Chancellor of Germany
The head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (German: Kanzler or Bundeskanzler). The position is equivalent to that of a Prime Minister in other countries (the latter term is not used, since its direct German equivalent, Ministerpräsident, is used exclusively for the heads of government of the Länder). The current Chancellor of Germany is Olaf Scholz, elected in December 2021. He is from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
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History
The office of Chancellor has a long history, stemming back to the Holy Roman Empire, when the office of German archchancellor was usually held by archbishops of Mainz. The title was, at times, used in several states of German-speaking Europe. The modern office of chancellor was established with the North German Confederation, of which Otto von Bismarck became Bundeskanzler (meaning "Federal Chancellor") in 1867. With the enlargement of this federal state to the German Empire in 1871, the title was renamed. The Reichskanzler served both as the emperor's first minister and as presiding officer of the Bundesrat, the upper chamber of the German parliament. He was neither elected by nor responsible to Parliament (Reichstag). Instead, the chancellor was appointed by the emperor. With Germany's constitution of 1949, the title of Bundeskanzler was revived.
Federal Chancellor of the North German Confederation (1867–1870)
The head of the federal government of the North German Confederation, which was created on 1 July 1867, had the title Bundeskanzler. The only person to hold the office was Otto Graf von Bismarck, the prime minister of Prussia. The King of Prussia, being the bearer of the Bundespräsidium, installed him on 14 July. Under the constitution of 1 January 1871, the king had additionally the title of German Emperor. The constitution still called the chancellor Bundeskanzler. This was only changed in the new constitution of 16 April 1871 to Reichskanzler. The office remained the same, and von Bismarck was not even re-installed.
Reichskanzler
From 1871 to 1945 the full term was Reichskanzler: "Imperial Chancellor" or Chancellor of the Empire (until 1918) as well as Chancellor of the Reich (until 1945). After WWII both the Federal Republic of Germany (1949) and the Republic of Austria (1918–1938, also since 1945) use the term Bundeskanzler for the head of state, the Bundespräsident of both nations is de facto subordinate to the Bundeskanzler.
In Switzerland, the Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler) is the head of the Federal Chancellery (Bundeskanzlei), the oldest Swiss federal institution, established at the initiative of Napoleon in 1803. The officeholder acts as the general staff of the seven-member Federal Council. The Chancellor is not a member of the government and the office is not at all comparable to that of the Chancellor of Germany or the Chancellor of Austria.
List
| German Empire | ||
| Name | Took office | Left office |
|---|---|---|
| Otto Fürst von Bismarck (1867–1871; Bundeskanzler) | 18 January 1871 | 20 March 1890 |
| Leo Graf von Caprivi | 20 March 1890 | 26 October 1894 |
| Chlodwig Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst | 29 October 1894 | 17 October 1900 |
| Bernhard Fürst von Bülow | 17 October 1900 | 14 July 1909 |
| Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg | 14 July 1909 | 13 July 1917 |
| Georg Michaelis | 14 July 1917 | 1 November 1917 |
| Georg Graf von Hertling | 1 November 1917 | 30 September 1918 |
| Max Prinz von Baden | 3 October 1918 | 9. November 1918 |
| Weimar Republic | ||
| Name | Took office | Left office |
| Friedrich Ebert (Social Democratic Party; SPD) | 9 November 1918 | 11 February 1919 |
| Philipp Scheidemann (SPD) | 13 February 1919 | 20 June 1919 |
| Gustav Bauer (SPD) | 21 June 1919 | 13 March 1920 |
| Wolfgang Kapp unofficial (Kapp Putsch) | 14 March 1920 | 17 March 1920 |
| Gustav Bauer (SPD) | 18 March 1920 | 26 March 1920 |
| Hermann Müller (SPD) | 27 March 1920 | 8 June 1920 |
| Konstantin Fehrenbach (Zentrum) | 25 June 1920 | 4 May 1921 |
| Joseph Wirth (Zentrum) | 10 May 1921 | 14 November 1922 |
| Wilhelm Cuno | 22 November 1922 | 12 August 1923 |
| Gustav Stresemann (Deutsche Volkspartei; DVP) | 13 August 1923 | 23 November 1923 |
| Wilhelm Marx (Zentrum) | 30 November 1923 | 15 January 1925 |
| Hans Luther | 15 January 1925 | 12 May 1926 |
| Otto Geßler (Deutsche Demokratische Partei; DDP) acting | 12 May 1926 | 17 May 1926 |
| Wilhelm Marx (Zentrum) | 17 May 1926 | 12 Juny 1928 |
| Hermann Müller (SPD) | 28 June 1928 | 27 March 1930 |
| Heinrich Brüning (Zentrum) | 30 March 1930 | 30 May 1932 |
| Franz von Papen (Zentrum) | 1 June 1932 | 17 November 1932 |
| Kurt von Schleicher | 4 December 1932 | 28 January 1933 |
| National Socialist Germany | ||
| Name | Took office | Left office |
| Adolf Hitler (NSDAP) Führer und Reichskanzler (Reichspräsident and Reichskanzler) | 30 January 1933 | 30 April 1945 |
| Joseph Goebbels (NSDAP) | 30 April 1945 | 1 May 1945 |
| Post-war | ||
| Name | Took office | Left office |
| Johann Ludwig Graf Schwerin von Krosigk Leiter der Geschäftsführenden Reichsregierung |
2 May 1945 | 23 May 1945 |
Federal Republic of Germany
Chancellor of the Federation or Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler) in the Bundeskanzleramt (Federal Chancellery) has been used again since 1949. Originally the term "Bundeskanzler" was used in the North German Confederation for Otto von Bismarck (1867–1871), who would become Reichskanzler after the creation of the second German Empire (Reichsgründung) in 1871.
Bundeskanzler (selection)
- Konrad Adenauer (first chancellor of the FRG; CDU)
- bravely negotiated the release of German prisoners of war in the Soviet Union
- Ludwig Erhard (CDU), "Father of the German economic miracle"
- Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm (Willy Brandt; SPD), killed German soldiers in Norwegian uniform in WWII
- Helmut Schmidt (SPD)
- Helmut Kohl ("Father of the German partial reunification"; CDU)
- Gerhard Schröder (SPD)
- Angela Merkel (CDU)
- Olaf Scholz (SPD)
