This is a list of heads of state of Germany.
History
Germany was ruled by monarchs from the beginning of division of the Frankish Empire in August 843 to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in August 1806.[1][2][3] During most of 19th century, independent German principalities were organized into various confederations, such as the Confederation of the Rhine dominated by Napoleon (1806-1913) and the German Confederation created by the Congress of Vienna (1814-1866). The Prussian-led North German Confederation (1866-1871) subsequently morphed into a modern nation state, the German Reich, which was ruled by emperors from 1871 to the collapse of all German monarchies in 1918.
The President of Germany replaced the monarch in 1919. Chancellor Adolf Hitler assumed the duties of head of state as Führer and Chancellor from 1934 until his suicide in April 1945. In 1949, Germany was divided into two states. The Federal President, head of state of West Germany, became head of state for all of Germany following German reunification in 1990.
East Frankish kingdom, 843–962
Carolingians
Conradine dynasty
Ottonian dynasty
Holy Roman Empire, 962–1806
The title "King of the Romans", used under the Holy Roman Empire, is (from this point onwards) considered equivalent to King of Germany. A king was chosen by the German electors and would then proceed to Rome to be crowned emperor by the pope.
Ottonian dynasty (continued)
Salian dynasty
Supplinburger dynasty
Hohenstaufen and Welf dynasties
Interregnum
Changing dynasties
Habsburg
Wittelsbach
Habsburg-Lorraine
Confederation of the Rhine, 1806–1813
German Confederation, 1815–1866
North German Confederation, 1867–1871
German Reich, 1871–1945
German Emperor, 1871-1918
President, 1919–1945
† denotes people who died in office.
Federal Republic of Germany, from 1949
† denotes people who died in office.
German Democratic Republic (East Germany), 1949–1990
† denotes people who died in office.
Styles of the Heads of State
- Unified state (1871 to 1945)
- East and West Germany (1949 to 1990)
- Unified state (1990 to present)
Notes
References
- ^ Gowers, Bernard (December 2011). "III The Central Middle Ages (900-1200)". Annual Bulletin of Historical Literature. 95 (1): 12–21. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8314.2011.01248.x. ISSN 0066-3832.
- ^ Arnold, Benjamin (1997). Medieval Germany 500–1300. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-25677-8. ISBN 978-0-333-61092-3.
- ^ The bee and the eagle: Napoleonic France and the end of the Holy Roman Empire, 1806. Forrest, Alan I., Wilson, Peter H. (Peter Hamish). Basingstoke [England]: Palgrave Macmillan. 2009. ISBN 978-0-230-00893-9. OCLC 227575082.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b c d Medieval Europeans: studies in ethnic identity and national perspectives in medieval Europe By Alfred P. Smyth, Palgrave Macmillan (1998), p. 64
- ^ a b Ernst Rudolf Huber: Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789. Vol. I: Reform und Restauration 1789 bis 1830. 2nd edition, Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart [et.al.] 1967, p. 589.
- ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789. Vol. I: Reform und Restauration 1789 bis 1830. 2nd edition, Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart [et.al.] 1967, p. 625–627, 808.
- ^ Elected Emperor of the Germans by the Frankfurt National Assembly on 28 March 1849, but refused the crown on 28 April 1849.
Manfred Botzenhart: Deutscher Parlamentarismus in der Revolutionszeit 1848–1850. Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 1977, pp. 697/698.
- ^ Anlage II: Additional-Akte zu dem Entwurf der Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs. In: Thüringer Landtag Erfurt (ed.): 150 Jahre Erfurter Unionsparlament (1850–2000) (= Schriften zur Geschichte des Parlamentarismus in Thüringen. H. 15) Wartburg Verlag, Weimar 2000, ISBN 3-86160-515-5, S. 27–44, here pp. 185–187.
- ^ a b Ernst Rudolf Huber: Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789. Band III: Bismarck und das Reich. 3. Auflage, Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 1988, S. 750/751.
- ^ His abdication was announced by the Chancellor on 9 November, and the Emperor went into exile in the Netherlands. He did not formally abdicate until 28 November.