Germany is a federal multiparty republic with two legislative houses. Its government is headed by the chancellor (prime minister), who is elected by a majority vote of the Bundestag (Federal Assembly) upon nomination by the president (head of state).
The table provides a chronological list of the leaders of Germany from 1871.
| Kaisers of the German Empire | |
|---|---|
| *Upon Hindenburg's death in 1934, the powers of the presidency were merged with those of the chancellor. | |
| **Chancellor from 1933 and Führer ("Leader") from 1934. | |
| ***East Germany was governed by interim administrations from December 1989 until the two Germanys were reunited in October 1990. | |
| William I (of Prussia) | 1871–88 |
| Frederick III | 1888 |
| William II | 1888–1918 |
| Presidents of the Weimar Republic | |
| Friedrich Ebert | 1919–25 |
| Paul von Hindenburg | 1925–33 |
| Leaders of the Third Reich (National Socialist regime) | |
| Paul von Hindenburg* | 1934 |
| Adolf Hitler** | 1933–45 |
| Chancellors of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) | |
| Konrad Adenauer | 1949–63 |
| Ludwig Erhard | 1963–66 |
| Kurt Georg Kiesinger | 1966–69 |
| Willy Brandt | 1969–74 |
| Helmut Schmidt | 1974–82 |
| Helmut Kohl | 1982–90 |
| First (or General) Secretaries of the Socialist Unity Party of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) | |
| Walter Ulbricht | 1950–71 |
| Erich Honecker | 1971–89 |
| Egon Krenz*** | 1989 |
| Chancellors of the Federal Republic of Germany (reunited Germany) | |
| Helmut Kohl | 1990–98 |
| Gerhard Schröder | 1998–2005 |
| Angela Merkel | 2005–21 |
| Olaf Scholz | 2021– |