Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
| Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Bundeskanzler(in) (German) |
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| Member of |
Cabinet European Council |
| Seat |
German Chancellery, Berlin, Germany (primary) Palais Schaumburg, Bonn, Germany (secondary) |
| Appointer | The Federal President In accordance with a vote in the Bundestag |
| Term length | None The Chancellor's term of office ends when a new Bundestag ("Federal Diet", the lower house of the German Federal Parliament) convenes for its first meeting or when dismissed by the President (for instance following a constructive vote of no confidence), i.e. usually 4 years (unlimited during state of defence) |
| Constituting instrument | Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany |
| Formation | 1949 |
| First holder | Konrad Adenauer |
| Deputy | Vice-Chancellor |
| Salary | €220,000 p.a. |
| Website | www |
The Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (in German called Bundeskanzler(), literally "Federal Chancellor", or Kanzler() for short) is, under the German 1949 constitution, the head of government of Germany. It is historically a continuation of the office of Chancellor (German: Kanzler, later Reichskanzler, Chancellor of the Realm) that was originally established as the office of Chancellor of the North German Confederation in 1867. The 1949 constitution increased the role of the Chancellor compared to the 1919 Weimar Constitution by making the Chancellor much more independent of the influence of the Federal President and granting the Chancellor the right to set the guidelines for all policy areas, thus making them the real chief executive. The role is generally comparable to that of Prime Minister in other parliamentary democracies.
There have been eight chancellors since 1949. The current Chancellor of Germany is Angela Merkel, who was elected in 2005. She is the first female Chancellor since the establishment of the original office in 1867, and known in German as Bundeskanzlerin, the feminine form of Bundeskanzler. Merkel is also the first Chancellor elected since the fall of the Berlin Wall to have been raised in the former East Germany.
The office of Chancellor has a long history, stemming back to the Holy Roman Empire. The title was at times used in several states of German-speaking Europe. The power and influence of this office varied strongly over time. Otto von Bismarck in particular had a great amount of power, but it was not until 1949 that the Chancellor was established as the central executive authority of Germany.
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