Movatterモバイル変換

[0]ホーム

Jump to content

List of chancellors of Germany

Edit links

This is a featured list. Click here for more information.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Top left:Otto von Bismarck was the first chancellor of Germany with the creation of theNorth German Confederation and later theGerman Empire.
Top right:Konrad Adenauer was the first chancellor of theFederal Republic of Germany.
Bottom left:Helmut Kohl was chancellor during the period ofGerman reunification in 1990.
Bottom right:Angela Merkel was the first female chancellor of Germany.

Thechancellor of Germany^[1] is the political leader ofGermany and the head of thefederal government. The office holder is responsible for selecting all other members of the government and chairingcabinet meetings.^[2]

The office was created in theNorth German Confederation in 1867,^[3] whenOtto von Bismarck became the first chancellor. With theunification of Germany and establishment of theGerman 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 theemperor. This changed with the constitutional reform in 1918, when the Parliament was given the right to dismiss the chancellor. Under the 1919Weimar Constitution the chancellors were appointed by the directly electedpresident, but were responsible to Parliament.^[5]

The constitution was set aside during the 1933–1945Nazi regime. During theAllied 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 theCouncil of Ministers. The1949 Basic Law made the chancellor the most important office in West Germany, while diminishing the role of thepresident.^[1]

North German Confederation (1867–1871)

[edit]

TheNorth German Confederation came into existence after theGerman Confederation was dissolved following the Prussian victory in theAustro-Prussian War of 1866. The chancellor was appointed by theBundespräsidium, a position that was held constitutionally by thePrussian king.^[3]

Political parties: None

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party
Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party
Federal Chancellor of the North German Confederation
	Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898)	1 July 1867	21 March 1871	3 years, 263 days		Non-partisan

German Empire (1871–1918)

[edit]

TheGerman Empire was born out of the North German Confederation as result of theFranco-Prussian War (1870/71). ThePräsidium (the Prussian king), which now had also the titleEmperor, named the chancellor.^[4]

Political parties: None Centre

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party		Cabinet
Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party		Cabinet
Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire
	Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898)	21 March 1871	20 March 1890	18 years, 364 days		Non-partisan	Bismarck
	Leo von Caprivi (1831–1899)	20 March 1890	26 October 1894	4 years, 220 days		Non-partisan	Caprivi
Office vacant between 26 October 1894 and 29 October 1894
	Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1819–1901)	29 October 1894	17 October 1900	5 years, 353 days		Non-partisan	Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
	Bernhard von Bülow (1849–1929)	17 October 1900	14 July 1909	8 years, 270 days		Non-partisan	Bülow
	Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (1856–1921)	14 July 1909	13 July 1917	7 years, 364 days		Non-partisan	Bethmann Hollweg
	Georg Michaelis (1857–1936)	14 July 1917	1 November 1917	110 days		Non-partisan	Michaelis
	Georg von Hertling (1843–1919)	1 November 1917	30 September 1918	333 days		Centre Party	Hertling
Office vacant between 30 September 1918 and 3 October 1918
	Max von Baden (1867–1929)	3 October 1918	9 November 1918	37 days		Non-partisan	Baden

Weimar Republic (1918–1933)

[edit]

On 9 November 1918, Chancellor Max von Baden handed over his office toFriedrich Ebert. Ebert continued to serve as head of government during the three months between theend of the German Empire in November 1918 and the first gathering of the National Assembly in February 1919 as Chairman of theCouncil of the People's Deputies, until 29 December 1918 together withUSPD LeaderHugo Haase.^[6]

TheWeimar Constitution of 1919 set the framework for theWeimar 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 NSDAP None

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party		Cabinet	Reichstag
Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party		Cabinet	Reichstag
Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire / President of the Council of the People's Deputies
	Friedrich Ebert (1871–1925)	9 November 1918	13 February 1919	96 days		Social Democratic Party	Council of the People's Deputies SPD–USPD (as of 29 December 1918 SPD alone)	–
Reich Minister-President of the German Reich^[a]
	Philipp Scheidemann (1865–1939)	13 February 1919	20 June 1919	127 days		Social Democratic Party	Scheidemann SPD–DDP–Z (Weimar Coalition)	Nat.Ass. (Jan.1919)
	Gustav Bauer (1870–1944)	21 June 1919	14 August 1919	54 days		Social Democratic Party	Bauer SPD–DDP–Z (Weimar Coalition)	Nat.Ass. (Jan.1919)
Reich Chancellor of the German Reich
	Gustav Bauer (1870–1944)	14 August 1919	26 March 1920	219 days		Social Democratic Party	Bauer SPD–DDP–Z (Weimar Coalition)	Nat.Ass. (Jan.1919)
	Hermann Müller (1876–1931)	27 March 1920	21 June 1920	86 days		Social Democratic Party	Müller I SPD–DDP–Z (Weimar Coalition)	Nat.Ass. (Jan.1919)
Office vacant between 21 June 1920 and 25 June 1920
	Constantin Fehrenbach (1852–1926)	25 June 1920	10 May 1921	319 days		Centre Party	Fehrenbach Z–DDP–DVP	1 (Jun.1920)
	Joseph Wirth (1879–1956)	10 May 1921	22 November 1922	1 year, 196 days		Centre Party	Wirth I Z–SPD–DDP (Weimar Coalition)
	Joseph Wirth (1879–1956)	10 May 1921	22 November 1922	1 year, 196 days		Centre Party	Wirth II Z–SPD–DDP (Weimar Coalition)
	Wilhelm Cuno (1876–1933)	22 November 1922	12 August 1923	263 days		Non-partisan	Cuno Ind.–DVP–DDP–Z–BVP
	Gustav Stresemann (1878–1929)	13 August 1923	30 November 1923	109 days		German People's Party	Stresemann I DVP–SPD–Z–DDP
	Gustav Stresemann (1878–1929)	13 August 1923	30 November 1923	109 days		German People's Party	Stresemann II DVP–SPD–Z–DDP
	Wilhelm Marx (1863–1946)	30 November 1923	15 January 1925	1 year, 46 days		Centre Party	Marx I Z–DVP–BVP–DDP
	Wilhelm Marx (1863–1946)	30 November 1923	15 January 1925	1 year, 46 days		Centre Party	Marx II Z–DVP–DDP	2 (May 1924)
	Hans Luther (1879–1962)	15 January 1925	12 May 1926	1 year, 117 days		Non-partisan	Luther I DVP–DNVP–Z–DDP–BVP	3 (Dec.1924)
	Hans Luther (1879–1962)	15 January 1925	12 May 1926	1 year, 117 days		Non-partisan	Luther II DVP–Z–DDP–BVP
	Otto Gessler (1875–1955) Acting^[b]	12 May 1926	17 May 1926	5 days		German Democratic Party	Luther II DVP–Z–DDP–BVP
	Wilhelm Marx (1863–1946)	17 May 1926	28 June 1928	2 years, 42 days		Centre Party	Marx III Z–DVP–DDP–BVP
	Wilhelm Marx (1863–1946)	17 May 1926	28 June 1928	2 years, 42 days		Centre Party	Marx IV Z–DNVP–DVP–BVP
	Hermann Müller (1876–1931)	28 June 1928	27 March 1930	1 year, 272 days		Social Democratic Party	Müller II SPD–DVP–DDP–Z–BVP	4 (May 1928)
Office vacant between 27 March 1930 and 30 March 1930
	Heinrich Brüning (1885–1970)	30 March 1930	1 June 1932	2 years, 63 days		Centre Party	Brüning I Z–DDP–DVP–WP–BVP–KVP	5 (Sep.1930)
	Heinrich Brüning (1885–1970)	30 March 1930	1 June 1932	2 years, 63 days		Centre Party	Brüning II Z–DSP–BVP–KVP–CLV	5 (Sep.1930)
	Franz von Papen (1879–1969)	1 June 1932	3 December 1932	185 days		Non-partisan	Papen Ind.–DNVP	6 (Jul.1932)
	Kurt von Schleicher (1882–1934)	3 December 1932	30 January 1933	58 days		Non-partisan	Schleicher Ind.–DNVP	7 (Nov.1932)
	Adolf Hitler (1889–1945)	30 January 1933	23 March 1933	52 days		National Socialist German Workers' Party	Hitler NSDAP–DNVP	8(Mar.1933)

^The title of Chancellor was not formally used until the Weimar Constitution took effect. Instead, Scheidemann and Bauer were appointed asReichsministerpräsident (Reich Minister-President or Reich Prime Minister).
^AsVice Chancellor under Luther, Gessler served as acting Chancellor following Luther's resignation.

Nazi Germany (1933–1945)

[edit]

Soon afterAdolf Hitler was appointed as chancellor in 1933, the GermanReichstag (parliament) passed the so-calledEnabling 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 adictator. This event marked the end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning ofNazi Germany.^[7] Hitler thereupon destroyed all democratic systems and consolidated all power to himself. After the death of presidentPaul von Hindenburg in 1934, Hitler merged the offices of chancellor and president in his own person and called himselfFührer und Reichskanzler.

Political parties: NSDAP

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party		Cabinet	Reichstag^[a]
Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party		Cabinet	Reichstag^[a]
Reich Chancellor of the German Reich / Reich Chancellor of the Greater German Reich
	Adolf Hitler (1889–1945)	23 March 1933	30 April 1945	12 years, 38 days		National Socialist German Workers' Party	Hitler NSDAP–DNVP (as of 27 June 1933 NSDAP alone)	9(Nov.1933)
								10(Mar.1936)
								11(Apr.1938)
	Joseph Goebbels (1897–1945)	30 April 1945	1 May 1945	1 day		National Socialist German Workers' Party	Goebbels^[b] NSDAP	—
	Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk^[c] (1887–1977)	2 May 1945	23 May 1945	21 days		National Socialist German Workers' Party	Schwerin von Krosigk NSDAP	—

^No elections held duringWorld War II. Last convened on 26 April 1942.
^Cabinet nominated in Hitler's testament but never convened.
^Lutz von Krosigk did not accept the position of chancellor, but acted as "Leading Minister" with the power of a chancellor.

Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present)

[edit]

In 1949, two separate German states were established: theFederal Republic of Germany (known as West Germany) and theGerman Democratic Republic (known as East Germany). The list below gives the chancellors of West Germany; thegovernment of East Germany was headed by thechairman of the Council of Ministers.^[8] In 1990, East Germany was dissolved as it merged with West Germany; Germany wasreunified. It retained the name of the Federal Republic of Germany.^[9]

Political parties: CDU (6)^[a] SPD (4)

Denotesacting (i.e. ad interim)

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party		Cabinet	Bundestag
Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party		Cabinet	Bundestag
Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
	Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967)	15 September 1949	15 October 1963	14 years, 30 days		Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	Adenauer I CDU/CSU–FDP–DP	1(1949)
							Adenauer II CDU/CSU–FDP/FVP–DP–GB/BHE	2(1953)
							Adenauer III CDU/CSU–DP	3(1957)
							Adenauer IV CDU/CSU–FDP	4(1961)
	Ludwig Erhard (1897–1977)	15 October 1963	30 November 1966	3 years, 45 days		Independent^[b]	Erhard I CDU/CSU–FDP	4(1961)
	Ludwig Erhard (1897–1977)	15 October 1963	30 November 1966	3 years, 45 days		Independent^[b]	Erhard II CDU/CSU–FDP	5(1965)
	Kurt Georg Kiesinger (1904–1988)	30 November 1966	21 October 1969	2 years, 324 days		Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	Kiesinger CDU/CSU–SPD	5(1965)
	Willy Brandt (1913–1992)	21 October 1969	7 May 1974	4 years, 197 days		Social Democratic Party (SPD)	Brandt I SPD–FDP	6(1969)
	Willy Brandt (1913–1992)	21 October 1969	7 May 1974	4 years, 197 days		Social Democratic Party (SPD)	Brandt II SPD–FDP	7(1972)
	Walter Scheel (1919–2016) Acting^[c]	7 May 1974	16 May 1974	9 days		Free Democratic Party (FDP)	Brandt II (acting)
	Helmut Schmidt (1918–2015)	16 May 1974	1 October 1982	8 years, 138 days		Social Democratic Party (SPD)	Schmidt I SPD–FDP
							Schmidt II SPD–FDP	8(1976)
							Schmidt III SPD–FDP	9(1980)
	Helmut Kohl (1930–2017)	1 October 1982	27 October 1998	16 years, 26 days		Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	Kohl I CDU/CSU–FDP	9(1980)
							Kohl II CDU/CSU–FDP	10(1983)
							Kohl III CDU/CSU–FDP	11(1987)
							Kohl IV CDU/CSU–FDP	12(1990)
							Kohl V CDU/CSU–FDP	13(1994)
	Gerhard Schröder (born 1944)	27 October 1998	22 November 2005	7 years, 26 days		Social Democratic Party (SPD)	Schröder I SPD–Green	14(1998)
	Gerhard Schröder (born 1944)	27 October 1998	22 November 2005	7 years, 26 days		Social Democratic Party (SPD)	Schröder II SPD–Green	15(2002)
	Angela Merkel (born 1954)	22 November 2005	8 December 2021	16 years, 16 days		Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	Merkel I CDU/CSU–SPD	16(2005)
							Merkel II CDU/CSU–FDP	17(2009)
							Merkel III CDU/CSU–SPD	18(2013)
							Merkel IV CDU/CSU–SPD	19(2017)
	Olaf Scholz (born 1958)	8 December 2021	6 May 2025	3 years, 149 days		Social Democratic Party (SPD)	Scholz SPD–Green–FDP	20(2021)
	Friedrich Merz (born 1955)	6 May 2025	Incumbent	204 days		Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	Merz CDU/CSU–SPD	21(2025)

^Including Ludwig Erhard, who never formally joined the CDU and wasde jure anindependent politician. His lack of party membership was not widely known until decades after his death.
^Erhard never formally joined the CDU and so wasde jure anindependent politician. However, Erhard spent his entire career with the CDU, and was believed to be a member by both the party and the public; his lack of party membership was not widely known until decades after his death.^[10] Later on, Erhard briefly became the leader of the CDU from 1966 to 1967.
^AsVice Chancellor under Brandt, Scheel served as acting Chancellor followingBrandt's resignation.^[11]

Timeline 1867 -1945

[edit]

Timeline 1949 - now

[edit]

Graphical representation

[edit]

This is a graphical lifespan timeline of the Chancellors of Germany since 1949. They are listed in order of first assuming office.

The following chart shows chancellors by their age (living chancellors in green), with the years of their time in office in color.

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of Germany

Constitution(Basic Law) Federal Constitutional Court Human rights
Head of state President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD)
Executive Chancellor of Germany (list) Friedrich Merz (CDU) Vice Chancellor of Germany Lars Klingbeil (SPD) Cabinet Merz Federal agencies
Legislature Bundestag constituencies members Bundesrat Mediation Committee Joint Committee
Judiciary Federal Constitutional Court Federal courts Ordinary Administrative Fiscal Labour Social Joint Senate Other courts
Subdivisions *State (Land)* Minister president State Parliament (Landtag) composition Regierungsbezirk District (Kreis) list Collective municipality (Amt) Municipality (Gemeinde) list
Elections Electoral system Political parties Referendums Coalitions Federal Convention (Bundesversammlung) Presidential elections Weimar Republic (1919–1933) 1919 1925 1932 East Germany (1949–1960) 1949 1953 1957 Federal Republic of Germany (since 1949) 1949 1954 1959 1964 1969 1974 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2010 2012 2017 2022 Parliamentary election 1867 (Feb) 1867 (Aug) 1868 1871 1874 1877 1878 1881 1884 1887 1890 1893 1898 1903 1907 1912 1919 1920 1924 (May) 1924 (Dec) 1928 1930 1932 (July) 1932 (Nov) 1933 (Mar) 1933 (Nov) 1936 1938 1949 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1972 1976 1980 1983 1987 1990 1994 1998 2002 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025 European elections 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 2024
State and local politics State Politics Baden-Württemberg Bavaria Berlin Brandenburg Bremen Hamburg Hesse Lower Saxony Mecklenburg-Vorpommern North Rhine-Westphalia Rhineland-Palatinate Saarland Saxony Saxony-Anhalt Schleswig-Holstein Thuringia Local Politics District council (Kreistag) Municipal council (Gemeinderat)
Foreign relations Foreign relations by country France Italy UK USA China Russia International Relations Politics of the European Union Visa Passport
Political ideologies Political culture /Federalism Communism Conservatism (Agrarian Conservatism) Far-right Liberalism Social Democracy
Germany portal Politics portal Other countries
v t e

References

[edit]

^^a ^b ^c"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. Retrieved13 March 2018.
^"Tasks of the Federal Chancellor".bundeskanzlerin.de. The Press and Information Office of the Federal Government. Retrieved13 March 2018.
^^a ^bVerfassung des Norddeutschen Bundes [North German Constitution] (in German). 26 June 1867 – viaWikisource.
^^a ^bConstitution of the German Empire [Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs]. 16 April 1871 – viaWikisource.
^^a ^b"The Seeds of Evil: The Rise of Hitler — The Constitution of the Weimar Republic".schoolshistory.org.uk. 2004. Archived fromthe original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved13 March 2018.
^"Biografie Friedrich Ebert 1871-1925" [Biography of Friedrich Ebert].www.dhm.de/lemo (in German). LeMO/Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved14 March 2018.
^Hosch, William L. (23 March 2007)."The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act of March 23, 1933".Britannica Blog. Archived fromthe original on 11 March 2019. Retrieved30 March 2017.
^"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. Retrieved14 March 2018.
^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) (in German). 31 August 1990. Retrieved13 March 2018.
^Jörges, Hans Ulrich; Wüllenweber, Walter (25 April 2007)."CDU-Altkanzler: Ludwig Erhard war nie CDU-Mitglied" (in German).Der Stern. Retrieved8 April 2018.
^McFadden, Robert D. (24 August 2016)."Walter Scheel, Leading Figure in West German Thaw With the East, Dies at 97".The New York Times. Retrieved14 March 2018.

v t e Chancellors of Germany (since 1867)
North German Confederation Bundeskanzler (1867–1871)	Otto von Bismarck
German Empire Reichskanzler (1871–1918)	Otto von Bismarck Leo von Caprivi Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst Bernhard von Bülow Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg Georg Michaelis Georg von Hertling Prince Maximilian of Baden
Weimar Republic Reichskanzler (1919–1933)	Friedrich Ebert Philipp Scheidemann(as Ministerpräsident) Gustav Bauer(as Ministerpräsident, later Chancellor) Hermann Müller Constantin Fehrenbach Joseph Wirth Wilhelm Cuno Gustav Stresemann Wilhelm Marx Hans Luther Wilhelm Marx Hermann Müller Heinrich Brüning Franz von Papen Kurt von Schleicher Adolf Hitler
Nazi Germany Reichskanzler (1933–1945)	Adolf Hitler Joseph Goebbels (de facto) Count Schwerin von Krosigk (de facto)
Federal Republic Bundeskanzler (1949–present)	Konrad Adenauer Ludwig Erhard Kurt Georg Kiesinger Willy Brandt Helmut Schmidt Helmut Kohl Gerhard Schröder Angela Merkel Olaf Scholz Friedrich Merz
List of chancellors