Chancellors of Germany Timeline 1867-Present Day

Bismarck was appointed the first Chancellor of Germany by King Wilhelm I. He was instrumental in unifying Germany into the German Empire and only resigned due to disagreements with King Wilhelm II.

Served as Chancellor following the resignation of Bismarck. Caprivi championed the promotion of industry and commerce. He resigned due to disagreements with Wilhelm II.

Took over as Chancellor following the resignation of Caprivi. He resigned in 1900.

Took over after the resignation of Hohenlohe. He made every effort to remain on good terms with Wilhelm II. He resigned after failing to get his inheritance tax proposals through the Reichstag.

Took over as Chancellor following the resignation of von Bulow. He attempted to find common ground with Britain before World War One and was Chancellor during most of the War. He was forced to resign after a revolt by the Social Democrats in the Reichstag.

Became President following the resignation of von Hollweg. He was Chancellor for three and a half months. He was forced to resign by political opponents in the Reichstag.

Became Chancellor following the resignation of Michaelis. He believed Germany would win the war and was seen as a puppet of Hindenburg and Ludendorff. He resigned due to the deteriorating German military and home situation.

Became Chancellor following the resignation of von Hertling. He offered a German surrender on 9th November based on Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points. As per the Fourteen Points the German government became a parliamentary government and Wilhelm II abdicated. The Chancellorship passed to Friedrich Ebert, Chairman of the Social Democratic Party.

Took over from von Baden following the German surrender and became first Chancellor of the German republic at the end of November 1918. He was elected President of Germany in February 1919.

Scheidemann was appointed first of the Weimar government Chancellors of Germany by President Ebert. He resigned in protest over the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

Took over as Chancellor following the resignation of Scheidemann. His government signed the Treaty of Versailles. He introduced many welfare benefits and also a passed a law giving the Reichstag control of taxation. He resigned following the Kapp Putsch.

Took over as Chancellor following the resignation of Bauer.

Became Chancellor after winning the General Election. He resigned the position in protest at the harsh reparation payments of the Versailles Treaty.

Took over following the resignation of Fehrenbach. He temporarily resigned in October 1921 over the partition of Upper Silesia which had been determined by the League of Nations without the agreement of the people. However, on the request of President Ebert he continued as Chancellor but resigned a year later in protest at complying with the demands of the Versailles Treaty.

Took over as Chancellor following the resignation of Wirth. Tried to negotiate reparation payments without success. Resigned following a vote of no confidence.

Chancellor of a coalition government. Introduced the Rentenmark to stop hyperinflation and got the French to leave the Ruhr region. He resigned after losing the support of the Social Democrats in the Reichstag.

Became Chancellor after the resignation of Stresemann. He continued as Chancellor of a minority government after the May election but lost the December election.

Appointed Chancellor by Ebert. He resigned after a disagreement with new President Hindenburg over flags.

Was appointed Chancellor for a second term by Hindenburg. He negotiated for Germany to join the League of Nations and resigned after a disagreement over Russian policy.

Muller returned for a second term at the head of a coalition government following the resignation of Marx. Managed to negotiate the Young Plan which reduced reparation payments and gained a promise by the allies to leave the Rhineland. He resigned due to ill health and an inability to prevent hardship due to the Great Depression.

Became Chancellor following the resignation of Muller. Failed to get the support of the right-wing German National People’s Party. He suggested a restoration of the monarchy to prevent the rise of the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler which led to his dismissal by Hindenburg.

Papen was appointed Chancellor By Hindenburg after Bruning was dismissed. He lifted the ban on the SA and SS which resulted in an increase in street violence. Papen took over the Prussian government. He survived an election in July despite the Nazis being the majority party. Papen resigned after being unable to form a government but held a caretaker government until a new Chancellor was appointed.

Became Chancellor of Germany after von Papen resigned. He was in poor health and unable to form a government so resigned.

Hitler was appointed Chancellor by Hindenburg. Following his appointment he quickly removed opposition parties and banned trade unions. He declared himself Fuhrer of Germany and merged the position of President and Chancellor. He re-armed Germany and invaded Poland beginning World War Two. He remained Chancellor until he committed suicide.

As Hitler’s deputy, Goebbels became Chancellor on Hitler’s death. He committed suicide a day after becoming Chancellor.

Krosigk was appointed Chancellor by President Karl Donitz after the death of Goebbels. He was Chancellor at the time of Germany’s surrender to the Allies. He remained Chancellor until the Allies dissolved the government.

Adenauer was the first of  the Chancellors of the newly created Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. He won elections in 1953, 1957, 1961 and 1962. He resigned in 1963 over the issue of Britain joining the European Economic Community (EEC), siding with Charles de Gaulle’s veto against the majority of his cabinet.

Erhard was elected Chancellor after the resignation of Adenauer and was re-elected in October 1965. Erhard was pro-America rather than pro-Europe, a policy that led to his fall from office.

Kiesinger was elected Chancellor following the fall of Erhard. He lost his position following the election of 1969.

Brandt became Chancellor of Germany after the 1969 elections. He established close ties with the United States while working to improve realtions with Eastern Europe. He also believed in closer ties with Europe through the EEC. He resigned after a close acquaintance was revealed to be an East Germany spy.

Took over as acting Chancellor after the resignation of Brandt and served until he was elected as President.

Schmidt worked towards greater cooperation with the United States and also further unifying Western Europe. He was instrumental in the creation of the European Monetary System. After surviving elections in 1976 and 1980 he lost his position following the 1982 election.

Became Chancellor following the 1982 election. Kohl was a champion of European integration and a staunch ally of the United States. He was Chancellor during the fall of the Communist block and after the re-unification of Germany became known as the ‘Chancellor of Unity’. Kohl was a major force in the establishment of the European Union (EU). He was defeated in the 1998 election.

Schroder became Chancellor following the 1998 election. He worked closely with the United Kingdom Prime Minister, Tony Blair to further economic reform in Europe. He was re-elected in 2002 with a small majority. In 2005 he stood down as Chancellor in favour of Angela Merkel.

Merkel was the first female Chancellor of Germany. She was re-elected in 2009, 2013 and 2018. She was a major player in Europe and at the heart of European and EU policy.