Famous German Chancellors And Presidents

German politician, Konrad Adenauer, served as the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. He was also the co-founder and the first leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He played a key role in leading his country from the ruins of World War II to becoming a  prosperous nation.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the current president of Germany, has also been his nation’s Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs. A Social Democratic Party of Germany member, he went from being a factory worker’s son to studying law and politics and then eventually stepping into politics. He has also worked for the German military.

Friedrich Ebert was a German politician who served as the president of Germany from 1919 to 1925. He played an important role during the German Revolution of 1918–19, which helped replace the federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary republic, which came to be known as the Weimar Republic. Friedrich Ebert also worked towards restoring peace in Germany.

Gustav Stresemann was the only one of his siblings to complete university education. He grew up to serve as the chancellor of the Weimar Republic briefly, before becoming the foreign minister. He shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the French foreign minister Aristide Briand for an agreement of reconciliation.

Kurt Georg Kiesinger was a German politician. Nicknamed Silver Tongue, Kiesinger is best remembered for his outstanding skills as a mediator and orator. While serving as Baden-Württemberg's Minister President, Kiesinger founded the universities of Ulm and Konstanz. He is also credited with writing several books and poetry.

Joachim Gauck is a German civil rights activist and politician. From 2012 to 2017, Gauck served as the president of Germany. Joachim Gauck is credited with co-founding a political movement called New Forum in 1989, which played a critical role in the undoing of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. A multi-talented personality, Joachim Gauck has authored many influential books.

Ludwig Erhard was a German politician best remembered for his efforts to recover the economy in West Germany after the Second World War while serving as the Minister of Economic Affairs. From 1963 to 1966, he served as West Germany's chancellor. Although he was an influential politician, Erhard lacked support from former Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, leading to Ludwig Erhard's resignation.

Apart from being the first president of West Germany, Theodor Heuss, the Free Democratic Party leader, also framed the new constitution of West Germany after World War II. Previously, he was a political journalist and was targeted by Hitler. Even his books were burned for being against German interests.

Horst Köhler is a German politician and economist. From 2004 to 2010, he served as President of Germany. Before his election as president, Horst Köhler held an important position at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development where he was responsible for the institution's growth between 1998 and 2000.    

Heinrich Brüning was a German academic and politician. From 1930 to 1932, he served as the chancellor of Germany. Brüning lost his popularity when his measures to tackle the economic crisis instigated by the Great Depression increased unemployment in the Weimar Republic. To this day, he remains a controversial figure in the history of Germany.

Christian Wulff is a German retired lawyer and politician. After serving as Minister-President of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2010, Wulff went on to serve as President of Germany. During his presidency, which lasted from 2010 to 2012, Wulff faced accusations of corruption pertaining to his former service as minister-president. The accusations, which were later invalidated, led to his resignation.

Walter Scheel was a German politician who led the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) between 1968 and 1974. He also served as vice-chancellor and minister of Foreign Affairs from 1969 to 1974 during Willy Brandt's chancellorship. When Willy Brandt resigned in 1974, Walter Scheel served as the acting chancellor of West Germany for a few days.

Social Democratic Party of Germany member Philipp Scheidemann was the man who declared the formation of the Weimar Republic and also served as its chancellor. Born into a working-class family, he initially apprenticed as a printer. The rise of the Nazi power caused him to move to Denmark later.

Roman Catholic Centre Party leader and two-time German chancellor Wilhelm Marx was a jurist and the founder of the Catholic Schools Organization. Best known for accepting the Dawes Plan for World War I reparations, he was charged with the Volksvereinsprozeß during the Nazi regime.

A doctorate in law, Roman Herzog had initially been a teaching assistant and then a political science professor. Stepping into politics later, he was elected as the first German president following the reunification of Germany. Apart from an honorary knighthood, he also won the Charlemagne Prize.

Johannes Rau was a German politician (SPD) who served as the president of Germany from 1999 until 2004. Previously, he had been the minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 1998. He identified himself as a patriot, and his maxim was "to reconcile, not divide". He was awarded the Leo Baeck Medal for his humanitarian work in 2001. 

Social Democratic politician and two-time German chancellor Hermann Müller had a major role in the Treaty of Versailles. A wine dealer’s son, he faced a difficult childhood after his father’s death. His inability to deal with the impact of the Great Depression on Germany forced him tom resign from his chancellorship.

Once president of the German Federal Republic, or West Germany, Heinrich Lübke was born to a cobbler and slowly rose up to be a member of the Centre Party and then the Christian Democratic Union. Not a great public speaker, he was often ridiculed for his failing memory at public events.

Gustav Heinemann was the first Social Democrat to serve as the head of state in West Germany following World War II. Known widely as the ordinary man's President, he was knighted, too.  A lecturer of law, too, his reluctance to support the Nazis probably ended his teaching career.