A number of presidential offices have existed in Germany since the abolition of the
imperial monarchy in 1918. During the
1919-1933 Weimar Republic the head of state was the
Reichspräsident ("Reich President").
From 1934-1945, during the Nazi era, Adolf Hitler presided under the the title of Führer und Reichskanzler
("Führer and Reich Chancellor"). On Hitler's death in 1945 Karl Dönitz briefly became Reichspräsident.
From 1949-1990 Germany was divided between East Germany and West Germany. During its existence there was
only one individual in East Germany to bear the title of
President on a permanent basis. This was Wilhelm Pieck who was State President (Staatspräsident) from 1949-1960.
Upon its establishment the head of state of West Germany became
the Federal President (Bundespräsident) and, since reunification in 1990, the holder
of this office has been the president of all Germany.
Reichspräsident (1919 - 1945)
The Reichspräsident ("Reich President") was the German head of state during the period of the 1919-1933
Weimar Republic and the title was later briefly revived in 1945.
Paul von Hindenburg
(1847 – 1934) |
The Weimar constitution created a semi-presidential system in which power was divided between the president,
a cabinet and a parliament. The Reichspräsident was directly elected under universal adult suffrage for a
seven year term. It was intended that the president would rule in conjunction with the Reichstag (legislature)
and that his emergency powers would be exercised only in extraordinary circumstances, but the political
instability of the Weimar period, and a paralysing factionalism in the legislature, meant that the Reichspräsident
came to occupy a position of considerable power, capable of legislating by decree and appointing and dismissing
governments at will.
The office was abolished by the Nazi government in 1934 and replaced by a new position of Führer und Reichskanzler
("Führer and Reich Chancellor"). It was later revived in the last days of the Third Reich when Karl Dönitz briefly
became Reichspräsident in May, 1945. The modern office of Federal President, established in 1949, is the successor
to the office of Reichspräsident
List of Reichspräsidents
Bundespräsident of Germany
The Federal President (German: Bundespräsident) is Germany's head of state. The president is elected by
a specially convened body called the Federal Convention (Bundesversammlung) to serve a five year term.
In accordance with Germany's parliamentary system of government the presidency is limited by a mixture of
law and convention to being a ceremonial position. The office of Federal President was first established
with the creation of West Germany in 1949, and is the successor to the office of Reichspräsident ("Reich President")
that existed during the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) and at the start and the end of the Third Reich.
The first official residence of the Federal President is the Bellevue Palace in Berlin. The president's second
official residence is the Hammerschmidt Villa, in Bonn. The Federal President is elected by secret ballot, without
debate, by the Federal Convention, a body established solely for that purpose. The office of Federal President is
open to all Germans who are entitled to vote in Bundestag elections and have reached the age of forty, but no one
may serve more than two five year terms.
List of Bundespräsidents in (West) Germany
- 1949-1959 Theodor Heuss (FDP)
- 1959-1969 Heinrich Lübke (CDU)
- 1969-1974 Gustav Heinemann (SPD)
- 1974-1979 Walter Scheel (FDP)
- 1979-1984 Karl Carstens (CDU)
- 1984-1994 Richard von Weizsäcker (CDU)
- 1949-1959 Roman Herzog (CDU)
- 1949-1959 Johannes Rau (SPD)
- 2004- Horst Köhler (CDU)
Heads of state of the German Democratic Republic (1949-1990)
Erich Honecker (1912 - 1994) |
During its existence there was only one individual in East Germany
to bear the title of President on a permanent basis. This was Wilhelm Pieck who was State President (Staatspräsident)
from 1949-1960.
Thereafter the Chairman of the council of the state took over as a representative of the country.
List of the Heads of State
- 1949-1960 Wilhelm Pieck (SED)
- 1960-1973 Walter Ulbricht (SED)
- 1973 (acting) Friedrich Ebert (SED)
- 1973-1976 Willi Stoph (SED)
- 1976-1989 Erich Honecker (SED)
- 1989 Egon Krenz (SED)
- 1990 Sabine Bergmann-Pohl
|
