The vice-chancellor of Germany, unofficially the vice-chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Vizekanzler der Bundesrepublik Deutschland), officially the deputy to the federal chancellor (German: Stellvertreter des Bundeskanzlers), is the second highest ranking German cabinet member. The chancellor is the head of government and, according to the constitution, gives this title of deputy to one of the federal ministers. It is common that the title is given to the major minister provided by the (smaller) coalition partner.
| Deputy to the Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany | |
|---|---|
| Stellvertreter des Bundeskanzlers | |
 Coat of arms of the German Government | |
| Style | Mr. Vice-Chancellor (informal) His Excellency (diplomatic) |
| Status | Deputy head of government |
| Member of | Federal Cabinet |
| Seat | As Federal Minister; currently Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Berlin/Bonn |
| Nominator | Chancellor or the coalition party |
| Appointer | Chancellor |
| Term length | At the Chancellor's pleasure |
| Constituting instrument | German Basic Law (German Constitution) |
| Formation | 24 May 1949 |
| First holder | Franz Blücher |
In everyday politics, being a vice-chancellor is more an honorary title. The vice-chancellor may head cabinet meetings when the chancellor is abroad. The function of vice-chancellor is to use the specific constitutional powers of the chancellor in case that the chancellor is unable to perform their duties. This kind of substitution has never been made use of in the history of the Federal Republic.
Should a chancellor resign, die or be permanently unable to perform the duties of office, the vice-chancellor does not automatically become the next chancellor. In such a case the Federal President assigns a minister to serve as acting chancellor until the Bundestag (parliament) elects a new chancellor.[1]).
Although Stellvertreter is the constitutional term, most Germans know the deputy by the expression Vice-Chancellor (Vizekanzler). Chancellor (Kanzler) is the traditional term for the German head of government since 1867/71. A general deputy was introduced by law in 1878 (Stellvertretungsgesetz). In the Weimar Republic of 1919–1933, the office of Vizekanzler was mentioned in the internal reglement of the government. The current office or title has existed since the constitution of 1949.
The current vice-chancellor of Germany is Robert Habeck, who took office on 8 December 2021, succeeding Olaf Scholz, who gave up the role in order to become chancellor.
History
Such an office was initially established by the 1878 Stellvertretungsgesetz (Deputation Act), which provided for the imperial chancellor appointing a deputy, officially known as Allgemeiner Stellvertreter des Reichskanzlers (General Deputy to the Imperial Chancellor). In addition to the general deputy, who could sign for all the affairs of the chancellor, the chancellor could appoint deputies with limited responsibilities. The act was revised on 28 October 1918, when the possibility of appointing deputies with limited responsibilities was removed and the vice-chancellor was given the right to appear before parliament.[2]
In the Weimar Republic, the office was considered less important. It was not even mentioned in the constitution. Usually it was held by the minister of justice or the interior. The most known office holder is Franz von Papen, a former chancellor who formed a coalition government of national socialists and conservatives. Adolf Hitler became Chancellor, and Papen Vice-Chancellor. It became soon obvious that the position of Vice-Chancellor provided no powers and was unsuited to constrain Hitler. Papen was convinced that him being trusted by president Hindenburg made him an important political player; soon, Hindenburg's trust went from Papen to Hitler.
In the Federal Republic (since 1949), the Chancellors have had no interest in allowing the Deputy to use the title for self promotion.[3] Since 1966 it became customary that the coalition partner of the governing party received the ministry of the exterior who was also appointed Deputy. The ministry of the exterior was considered to be the most important cabinet post besides the Chancellorship. This tradition faded away in the time of Merkel's office, partially, because political heavyweights of the coalition partner chose a different ministry for personal preference.
Office and appointment mechanism
The German cabinet consists of the Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. According to the Basic Law (Article 69.1), the Chancellor appoints one of the ministers as Vice-Chancellor. In contrast to the appointment of a cabinet minister, there is no need for a formal appointment by the President. The appointment is an exclusive power of the Chancellor.
The Chancellor is theoretically free to choose a deputy chancellor. In practice, a German government is usually based on a coalition of two or more parties and the Chancellor gives the title to a minister of the second largest coalition party upon recommendation of that party's leadership.
The German Vice-Chancellor can be regarded as the equivalent of a deputy prime minister in other parliamentary systems. Unlike the Vice President post in presidential systems of governments, the German Vice-Chancellor is not the automatic successor in the event that a sitting Chancellor suddenly leaves office.
A German cabinet exists only as long as the current Chancellor is in office. The end of a Chancellor's term in office (either by death or resignation or the first meeting of a newly elected Bundestag) automatically terminates the office of any minister. If this happens, the President of Germany appoints the former Chancellor or, if this is not possible, one of the former cabinet ministers (not necessarily, but most likely the former Vice-Chancellor) as Acting Chancellor, until the parliament elects a new Chancellor.[4] When in 1974 Chancellor Willy Brandt resigned and refused to remain in office until his successor's election, President Gustav Heinemann ensured a corresponding precedent and appointed former Vice-Chancellor Walter Scheel as Acting Chancellor.
The Basic Law does not state who shall perform the Chancellor's powers and duties, if both the Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor are unable to do so. The German cabinet's rules of procedure state that in absence of both office-holders cabinet meetings shall be chaired by a cabinet member designated for this purpose by either the Chancellor or the Vice-Chancellor or, if such a designation has not taken place or if the designee is not able to do so, by the present cabinet member with the longest uninterrupted membership in the federal government (§22.1).[5] It is however unclear, whether this provision extends to other powers of the office of Chancellor. In an expertise issued by the Bundestag's scientific service in 2014, the legal opinion is that this is the case.[6]
List of vice-chancellors
German Reich (1871–1945)
German Empire (1871–1918)
| No. | Portrait | Name | Term start | Term end | Days | Party | Portfolio | Cabinet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Otto Graf zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (1837–1896) | 1 June 1878 | 20 June 1881 | 1115 | FKP | Bismarck | ||
| 2 |  | Karl Heinrich von Boetticher (1833–1907) | 20 June 1881 | 1 July 1897 | 5855 | FKP | Secretary of State for the Interior | Bismarck | |
| Caprivi | |||||||||
| Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst | |||||||||
| 3 |  | Arthur von Posadowsky-Wehner (1845–1932) | 1 July 1897 | 24 June 1907 | 3644 | FKP | Secretary of State for the Interior | Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst | |
| Bülow | |||||||||
| 4 | .jpg) | Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (1856–1921) | 24 June 1907 | 14 July 1909 | 751 | Independent | Secretary of State for the Interior | Bülow | |
| 5 | .jpg) | Clemens von Delbrück (1856–1921) | 14 July 1909 | 22 May 1916 | 2501 | Independent | Secretary of State for the Interior | Bethmann Hollweg | |
| 7 |  | Karl Helfferich (1872–1924) | 22 May 1916 | 9 November 1917 | 536 | Independent | Secretary of State for the Interior (until 23 October 1917) | Bethmann Hollweg | |
| Michaelis | |||||||||
| Hertling | |||||||||
| 8 |  | Friedrich von Payer (1847–1931) | 9 November 1917 | 10 November 1918 | 366 | FVP | Hertling | ||
| Baden | |||||||||
| Ebert |
Weimar Republic (1918–1933)
Political party: DDP Centre DVP SPD DNVP
| No. | Portrait | Name | Term start | Term end | Days | Party | Portfolio | Cabinet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .jpg) | Eugen Schiffer (1860–1954) | 13 February 1919 | 19 April 1919 | 65 | DDP | Deputy Minister-President & Minister of Finance | Scheidemann | |
| The office was vacant from 19 April to 30 April 1919. | |||||||||
| 2 | .jpg) | Bernhard Dernburg (1865–1937) | 30 April 1919 | 21 June 1919 | 52 | DDP | Deputy Minister-President & Minister of Finance | Scheidemann | |
| 3 |  | Matthias Erzberger (1875–1921) | 21 June 1919 | 3 October 1919 | 104 | Centre | Deputy Minister-President (until 14 August 1919) & Minister of Finance | Bauer | |
| 4 (1) | | Eugen Schiffer (1860–1954) | 3 October 1919 | 27 March 1920 | 176 | DDP | Minister of Justice | Bauer | |
| 5 | .jpg) | Erich Koch-Weser (1875–1944) | 27 March 1920 | 21 June 1920 | 86 | DDP | Minister of the Interior | Müller I | |
| The office was vacant from 21 June to 25 June 1920. | |||||||||
| 6 |  | Rudolf Heinze (1865–1928) | 25 June 1920 | 10 May 1921 | 319 | DVP | Minister of Justice | Fehrenbach | |
| 7 |  | Gustav Bauer (1870–1944) | 10 May 1921 | 22 November 1922 | 561 | SPD | Minister of Finance | Wirth I | |
| Wirth II | |||||||||
| The office was vacant from 22 November 1922 to 13 August 1923. | |||||||||
| 8 | .jpg) | Robert Schmidt (1864–1943) | 13 August 1923 | 6 October 1923 | 54 | SPD | Minister for Reconstruction | Stresemann I | |
| The office was vacant from 6 October to 30 November 1923. | |||||||||
| 9 |  | Karl Jarres (1874–1951) | 30 November 1923 | 15 December 1924 | 381 | DVP | Minister of the Interior | Marx I | |
| Marx II | |||||||||
| The office was vacant from 15 December 1924 to 28 January 1927. | |||||||||
| 10 |  | Oskar Hergt (1869–1967) | 28 January 1927 | 28 June 1928 | 517 | DNVP | Minister of Justice | Marx IV | |
| The office was vacant from 28 June 1928 to 30 March 1930. | |||||||||
| 11 | .jpg) | Hermann Dietrich (1879–1954) | 30 March 1930 | 1 June 1932 | 794 | DDP | Minister of Finance (from 26 June 1930) | Brüning I | |
| Brüning II | |||||||||
| The office was vacant from 1 June 1932 to 30 January 1933. | |||||||||
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
| No. | Portrait | Name | Term start | Term end | Days | Party | Portfolio | Other positions | Cabinet | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Deputy to the Chancellor of the Reich | ||||||||||||||
| 12 |  | Franz von Papen (1879–1969) | 30 January 1933 | 7 August 1934 | 554 | Non-partisan | Minister President of Prussia (until 10 April 1933) | Hitler | ||||||
| From 7 August 1934 until 20 September 1949, the office of the Vice-Chancellor of Germany was abolished. | ||||||||||||||
Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present)
Political party: FDP CDU SPD Green
| No. | Portrait | Name | Term start | Term end | Days | Party | Portfolio | Cabinet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Franz Blücher (1896–1959) | 20 September 1949 | 29 October 1957 | 2961 | FDP (until 1956) FVP (1956–57) DP (1957–) | Marshall Plan (later renamed in Economic Cooperation) | Adenauer I • II | |
| 2 | .jpg) | Ludwig Erhard (1897–1977) | 29 October 1957 | 16 October 1963 | 2178 | CDU | Economic Affairs | Adenauer III • IV | |
| 3 |  | Erich Mende (1916–1998) | 17 October 1963 | 28 October 1966 | 1107 | FDP | Intra-German Relations | Erhard I • II | |
| The office was vacant from 28 October to 8 November 1966. | |||||||||
| 4 | .jpg) | Hans-Christoph Seebohm (1903–1967) | 8 November 1966 | 1 December 1966 | 22 | CDU | Transport | Erhard II | |
| 5 |  | Willy Brandt (1913–1992) | 1 December 1966 | 22 October 1969 | 1054 | SPD | Foreign Affairs | Kiesinger | |
| 6 |  | Walter Scheel (1919–2016) | 22 October 1969 | 16 May 1974 | 1668 | FDP | Foreign Affairs | Brandt I • II | |
| 7 |  | Hans-Dietrich Genscher (1927–2016) First term | 17 May 1974 | 17 September 1982 | 3045 | FDP | Foreign Affairs | Schmidt I • II • III | |
| 8 | .jpg) | Egon Franke (1913–1995) | 17 September 1982 | 1 October 1982 | 14 | SPD | Intra-German Relations | Schmidt III | |
| The office was vacant from 1 October to 4 October 1982. | |||||||||
| 9 (7) | .jpg) | Hans-Dietrich Genscher (1927–2016) Second term | 4 October 1982 | 18 May 1992 | 3516 | FDP | Foreign Affairs | Kohl I • II • III • IV | |
| 10 | .jpeg) | Jürgen Möllemann (1945–2003) | 18 May 1992 | 21 January 1993 | 248 | FDP | Economic Affairs | Kohl IV | |
| 11 |  | Klaus Kinkel (1936–2019) | 21 January 1993 | 27 October 1998 | 2104 | FDP | Foreign Affairs | Kohl IV • V | |
| 12 | .jpg) | Joschka Fischer (born 1948) | 27 October 1998 | 22 November 2005 | 2583 | Green | Foreign Affairs | Schröder I • II | |
| 13 |  | Franz Müntefering (born 1940) | 22 November 2005 | 21 November 2007 | 729 | SPD | Labour and Social Affairs | Merkel I | |
| 14 | .jpg) | Frank-Walter Steinmeier (born 1956) | 21 November 2007 | 27 October 2009 | 706 | SPD | Foreign Affairs | Merkel I | |
| 15 |  | Guido Westerwelle (1961–2016) | 27 October 2009 | 16 May 2011 | 565 | FDP | Foreign Affairs | Merkel II | |
| 16 |  | Philipp Rösler (born 1973) | 16 May 2011 | 17 December 2013 | 946 | FDP | Economic Affairs | Merkel II | |
| 17 | .jpg) | Sigmar Gabriel (born 1959) | 17 December 2013 | 14 March 2018 | 1548 | SPD | Economic Affairs (2013–17) Foreign Affairs (2017–18) | Merkel III | |
| 18 |  | Olaf Scholz (born 1958) | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 | 1365 | SPD | Finance | Merkel IV | |
| 19 | .jpg) | Robert Habeck (born 1969) | 8 December 2021 | Incumbent | 871 | Green | Economic Affairs and Climate Protection | Scholz | |