A number of presidential offices have existed in Germany since the fall of the monarchy in 1918. During the 1919-1933 Weimar Republic the head of state was the President of Germany (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. In 1945, Karl Dönitz briefly became President.
The West German constitution (Grundgesetz or Basic Law) of May 1949 created the office of President of Germany (German: Bundespräsident). Since Germany was reunited 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 Präsident der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (DDR) ("President of the German Democratic Republic"). Upon the death of Wilhelm Pieck in 1960, the office of Präsident der DDR was abolished and replaced by a collective head of state, the Staatsrat (State Council). The Staatsrat was abolished by a constitutional amendment of the Volkskammer ("People's Chamber") on 5 April 1990. From then until the GDR joined the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990, the president of the Volkskammer also served as the GDR head of state.
Also, between 1947 and 1956, the Saar was a French protectorate before it joined West Germany as a Land.
Contents |
| # | Portrait | Name (Born-Died) |
Term of Office | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Friedrich Ebert (1871–1925) |
11 February 1919 | 28 February 1925 (died in office) |
SPD | |
| – | Hans Luther (acting[1]) (1879–1962) |
28 February 1925 | 12 March 1925 | Non-partisan | |
| – | Walter Simons (acting[2]) (1861–1937) |
12 March 1925 | 12 May 1925 | Non-partisan | |
| 2 | General Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg (1847-1934) |
12 May 1925 | 2 August 1934 (died in office) |
Non-partisan | |
| 3 | Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) (Head of state and government as Führer und Reichskanzler) |
2 August 1934 | 30 April 1945 (died in office) |
NSDAP | |
| 4 | Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz (1891–1980) |
30 April 1945 | 23 May 1945 | NSDAP | |
1 As Chancellor of Germany. 2 As President of the Reichsgericht.
Presidents of the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundespräsidenten)
3 As President of the Bundesrat. Presidents of the Saarland French protectorate
|
Presidents of the German Democratic Republic
4 As President of the People's Chamber. 5 As Deputy Chairman of the State Council. |
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| # | Portrait | Name (Born-Died) |
Term of Office | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Richard von Weizsäcker (b. 1920) |
since 1 July 1984 |
30 June 1994 | CDU | |
| 7 | Roman Herzog (b. 1934) |
1 July 1994 | 30 June 1999 | CDU | |
| 8 | Johannes Rau (1931–2006) |
1 July 1999 | 30 June 2004 | SPD | |
| 9 | Horst Köhler (b. 1943) |
1 July 2004 | 31 May 2010 (resigned) |
CDU | |
| – | Jens Böhrnsen (acting[6]) (b. 1949) |
31 May 2010 | 30 June 2010 | SPD | |
| 10 | Christian Wulff (b. 1959) |
30 June 2010 | Incumbent | CDU | |
6 As President of the Bundesrat, Böhrnsen served as acting President following the resignation of Horst Köhler.