A number of presidential offices have existed in Germany since the collapse of the German Empire in 1918.
The Weimar Constitution of August 1919 created the office of President of the Reich (German: Reichspräsident). Upon the death of Paul von Hindenburg in August 1934, the office was left vacant, with Adolf Hitler becoming head of state as Führer und Reichskanzler (retroactively approved by a referendum). In April–May 1945, Karl Dönitz briefly became President upon the suicide of Hitler (in accordance with Hitler's last will and testament).
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany of May 1949 created the office of Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland). Since German reunification in 1990, the President has been the head of state for all of Germany.
The East German constitution of October 1949 created the office of President of the German Democratic Republic (German: Präsident der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik). Upon the death of Wilhelm Pieck in 1960, the office of president was replaced by a collective head of state, the Staatsrat ("State Council"). After the Staatsrat was abolished on 5 April 1990, the president of the Volkskammer ("People's Chamber") served as head of state until East Germany joined the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990
German Reich (1871–1945)
editWeimar Republic (1919–1933)
edit† denotes people who died in office.
| Portrait | Reichspräsident | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Party | Election | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friedrich Ebert (1871–1925) | 11 February 1919 | 28 February 1925 † | 6 years, 17 days | SPD | 1919 | ||
| Hans Luther (1879–1962) Acting [a] | 28 February 1925 | 12 March 1925 | 12 days | Independent | – | ||
| Walter Simons (1861–1937) Acting [b] | 12 March 1925 | 12 May 1925 | 61 days | Independent | – | ||
| Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934) | 12 May 1925 | 21 March 1933 | 7 years, 313 days | Independent | 1925 1932 | ||
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
edit† denotes people who died in office.
| Portrait | Reichspräsident | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Party | Election | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934) | 21 March 1933 | 2 August 1934 † | 1 year, 143 days | Independent | 1925 1932 | ||
| Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) Führer und Reichskanzler | 2 August 1934 | 30 April 1945 † | 10 years, 271 days | NSDAP | – | ||
| Großadmiral Karl Dönitz (1891–1980) | 30 April 1945 | 23 May 1945 | 23 days | NSDAP | – | ||
German Democratic Republic (East Germany) (1949–1990)
edit† denotes people who died in office.
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| President of the Republic Präsident der Republik | ||||||
| Wilhelm Pieck (1876–1960) | 11 October 1949 | 7 September 1960 † | 10 years, 332 days | SED | ||
| Johannes Dieckmann (1893–1969) Acting [c] | 7 September 1960 | 12 September 1960 | 5 days | LDPD | ||
| Chairman of the State Council Vorsitzender des Staatsrats | ||||||
| Walter Ulbricht (1893–1973) | 12 September 1960 | 1 August 1973 † | 12 years, 323 days | SED | ||
| Friedrich Ebert Jr. (1894–1979) Acting [d] | 1 August 1973 | 3 October 1973 | 63 days | SED | ||
| Willi Stoph (1914–1999) | 3 October 1973 | 29 October 1976 | 3 years, 26 days | SED | ||
| Erich Honecker (1912–1994) | 29 October 1976 | 18 October 1989 (resigned) | 12 years, 354 days | SED | ||
| Egon Krenz (born 1937) | 18 October 1989 | 6 December 1989 (resigned) | 49 days | SED | ||
| Manfred Gerlach (1928–2011) | 6 December 1989 | 5 April 1990 (office abolished) | 120 days | LDPD | ||
| President of the People's Chamber Präsident der Volkskammer | ||||||
| Sabine Bergmann-Pohl (born 1946) | 5 April 1990 | 2 October 1990 (office abolished) | 180 days | CDU | ||
Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present)
edit† denotes people who died in office.
| Portrait | Bundespräsident | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Party | Election | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theodor Heuss (1884–1963) | 12 September 1949 | 12 September 1959 | 10 years | FDP | 1949 1954 | ||
| Heinrich Lübke (1894–1972) | 13 September 1959 | 30 June 1969 (resigned) | 9 years, 290 days | CDU | 1959 1964 | ||
| Gustav Heinemann (1899–1976) | 1 July 1969 | 30 June 1974 | 4 years, 364 days | SPD | 1969 | ||
| Walter Scheel (1919–2016) | 1 July 1974 | 30 June 1979 | 4 years, 364 days | FDP | 1974 | ||
| Karl Carstens (1914–1992) | 1 July 1979 | 30 June 1984 | 4 years, 365 days | CDU | 1979 | ||
| Richard von Weizsäcker (1920–2015) | 1 July 1984 | 30 June 1994 | 9 years, 364 days | CDU | 1984 1989 | ||
| Roman Herzog (1934–2017) | 1 July 1994 | 30 June 1999 | 4 years, 364 days | CDU | 1994 | ||
| Johannes Rau (1931–2006) | 1 July 1999 | 30 June 2004 | 4 years, 365 days | SPD | 1999 | ||
| Horst Köhler (born 1943) | 1 July 2004 | 31 May 2010 (resigned) | 5 years, 334 days | CDU | 2004 2009 | ||
| Jens Böhrnsen (born 1949) Acting [e] | 31 May 2010 | 30 June 2010 | 30 days | SPD | – | ||
| Christian Wulff (born 1959) | 30 June 2010 | 17 February 2012 (resigned) | 1 year, 232 days | CDU | 2010 | ||
| Horst Seehofer (born 1949) Acting [e] | 17 February 2012 | 18 March 2012 | 30 days | CSU | – | ||
| Joachim Gauck (born 1940) | 18 March 2012 | 18 March 2017 | 5 years | Independent | 2012 | ||
| Frank-Walter Steinmeier (born 1956) | 19 March 2017 | Incumbent | 7 years, 280 days | SPD | 2017 2022 | ||
Timeline
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See also
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Notes
edit- ^ Acting President, as Chancellor of Germany.
- ^ Acting President, as President of the Reichsgericht.
- ^ Acting head of state, as President of the Volkskammer.
- ^ Acting Chairman of the State Council, as Deputy Chairman of the State Council.
- ^ a b Acting President, as President of the Bundesrat.