List of chancellors of Germany facts for kids

• Top left: Otto von Bismarck was Germany's first chancellor. He led the creation of the North German Confederation and later the German Empire.
• Top right: Konrad Adenauer was the first chancellor of West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany).
• Bottom left: Helmut Kohl was chancellor when Germany reunited in 1990.
• Bottom right: Angela Merkel was the first woman to become chancellor of Germany.

The chancellor of Germany is the main political leader of Germany. They are the head of the country's government. The chancellor chooses other government members and leads important meetings.

This important job started in 1867 in the North German Confederation. Otto von Bismarck was the very first chancellor. When Germany united in 1871 and became the German Empire, the leader was still called the chancellor. At first, the chancellor only answered to the emperor. But in 1918, things changed. The German Parliament gained the power to remove the chancellor. Under the 1919 Weimar Constitution, presidents appointed chancellors. However, these chancellors were still responsible to the Parliament.

The rules changed again during the Nazi regime from 1933 to 1945. After World War II, during the Allied occupation, Germany had no independent government or chancellor. East Germany did not bring back the role of chancellor. Instead, its government was led by the chairman of the Council of Ministers. In 1949, the Basic Law made the chancellor the most powerful person in West Germany. It also reduced the role of the president.

Germany's First Chancellors (1867–1918)

The North German Confederation was formed after the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. The king of Prussia, William I, chose the chancellor.

Political parties:       None

Picture		Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party
			Started	Ended	How long
Federal Chancellor of the North German Confederation
1		Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898)	1 July 1867	21 March 1871	3 years, 263 days		Not part of a party

Chancellors of the German Empire (1871–1918)

The German Empire grew out of the North German Confederation. This happened after the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). The Prussian king, who was now also the Emperor, chose the chancellor.

Political parties:       None       Centre

Picture		Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party		Government
			Started	Ended	How long
Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire
1		Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898)	21 March 1871	20 March 1890	18 years, 364 days		Not part of a party	Bismarck
2		Leo von Caprivi (1831–1899)	20 March 1890	26 October 1894	4 years, 220 days		Not part of a party	Caprivi
No chancellor between 26 October 1894 and 29 October 1894
3		Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1819–1901)	29 October 1894	17 October 1900	5 years, 353 days		Not part of a party	Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
4		Bernhard von Bülow (1849–1929)	17 October 1900	14 July 1909	8 years, 270 days		Not part of a party	Bülow
5		Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (1856–1921)	14 July 1909	13 July 1917	7 years, 364 days		Not part of a party	Bethmann Hollweg
6		Georg Michaelis (1857–1936)	14 July 1917	1 November 1917	110 days		Not part of a party	Michaelis
7		Georg von Hertling (1843–1919)	1 November 1917	30 September 1918	333 days		Centre Party	Hertling
No chancellor between 30 September 1918 and 3 October 1918
8		Max von Baden (1867–1929)	3 October 1918	9 November 1918	37 days		Not part of a party	Baden

Chancellors of the Weimar Republic (1918–1933)

On November 9, 1918, Chancellor Max von Baden gave his job to Friedrich Ebert. Ebert led the government during the time between the end of the German Empire and the first meeting of the National Assembly. He was Chairman of the Council of the People's Deputies.

The Weimar Constitution of 1919 created the Weimar Republic. The president officially appointed the chancellors. Sometimes, a chancellor did not have a majority of support in the Parliament.

Political parties:       SPD       Centre       DVP       NSDAP       None

Picture		Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party		Government	Parliament
			Started	Ended	How long
Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire / President of the Council of the People's Deputies
9		Friedrich Ebert (1871–1925)	9 November 1918	13 February 1919	96 days		Social Democratic Party	Council of the People's Deputies	–
Reich Minister-President of the German Reich
10		Philipp Scheidemann (1865–1939)	13 February 1919	20 June 1919	127 days		Social Democratic Party	Scheidemann	Nat.Ass.
11		Gustav Bauer (1870–1944)	21 June 1919	14 August 1919	54 days		Social Democratic Party	Bauer
Reich Chancellor of the German Reich
12		Gustav Bauer (1870–1944)	14 August 1919	26 March 1920	219 days		Social Democratic Party	Bauer	Nat.Ass.
13		Hermann Müller (1876–1931)	27 March 1920	21 June 1920	86 days		Social Democratic Party	Müller I
No chancellor between 21 June 1920 and 25 June 1920
14		Constantin Fehrenbach (1852–1926)	25 June 1920	10 May 1921	319 days		Centre Party	Fehrenbach	1 (Jun.1920)
15		Joseph Wirth (1879–1956)	10 May 1921	22 November 1922	1 year, 196 days		Centre Party	Wirth I
								Wirth II
16		Wilhelm Cuno (1876–1933)	22 November 1922	12 August 1923	263 days		Not part of a party	Cuno
17		Gustav Stresemann (1878–1929)	13 August 1923	30 November 1923	109 days		German People's Party	Stresemann I
								Stresemann II
18		Wilhelm Marx (1863–1946)	30 November 1923	15 January 1925	1 year, 46 days		Centre Party	Marx I
								Marx II	2 (May 1924)
19		Hans Luther (1879–1962)	15 January 1925	12 May 1926	1 year, 117 days		Not part of a party	Luther I	3 (Dec.1924)
								Luther II
–		Otto Gessler (1875–1955) Acting	12 May 1926	17 May 1926	5 days		German Democratic Party
20		Wilhelm Marx (1863–1946)	17 May 1926	28 June 1928	2 years, 42 days		Centre Party	Marx III
								Marx IV
21		Hermann Müller (1876–1931)	28 June 1928	27 March 1930	1 year, 272 days		Social Democratic Party	Müller II	4 (May 1928)
No chancellor between 27 March 1930 and 30 March 1930
22		Heinrich Brüning (1885–1970)	30 March 1930	1 June 1932	2 years, 63 days		Centre Party	Brüning I	5 (Sep.1930)
								Brüning II
23		Franz von Papen (1879–1969)	1 June 1932	3 December 1932	185 days		Not part of a party	Papen	6 (Jul.1932)
24		Kurt von Schleicher (1882–1934)	3 December 1932	30 January 1933	58 days		Not part of a party	Schleicher	7 (Nov.1932)
25		Adolf Hitler (1889–1945)	30 January 1933	23 March 1933	52 days		National Socialist German Workers' Party	Hitler	8 (Mar.1933)

Chancellors During Nazi Germany (1933–1945)

Soon after Adolf Hitler became chancellor in 1933, the German Parliament passed a law. This law, called the "Enabling Act," gave the chancellor huge powers. It marked the end of the Weimar Republic and the start of Nazi Germany. Hitler then took away all democratic systems. He gathered all power for himself. After President Paul von Hindenburg died in 1934, Hitler combined the jobs of chancellor and president. He called himself "Führer und Reichskanzler."

Political parties:       NSDAP

No.	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party		Government	Parliament
			Started	Ended	How long
Reich Chancellor of the German Reich / Reich Chancellor of the Greater German Reich
26		Adolf Hitler (1889–1945)	23 March 1933	30 April 1945	12 years, 38 days		National Socialist German Workers' Party	Hitler	9 (Nov.1933)
									10 (Mar.1936)
									11 (Apr.1938)
27		Joseph Goebbels (1897–1945)	30 April 1945	1 May 1945	1 day		National Socialist German Workers' Party	Goebbels	—
28		Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk (1887–1977)	2 May 1945	23 May 1945	21 days		National Socialist German Workers' Party	Schwerin von Krosigk	—

Chancellors of Modern Germany (1949–Present)

In 1949, Germany split into two separate countries. These were the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The list below shows the chancellors of West Germany. East Germany's government was led by the chairman of the Council of Ministers. In 1990, East Germany joined West Germany. Germany was reunited. It kept the name Federal Republic of Germany.

Political parties:       CDU (6)       SPD (4)      Denotes acting (i.e. temporary)

Picture		Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party		Government	Bundestag
			Started	Ended	How long
Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
1		Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967)	15 September 1949	15 October 1963	14 years, 30 days		Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	Adenauer I	1 (1949)
								Adenauer II	2 (1953)
								Adenauer III	3 (1957)
								Adenauer IV	4 (1961)
2		Ludwig Erhard (1897–1977)	15 October 1963	30 November 1966	3 years, 45 days		Independent	Erhard I
								Erhard II	5 (1965)
3		Kurt Georg Kiesinger (1904–1988)	30 November 1966	21 October 1969	2 years, 324 days		Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	Kiesinger
4		Willy Brandt (1913–1992)	21 October 1969	7 May 1974	4 years, 197 days		Social Democratic Party (SPD)	Brandt I	6 (1969)
								Brandt II	7 (1972)
–		Walter Scheel (1919–2016) Acting	7 May 1974	16 May 1974	9 days		Free Democratic Party (FDP)	Brandt II (acting)
5		Helmut Schmidt (1918–2015)	16 May 1974	1 October 1982	8 years, 138 days		Social Democratic Party (SPD)	Schmidt I
								Schmidt II	8 (1976)
								Schmidt III	9 (1980)
6		Helmut Kohl (1930–2017)	1 October 1982	27 October 1998	16 years, 26 days		Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	Kohl I
								Kohl II	10 (1983)
								Kohl III	11 (1987)
								Kohl IV	12 (1990)
								Kohl V	13 (1994)
7		Gerhard Schröder (born 1944)	27 October 1998	22 November 2005	7 years, 26 days		Social Democratic Party (SPD)	Schröder I	14 (1998)
								Schröder II	15 (2002)
8		Angela Merkel (born 1954)	22 November 2005	8 December 2021	16 years, 16 days		Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	Merkel I	16 (2005)
								Merkel II	17 (2009)
								Merkel III	18 (2013)
								Merkel IV	19 (2017)
9		Olaf Scholz (born 1958)	8 December 2021	6 May 2025	3 years, 149 days		Social Democratic Party (SPD)	Scholz	20 (2021)
10		Friedrich Merz (born 1955)	6 May 2025	Incumbent	48 days		Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	Merz	21 (2025)

Timeline of German Chancellors

More About German Leaders

• Leaders of East Germany
• How long chancellors served
• Kings and Queens of Germany
• Presidents of Germany
• Germany's Vice-Chancellors