Read Next
Discover
History & Society
Leaders of Germany
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
Germany is a federal multiparty republic with two legislative houses. Its government is headed by the chancellor (prime minister), who is elected by a majority vote of the Bundestag (Federal Assembly) upon nomination by the president (head of state).
The table provides a chronological list of the leaders of Germany from 1871.
| Kaisers of the German Empire | |
|---|---|
| *Upon Hindenburg's death in 1934, the powers of the presidency were merged with those of the chancellor. | |
| **Chancellor from 1933 and Führer ("Leader") from 1934. | |
| ***East Germany was governed by interim administrations from December 1989 until the two Germanys were reunited in October 1990. | |
| William I (of Prussia) | 1871–88 |
| Frederick III | 1888 |
| William II | 1888–1918 |
| Presidents of the Weimar Republic | |
| Friedrich Ebert | 1919–25 |
| Paul von Hindenburg | 1925–33 |
| Leaders of the Third Reich (National Socialist regime) | |
| Paul von Hindenburg* | 1934 |
| Adolf Hitler** | 1933–45 |
| Chancellors of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) | |
| Konrad Adenauer | 1949–63 |
| Ludwig Erhard | 1963–66 |
| Kurt Georg Kiesinger | 1966–69 |
| Willy Brandt | 1969–74 |
| Helmut Schmidt | 1974–82 |
| Helmut Kohl | 1982–90 |
| First (or General) Secretaries of the Socialist Unity Party of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) | |
| Walter Ulbricht | 1950–71 |
| Erich Honecker | 1971–89 |
| Egon Krenz*** | 1989 |
| Chancellors of the Federal Republic of Germany (reunited Germany) | |
| Helmut Kohl | 1990–98 |
| Gerhard Schröder | 1998–2005 |
| Angela Merkel | 2005–21 |
| Olaf Scholz | 2021– |