Chancellor of Germany

Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire ; Reichskanzler des Deutschen Reiches
	Emblem of Government
	Incumbent; Karl Laschet; since 22 September 2013
	Executive branch of the Government
Style	His Excellency (diplomatic)
Status	Head of Government
Member of	Imperial Cabinet
Seat	Federal Chancellery, Berlin
Nominator	Reichstag
Appointer	German Emperor
Term length	4 years, renewable
Constituting instrument	Constitution of the German Empire
Inaugural holder	Otto von Bismarck
Formation	21 March 1871; 153 years ago
Deputy	Vice Chancellor of Germany
Salary	DM 351,552 annually

The Chancellor of Germany, officially the Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire (German: Reichskanzler des Deutschen Reiches), is the head of government of Germany. The Chancellor advises the German Emperor and exercises power on behalf of the monarch in the executive branch. Since 1975, the Chancellor has been elected by the Reichstag and appointed by the Emperor. Historically the Chancellor represented a monarchistic, bureaucratic, and anti-parliamentary component of the German state, as the head of government was appointed and was responsible to the Emperor. After the 1975 amendments to the constitution that created a parliamentary system, the powers of the monarchy were reduced in favor of the Reichstag, including the election of the Chancellor by the parliament.

The current officeholder is Karl Laschet of the Center Party, who was first elected in 2013, and reelected in 2017 and 2021.

History of the office

The office of the Chancellor has a long histor, stemming back to the original Holy Roman Empire, when the office of the German archchancellor was typically held by the archbishops of Mainz. The title was, at times, used in several states within German-speaking Europe. The modern office of the chancellorship was established in the North German Confederation by Otto von Bismarck who became Bundeskanzler (translated as "Federal Chancellor") In 1867. With the enlargement of the state and the formation of the German Empire in 1871 at the tailend of the Franco-Prussian War, the title was renamed to Reichskanzler (meaning Imperial Chancellor).

Role

Election

Confidence

Official residence

Style of address

Vice Chancellor

List of chancellors

Political parties None Center Party Fatherland Party Democratic Party Social Democratic Party

Portrait		Name (birth–death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Emperor (Reign)
1		Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898)	21 March 1871	20 March 1890	Independent	Bismarck	Wilhelm I (1871–1888) Friedrich III (1888) Wilhelm II (1888–1941)
2		Leo von Caprivi (1831–1899)	20 March 1890	26 October 1894	Independent	Caprivi	Wilhelm II (1888–1941)
3		Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1819–1901)	29 October 1894	17 October 1900	Independent	Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
4		Bernhard von Bülow (1849–1929)	17 October 1900	14 July 1909	Independent	Bülow
5		Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg (1856–1921)	14 July 1909	30 November 1918	Independent	Bethmann-Hollweg
6		Georg Michaelis (1857–1936)	30 November 1918	1 September 1924	Independent	Michaelis
7		Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934)	1 September 1924	30 November 1928	Independent	Hindenburg
8		Wilhelm Marx (1863–1946)	30 November 1928	6 February 1932	Center Party	Marx
9		Wilhelm Groener (1867–1939)	6 February 1932	27 January 1937	Independent	Groener
10		Hans Luther (1879–1962)	27 January 1937	18 June 1941	Independent	Luther
11	File:Duke Christian Louis of Mecklenburg (1912 - 1996) .jpg	Christian Louis von Mecklenburg (1912–1996)	20 June 1941	25 July 1951	Fatherland Party	Mecklenburg	Wilhelm III (1882–1951)
12		Eugen Gerstenmaier (1906–1986)	26 July 1951	3 February 1959	Fatherland Party	Gerstenmaier	Louis Ferdinand (1951–1994)
13		Ludwig Erhard (1897–1977)	3 February 1959	15 March 1966	Fatherland Party	Erhard
14		Heinrich Lübke (1894–1972)	15 March 1966	8 January 1970	Fatherland Party	Lübke
15		Kai-Uwe von Hassel (1913–1997)	8 January 1970	25 April 1974	Fatherland Party	Hassel
16	[[ \|70px]]	Oskar von Einsiedel (1927–2016)	25 April 1974	13 October 1985	Center Party	Einsidel