannot remove the chancellor simply with a
Motion of No Confidence. In the Weimar Republic, this procedure was abused by parties of
both political extremes in order to oppose chancellors and undermine the democratic process.
Bundeskanzler since WW II:
- 1949-1963 Konrad Adenauer (CDU)
- 1963-1966 Ludwig Erhard (CDU)
- 1966-1969 Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU)
- 1969-1974 Willy Brandt (SPD)
- 1974-1982 Helmut Schmidt (SPD)
- 1982-1998 Helmut Kohl (CDU)
- 1998- Gerhard Schröder (SPD)
Leaders of East Germany
Walter Ulbricht (1893 - 1973) |
In East Germany the office of the Chancellor was abolished
after World War II. A three tier system was introduced,
which shared the power in the country.
The Council of State (Staatsrat) and the Council of Ministers (Ministerrat) formed the formal
executive power. The office of the State President (Staatspräsidentder DDR) was a more representative
function. The true power lay within the Party, the Socialist Unity Party
(Sozialistische Einheitspartei - SED), headed by its General Secretary. The party leader frequently
also carried functions in the Council of State or Council of Ministers.
Chairmen of the Council of State
Erich Honecker (1912 - 1994) |
- 1960-1973 Walter Ulbricht
- 1973 (acting) Friedrich Ebert
- 1973-1976 Willi Stoph
- 1976-1989 Erich Honecker
- 1989 Egon Krenz
- 1989-1990 (acting) Manfred Gerlach
- 1990 Sabine Bergmann-Pohl
Chairmen of the Council of Ministers
- 1949-1964 Otto Grotewohl
- 1964-1973 Willi Stoph
- 1973-1976 Horst Sindermann
- 1976-1989 Willi Stoph
- 1989-1990 Hans Modrow
- 1990 Lothar de Maizière
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