Vice-Chancellor of Germany
The Vice-Chancellor of Germany (Vizekanzler) in Germany is the second highest position in the government, and is usually held by the leader of the government's principal coalition partner. Unlike the American Vice President, the Vice-Chancellor is not an independent office. Instead, the Vice-Chancellor also serves as a Cabinet minister, most commonly as Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, the current Vice Chancellor is Labour Minister Franz Müntefering, who had been Chairman of the junior coalition partner SPD during the coalition talks. Also unlike the US Vice President, the Vice-Chancellor will not automatically become Chancellor for the rest of the term if the Chancellor dies or becomes unable to fulfill his duties in any other way.
The prefix "Vize-" is derived from the Latin "vicis" meaning "in place of".
List of Vice-Chancellors
Weimar Republic
- 1919 Eugen Schiffer (DDP)
- 1919 Bernhard Dernburg (DDP)
- 1919 Matthias Erzberger (Centre Party)
- 1919-1920 Eugen Schiffer (DDP)
- 1920 Erich Koch-Weser (DDP)
- 1920-1921 Rudolf Heinze (DVP)
- 1921-1922 Gustav Bauer (SPD)
- 1922-1923 vacant
- 1923 Robert Schmidt (SPD)
- 1923-1925 Karl Jarres (DVP)
- 1925-1927 vacant
- 1927-1928 Oskar Hergt (DNVP)
- 1928-1930 vacant
- 1930-1932 Hermann R. Dietrich (DDP)
- 1932-1933 vacant
Nazi Germany
- 1933-1934 Franz von Papen
- 1934-1945 vacant
Federal Republic of Germany
- 1949-1957 Franz Blücher (FDP)
- 1957-1963 Ludwig Erhard (CDU)
- 1963-1966 Erich Mende (FDP)
- 1966 Hans-Christoph Seebohm (CDU)
- 1966-1969 Willy Brandt (SPD)
- 1969-1974 Walter Scheel (FDP)
- 1974-1982 Hans-Dietrich Genscher (FDP)
- 1982 Egon Franke (SPD)
- 1982-1992 Hans-Dietrich Genscher (FDP)
- 1992-1993 Jürgen Möllemann (FDP)
- 1993-1998 Klaus Kinkel (FDP)
- 1998-2005 Joschka Fischer (Greens)
- since 2005 Franz Müntefering (SPD)