Historical rankings of chancellors of Germany are surveys conducted to construct rankings of the success and popularity of the individuals who have served asChancellor of Germany in theFederal Republic of Germany.
| Order | Chancellor | Political party | Tenure | Emnid (2005) | Infratest dimap (2010) | YouGov (2015) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Konrad Adenauer | CDU | 1949 – 1963 | 03 | – | 02 |
| 2 | Ludwig Erhard | CDU | 1963 – 1966 | 06 | – | 07 |
| 3 | Kurt Georg Kiesinger | CDU | 1966 – 1969 | 07 | – | 08 |
| 4 | Willy Brandt | SPD | 1969 – 1974 | 04 | 02 | 04 |
| – | Walter Scheel ^ | FDP | 7–16 May 1974 | – | – | – |
| 5 | Helmut Schmidt | SPD | 1974 – 1982 | 01 | 01 | 01 |
| 6 | Helmut Kohl | CDU | 1982 – 1998 | 02 | 04 | 05 |
| 7 | Gerhard Schröder | SPD | 1998 – 2005 | 05 | 05 | 06 |
| 8 | Angela Merkel | CDU | 2005 – 2021 | – | 03 | 02 |
| 9 | Olaf Scholz | SPD | 2021 – 2025 | – | – | – |
| 10 | Friedrich Merz | CDU | 2025 – | – | – | – |
^ Following Willy Brandt's resignation as Chancellor, Walter Scheel was acting Chancellor for nine days.
| Order | Chancellor | Political party | Tenure | ZDF (2003) | Forsa (2005) | Forsa (2013) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Konrad Adenauer | CDU | 1949 – 1963 | 01 | 01 | 02 |
| 2 | Ludwig Erhard | CDU | 1963 – 1966 | 05 | 05 | 07 |
| 3 | Kurt Georg Kiesinger | CDU | 1966 – 1969 | – | 07 | 08 |
| 4 | Willy Brandt | SPD | 1969 – 1974 | 02 | 02 | 03 |
| – | Walter Scheel ^ | FDP | 7 May – 16 May 1974 | – | – | – |
| 5 | Helmut Schmidt | SPD | 1974 – 1982 | 04 | 03 | 01 |
| 6 | Helmut Kohl | CDU | 1982 – 1998 | 03 | 04 | 04 |
| 7 | Gerhard Schröder | SPD | 1998 – 2005 | 06 | 06 | 06 |
| 8 | Angela Merkel | CDU | 2005 – 2021 | – | – | 05 |
| 9 | Olaf Scholz | SPD | 2021 – 2025 | – | – | – |
| 10 | Friedrich Merz | CDU | 2025 – | – | – | – |
^ Following Willy Brandt's resignation as Chancellor, Walter Scheel was acting Chancellor for nine days.
For the TV showUnsere Besten, more than 1 million Germans were asked to rank the 100 most notable Germans in an unrepresentative opinion poll. The list also included German chancellors:[1][2]
NeitherKurt Georg Kiesinger norAngela Merkel (who was leader of the opposition at that time) were ranked among the 100 most notable Germans.
In an opinion poll conducted byForsa in July 2005, the 1002 pollees were supposed to name the most notable German chancellor:[3]
The poll didn't include ChancellorAngela Merkel, since she didn't assume office until November 2005.
In an opinion poll from November 2005, the polling company Emnid asked for the best German chancellor:[4]
The poll didn't include ChancellorAngela Merkel, since she had only assumed office in November 2005.
In March 2010, Infratest dimap asked 1500 people for their view of the term in office of German chancellors. The given numbers show the percentage of people agreeing with the statement that the named chancellor was a good one:[5]
The poll didn't include the first three German chancellors (Adenauer, Erhard, Kiesinger).
In December 2013, Forsa asked 1002 Germans to name the most notable German chancellor:[6]
In May 2015,YouGov asked 1111 Germans to name the best German chancellor in their opinion:[7]
