Heads of the German Chancellery

Last updated

Head of the Chancellery
Chef des Bundeskanzleramtes (German)
DEgov-BKAmt-Logo.svg
Wolfgang Schmidt at the Department of State on October 25, 2023 (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Wolfgang Schmidt
since 8 December 2021
German Chancellery
AbbreviationChefBK
Member of Cabinet
Reports to Chancellor of Germany
AppointerChancellor
Precursor Chief of the Reich Chancellery
Formation12 October 1949
First holder Franz-Josef Wuermeling
Website Official website

The Head of the Chancellery (German : Chef des Bundeskanzleramtes, abbreviated ChefBK) is the highest ranking official of the German Chancellery and the principal assistant of the Chancellor of Germany. The Chief of Staff is in charge of the running of the German Chancellery as well as with coordinating the federal government's work. The Chief of Staff is either a member of the federal cabinet with the rank of Federal Minister for Special Affairs or holds the rank of Secretary of State. All Chiefs of Staff since 2005 have been members of the federal cabinet. [1]

List of the heads of the Federal Chancellery

No.PortraitName
(born–died)
Term of officePolitical partyRankRef.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1 Bundesarchiv Bild 146III-386, Franz-Josef Wuermeling.jpg Franz-Josef Wuermeling
(1900–1986)
12 October 194914 January 19511 year, 94 days CDU Secretary of State
2 Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F004665-0003, Walter Hallstein.jpg Walter Hallstein
(1901–1982)
17 October 19491 March 1950135 days
3 Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P002186, Otto Lenz.jpg Otto Lenz
(1903–1957)
15 January 195119 September 19532 years, 247 days
4 Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F015051-0001, Hans Globke.jpg Hans Globke
(1898–1973)
28 October 195315 October 19639 years, 352 days
5 Bundesarchiv Bild 183-64728-0012, Ludger Westrick (cropped).jpg Ludger Westrick
(1894–1990)
17 October 196316 June 1964243 days
16 June 196430 November 19662 years, 167 days Federal Minister
6 Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F023682-0010A, Bonn, Kanzler Kiesinger ernennt Staatssekretar (cropped).jpg Werner Knieper
(1909–1977)
1 December 196631 December 19671 year, 30 days Secretary of State
7 Karl Carstens (cropped).jpg Karl Carstens
(1914–1992)
1 January 196822 October 19691 year, 294 days
8 Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F041575-0018, Horst Ehmke bei Pressekonferenz.jpg Horst Ehmke
(1927–2017)
22 October 196918 December 19723 years, 57 days SPD Federal Minister
9 Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F042001-0033, Bonn, Plenarsitzung des Bundesrates, Horst Grabert.jpg Horst Grabert
(1927–2011)
18 December 197215 May 19741 year, 148 days Secretary of State
10 Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F059126-0020, Bonn, Bundestagswahlparty SPD-FDP-Regierung (cropped).jpg Manfred Schüler
(born 1932)
16 May 19741 December 19806 years, 199 days
11 Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F064991-0014, Bonn, SPD-Pressekonferenz, Manfred Lahnstein (cropped).jpg Manfred Lahnstein
(born 1937)
1 December 198028 April 19821 year, 148 days
12 No image.png Gerhard Konow
(1929–1997)
29 April 19824 October 1982159 days CDU
13 Schreckenberger2furwiki.jpg Waldemar Schreckenberger
(1929–2017)
4 October 198215 November 19842 years, 42 days
14 Oliver Mark - Wolfgang Schauble, Berlin 2007.jpg Wolfgang Schäuble
(born 1942)
15 November 198420 April 19894 years, 156 days Federal Minister
15 RudolfSeiters.jpg Rudolf Seiters
(born 1937)
21 April 198925 November 19912 years, 218 days
16 FBOHL1.jpg Friedrich Bohl
(born 1945)
26 November 199127 October 19986 years, 335 days
17 Bodo Hombach (cropped).jpg Bodo Hombach
(born 1952)
27 October 19987 July 1999253 days SPD
18 Frank-Walter Steinmeier 20.jpg Frank-Walter Steinmeier
(born 1956)
7 July 199922 November 20056 years, 138 days Secretary of State
19 Thomas de Maiziere Dresden (crop).jpg Thomas de Maizière
(born 1954)
22 November 200528 October 20093 years, 340 days CDU Federal Minister
20 Unterzeichnung des Koalitionsvertrages der 18. Wahlperiode des Bundestages (Martin Rulsch) 144.jpg Ronald Pofalla
(born 1959)
28 October 200917 December 20134 years, 50 days
21 Altmaier.jpg Peter Altmaier
(born 1958)
17 December 201314 March 20184 years, 87 days
22 Helge Braun Portrat 2017.jpg Helge Braun
(born 1972)
14 March 20188 December 20213 years, 269 days
23 Wolfgang Schmidt at the Department of State on October 25, 2023 (cropped).jpg Wolfgang Schmidt
(born 1970)
8 December 2021Incumbent2 years, 3 days SPD

Related Research Articles

Chancellor is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the audience. A chancellor's office is called a chancellery or chancery. The word is now used in the titles of many various officers in various settings. Nowadays the term is most often used to describe:

The title chief of staff identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide-de-camp to an important individual, such as a president, or a senior military officer, or leader of a large organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany</span> Member of the German government without portfolio

A Federal Minister for Special Affairs is a member of the German government without portfolio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German Chancellery</span> Office of the Federal Chancellor of Germany

The German Chancellery is an agency serving the executive office of the chancellor of Germany, the head of the federal government, currently Olaf Scholz. The Chancellery's primary function is to assist the chancellor in coordinating the activities of the federal government. The head of the Chancellery holds the rank of either a Secretary of State or a Federal Minister, currently held by Wolfgang Schmidt. The headquarters of the German Chancellery is at the Federal Chancellery building in Berlin, which is the largest government headquarters in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet of Germany</span> Chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany

The Federal Cabinet, or according to the German Basic Law, the Federal Government, is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's organisation, as well as the method of its election and appointment, along with the procedure for its dismissal, are set down in articles 62 through 69 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (Grundgesetz).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Lammers</span> German jurist and Nazi politician (1879–1962)

Hans Heinrich Lammers was a German jurist and prominent Nazi Party politician. From 1933 until 1945 he served as Chief of the Reich Chancellery under Adolf Hitler. In 1937, he additionally was given the post of Reichsminister in the cabinet. During the 1948–1949 Ministries Trial, Lammers was found guilty of crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and membership in a criminal organization. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in April 1949 but this was later reduced to 10 years and he was released early.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas de Maizière</span> German politician

Karl Ernst Thomas de Maizière is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 2009 to 2011 and 2013 to 2018, as well as Federal Minister of Defence from 2011 to 2013. He previously served as Head of the Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the First Merkel cabinet from 2005 to 2009. Since 2009, he has been a member of the Bundestag for Meißen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Austria</span> National government of Austria

The Government of Austria is the executive cabinet of the Republic of Austria. It consists of the chancellor, who is the head of government, the vice chancellor and the ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chancellor of Germany</span> Head of government of Germany

The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal government of Germany, and the commander in chief of the German Armed Forces during wartime. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Cabinet and heads the executive branch. The chancellor is elected by the Bundestag on the proposal of the federal president and without debate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minister-President of Lower Saxony</span>

The Minister-President of Lower Saxony, also referred to as Premier or Prime Minister, is the head of government of the German state of Lower Saxony. The position was created in 1946, when the states of Brunswick, Oldenburg, Schaumburg-Lippe and the State of Hanover were merged to form the state of Lower Saxony. The current Minister President is Stephan Weil, heading a coalition government between the Social Democrats and the CDU. Weil succeeded David McAllister following the 2013 state election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chancellery (Austria)</span>

In Austrian politics, the Federal Chancellery is the ministry led by the chancellor. Since the establishment of the First Austrian Republic in 1918, the Chancellery building has served as the venue for the sessions of the Austrian cabinet. It is located on the Ballhausplatz in the centre of Vienna, vis-à-vis the Hofburg Imperial Palace. Like Downing Street, Quai d'Orsay or – formerly – Wilhelmstrasse, the address has become a synecdoche for governmental power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland</span>

The Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland, or KPRM, is the executive office for the Prime Minister of Poland. Created under the administrative reorganization reforms by the government of Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz in 1996 and implemented in the following year, the Chancellery assumed many responsibilities of the previous Office of the Council of Ministers. In addition to serving as the premier's office, the Chancellery oversees the technical, legislative, legal and organizational support for the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. The current Chief of the Chancellery is Michał Dworczyk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Merkel cabinet</span> Government of Germany from 2013 to 2018

The Third Merkel cabinet was the 23rd Government of the Federal Republic of Germany during the 18th legislative session of the Bundestag. Installed after the 2013 federal election, it left office on 14 March 2018. It was preceded by the second Merkel cabinet and succeeded by the fourth Merkel cabinet. Led by Chancellor Angela Merkel. The government was supported by a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD). Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) replaced Philipp Rösler (FDP) as Vice Chancellor of Germany and became Federal Minister for Economics and Energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friedrich Bohl</span> German politician

Friedrich Bohl is a former German politician. From 1991 to 1998 he was the chief of the Federal Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Affairs. He was the member of Fourth Kohl cabinet and Fifth Kohl cabinet. He succeeded Rudolf Seiters on 26 November 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief of the Armed Forces (Switzerland)</span>

The Chief of the Armed Forces commands the Swiss Armed Forces in time of peace and reports directly to the head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports and to the Swiss Federal Council. The position was established in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Chancellery, Berlin</span> Official seat of the chancellor of Germany as well as their executive office

The Federal Chancellery in Berlin is the official seat and residence of the chancellor of Germany as well as their executive office, the German Chancellery. As part of the move of the German Federal Government from Bonn to Berlin, the office moved into the new building planned by the architects Axel Schultes and Charlotte Frank. The building, which is the largest government headquarters in the world, is part of the "Federal Belt" in the Spreebogen, Willy-Brandt-Straße 1, 10557 Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helge Braun</span> German politician

Helge Reinhold Braun is a German physician and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Between 2018 and 2021, he served as Head of the Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the fourth coalition government of Chancellor Angela Merkel. He was the Parliamentary Secretary of State for Bureaucracy Reduction and Federal-State Relations at the Chancellery between 2013 and 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathanael Liminski</span> German politician

Nathanael Liminski is a German politician from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Since 30 June 2017, he has been Head of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and since June 29, 2022 Minister for Federal, European and International Affairs and the Media. Liminski was considered the irreplaceable "mastermind" and most important confidant of former Prime Minister and failed CDU chancellor candidate Armin Laschet and is now perceived as a close collaborator of new Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reem Alabali-Radovan</span> German politician

Reem Alabali-Radovan is a German politician who has been serving as a Member of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party (SPD) since 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolfgang Schmidt (politician)</span> German politician

Wolfgang Schmidt is a German politician and jurist who has been serving as Federal Minister for Special Affairs, Head of the Chancellery and Commissioner for the Federal Intelligence Services since 2021. He was previously State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance under Minister Olaf Scholz in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021.

References