Imperial Chancellor (Weimar Republic)

Gustav Bauer from the SPD was the first politician to be head of government after the adoption of the Weimar Constitution in 1919 and again to bear the title of Chancellor .

Chancellor was the name given to the head of government in the Weimar Republic . The term " Reich Chancellor " had already been used in the German Empire for the only responsible minister . The Weimar Constitution of August 11, 1919 (WRV) took up the name again; The head of government of the National Socialist regime (since 1933) also called himself Reich Chancellor. In the Weimar Republic the head of government was a member of a collegial government, the Reich government . However, the Reich Chancellor had special rights that set him apart from the Reich Ministers .

According to the Weimar Constitution, the Reich Chancellor determined the “ guidelines of politics ”. As in other political systems, the head of government during the Weimar period was involved in a variety of institutional and political constraints. The Chancellor had to take into account the wishes of his own party as well as those of his coalition partners . The government may have been a minority government that needed the support of other parties in parliament, the Reichstag .

After all, outside the Reich government there was the head of state , the Reich President . The Reich President had important special rights in the field of the military and foreign policy and was generally the one who appointed and dismissed the government. When the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany was later drawn up , they expressly wanted a less powerful head of state. This led to the strengthening of the position of the Federal Chancellor in the Federal Republic .

Origin of the office

In German constitutional history , it was initially not customary for the constitution to include one of the ministers as head of ministers. It was similar in foreign constitutions of the 19th century . In practice, however, one of the ministers actually chaired the meetings of the Council of Ministers and otherwise represented it externally. The Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck still had to fight for a special position, for example that the Prime Minister determined which minister apart from himself was allowed to speak to the king . Incidentally, a prime minister at the time was one of the specialist ministers who also took over management.

At the constitutional deliberations in the constituent Reichstag (1867), the liberals wanted a collegial government, but Bismarck prevailed with the fact that the executive consisted of only one person, the Federal Chancellor . In 1871 he was given the constitutional title of Chancellor . The Act of Representation of 1878 upgraded the state secretaries: Since then, they have also been allowed to countersign the monarch's actions . The state secretaries, i.e. the heads of the highest federal or Reich authorities, remained officials subordinate to the Reich Chancellor.

After the November Revolution of 1918, there was initially no longer any constitutional order. Power was exercised by the Council of People's Representatives. The National Assembly elected in 1919 established two constitutional orders. The provisional law of February 10, 1919, the provisional power of the Reich , only spoke of the “Reich ministers” appointed by the Reich President. That was an important preliminary decision for a collegial government. The head of government received the official title of "Reichsministerpräsident", like the head of the provisional central authority in 1848/1849.

Duties and administration

At the laying of the foundation stone of an extension to the Reich Chancellery , 1928. The action is taken by Reich President Paul von Hindenburg (center, cylinder in hand). Behind him is Chancellor Wilhelm Marx . If you add up all of Marx's terms of office, he was the longest serving Reich Chancellor during the Weimar period.

The Weimar Constitution finally continued the division of the executive into two parts: the Reich President and the Reich government. In addition to the Reich ministers, the latter now received a Reich Chancellor (Art. 52 WRV) who determined the policy guidelines (Art. 56 WRV). He alone was responsible for these guidelines vis-à-vis the Reichstag and the Reich President. He assessed whether the management of the individual Reich Ministries complied with the guidelines. The resolutions of the government, however, required a majority of votes (Art. 58 WRV); in this way the Reich Chancellor and a minister could be outvoted. The Reich Chancellor presided over the government and had to manage business according to the rules of procedure.

It was not provided for in the Weimar Constitution, but it was also not excluded that a Reich Chancellor would also head a department. Outside the constitution, the rules of procedure (May 3, 1924) stipulated that the Reich Chancellor would appoint a deputy. As in the German Empire, it was given the unofficial designation Vice Chancellor .

According to the Weimar Constitution, the Reich Chancellor represented the Reich President in the event of incapacity or premature termination of office. In the latter case, an imperial law should regulate the further procedure. In 1925, such a Reich law stipulated that the President of the Reich Court took over this task until a new Reich President was elected. On December 9, 1932 (403 votes to 126), the Reichstag voted for a constitutional amendment: With a law of December 17, the President of the Reichsgericht became the representative of the Reich President.

The authority of the Reich Chancellor to establish guidelines was in practice restricted by his own party and the other parties in the governing coalition. Accordingly, the Weimar Chancellors were personalities whose strength lay in mediation and less in political initiative. In addition, under constitutional law, the Reich President had some special rights. It is true that the actions of the Reich President required the countersignature by the Reich Chancellor or the Reich Minister (s) concerned. However, the Reich President always had to be informed about plans in foreign policy and defense policy. The supreme command of the Reichswehr was essentially a matter for the Reich President, even if he could not exercise the supreme command without the countersignature of the Reichswehr Minister.

It was not just the Reich Foreign Minister and Reich Defense Minister that found themselves in a special situation that could strengthen their position vis-à-vis the Reich Chancellor and the Cabinet in the event of a specific dispute: Since 1930, the Reich Budget Code has given the Reich Finance Minister a right of veto .

Appointment and dismissal

Reichstag session on September 12, 1932. At the top right is the National Socialist Reichstag President Hermann Göring , while Chancellor Franz von Papen is at the government bench on the left . The Reichstag demands the dismissal of the government. But Papen ignored this and instead presented an order from the Reich President that the Reichstag should be dissolved.

According to the constitution, the Reich President appointed and dismissed the Reich Chancellor and the Reich Ministers; the Reich ministers were appointed by the Reich President on the proposal of the Reich Chancellor (Art. 53 WRV). However, the members of the government required the confidence of the Reichstag (Art. 54 WRV). From these provisions the question arose of who was actually responsible for forming the government.

According to constitutional lawyer Ernst Rudolf Huber , the constitution had tacitly assumed that the Reich President would speak to the party leaders in the Reichstag in advance. On the basis of these discussions, the Reich President would get an impression of which Reich Chancellor would find a permanent majority in the Reichstag. According to the Weimar Constitution, the Reich President should therefore have the initiative. However, it was up to the Reich Chancellor to put together the actual Reich government. The Reich President could not appoint anyone as Reich Minister whom the Reich Chancellor had not proposed.

The Reichstag could demand the dismissal of every single member of the government, including the Chancellor. In addition, it was possible for the Reichstag to indict the Reich Chancellor as well as the Reich Ministers and the Reich President before the State Court for the German Reich (Articles 54 and 59 WRV).

Public officials

Name (life data)	Taking office	Term expires	Political party	cabinet	Remarks	image
Friedrich Ebert (1871–1925)	November 10, 1918	February 11, 1919	SPD	-	No constitutional Chancellor, but a member of the Council of People's Representatives ; elected President of the Reich
Philipp Scheidemann (1865–1939)	February 13, 1919	June 20, 1919	SPD	I.	With the title of Reich Minister President ; Resignation due to disagreement over the Versailles Treaty
Gustav Bauer (1870–1944)	June 21, 1919	March 26, 1920	SPD	I.	Until August 14, 1919 with the title of Reich Minister President
Hermann Müller (1876–1931)	March 27, 1920	June 8, 1920	SPD	I.	Center Party took over majority after Müller signed the Versailles Treaty
Constantin Fehrenbach (1852-1926)	June 25, 1920	May 4, 1921	center	I.	Disagreement between the parties in the dispute over the acceptance of the London ultimatum for reparations payments
Joseph Wirth (1879–1956)	May 10, 1921	October 22, 1921	center	I.	New government formation as a protest against the forced separation of Upper Silesia by Poland
Joseph Wirth (1879–1956)	October 26, 1921	November 14, 1922	center	II.	Walther Rathenau's murder by rights and the failure of a coalition of democratic forces against it
Wilhelm Cuno (1876–1933)	November 22, 1922	August 12, 1923	non-party (conservative)	I.	The strike call Cuno against the reparations drove Germany to ruin wave of strikes against Cuno , the SPD presented a no-confidence vote .
Gustav Stresemann (1878–1929)	August 13, 1923	October 3, 1923	DVP	I.	End of the first Stresemann cabinet after attempts to overthrow German communists operating from Saxony and Thuringia: " German October "
Gustav Stresemann (1878–1929)	October 6, 1923	November 23, 1923	DVP	II.	Attempts to overthrow right-wing forces in the Hitler putsch (November 9, 1923) and the cabinet crisis afterwards
Wilhelm Marx (1863-1946)	November 30, 1923	May 26, 1924	center	I.	End of the Marx I cabinet
Wilhelm Marx (1863-1946)	June 3, 1924	January 15, 1925	center	II.	End of Marx II cabinet
Hans Luther (1879–1962)	January 15, 1925	December 5, 1925	non-party ( national liberal )	I.	Breakup of the coalition after recognition of the western border established in the Versailles Treaty in the Locarno Pact
Hans Luther (1879–1962)	January 20, 1926	May 12, 1926	non-party (national liberal)	II.	Resignation of the second Luther cabinet after a vote of no confidence by the Reichstag because of the introduction of a modified imperial flag
Otto Geßler provisional (1875–1955)	May 12, 1926	May 17, 1926	DDP	-	Alleged proximity to right-wing circles and large-scale industry, exposure of an early secret rearmament program against the Versailles Treaty in the Lohmann affair
Wilhelm Marx (1863-1946)	May 17, 1926	December 17, 1926	center	III.	End of Marx III cabinet
Wilhelm Marx (1863-1946)	January 19, 1927	June 12, 1928	center	IV.	End of Marx IV cabinet
Hermann Müller (1876–1931)	June 28, 1928	March 27, 1930	SPD	II.	Failure of the coalition because of the employer-friendly DVP's reform requests for unemployment insurance introduced in 1927 . Refusal of the SPD to forego a quarter percent increase in insurance contributions.
Heinrich Brüning (1885–1970)	March 30, 1930	October 7, 1931	center	I.	Combating the economic crisis through deflationary policies (saving policies)
Heinrich Brüning (1885–1970)	October 9, 1931	May 30, 1932	center	II.	The economic and domestic political situation deteriorates despite the Hoover moratorium and successful negotiations at the Lausanne Conference
Franz von Papen (1879–1969)	June 1, 1932	November 17, 1932	Center (independent from June 3, 1932)	I.	" Cabinet of the Barons ". Implementation of the Prussian strike (removal of the SPD-led government in Prussia). Attempted coup failed because of the resistance of the Reichswehr under Schleicher.
Kurt von Schleicher (1882–1934)	December 3, 1932	January 28, 1933	independent	I.	As a “social general”, Schleicher tried to get closer to the moderate forces ( social alliance ) and to split the NSDAP. The plan failed, supporters turned away, and under pressure Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor .

rating

Election poster for the German Center Party in the final phase of the republic. Heinrich Brüning was the last Reich Chancellor whose cabinet had a certain parliamentary basis. He had to flee Germany in 1934 and then lived mainly in the USA. He was the last living Chancellor and was buried in Münster in 1970.

Unlike the office of Reich President, the office of Reich Chancellor is little controversial in retrospect. The Federal Chancellor was greatly upgraded in comparison to the Reich Chancellor in 1949: Only the German Bundestag is involved in the election of the Federal Chancellor, and he is the only one against whom a vote of no confidence can be directed. The vote of no confidence is only valid if the Bundestag elects a new Federal Chancellor at the same time. The Federal President's participation in government files was significantly restricted.

In 2003 the exhibition “The Chancellor of the Weimar Republic - Twelve CVs in Pictures” was opened in Berlin . Bernd Braun from the Reich President Friedrich Ebert Memorial gave a speech in which he paid tribute to the twelve officials. According to Braun, almost all Reich Chancellors except Stresemann are hardly known today because, firstly, they only ruled for a short time (426 days on average), secondly, because they were made responsible for the downfall of the Weimar Republic, and thirdly, because there are only a few photos of them. The Reich Chancellors had not yet been “media chancellors” with a flair for public relations and were therefore not anchored “in the visual memory of the nation”.

“Certainly not all Weimar Chancellors were democrats in our self-image today, some dreamed of the restoration of the monarchy or planned restrictions on party democracy in favor of a more authoritarian state structure. Political mistakes were certainly made, but eleven of the twelve Weimar Chancellors were staunch opponents of Hitler, and this should be the decisive criterion in their historical judgment. No Weimar Chancellor could hope to immortalize himself in the book of history with a glory sheet. In the most difficult times you took on responsibility instead of retreating to the oh-so-comfortable field of criticism like so many contemporary politicians, intellectuals, artists, men of business and science. "

- Bernd Braun : Speech at the opening of the exhibition "The Reich Chancellors of the Weimar Republic - Twelve CVs in Pictures"

Individual evidence

1. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber : German constitutional history since 1789. Volume V: World War, Revolution and Reich renewal: 1914-1919 . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [u. a.] 1978, p. 1080.
2. ↑ Willibalt Apelt : History of the Weimar Constitution . 2nd edition, CH Beck'sche Verlagbuchhandlung. Munich, Berlin 1964 (1946), p. 210.
3. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume VI: The Weimar Imperial Constitution . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [u. a.] 1981, pp. 324/325.
4. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume VII: Expansion, protection and fall of the Weimar Republic . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [u. a.] 1984, p. 1170.
5. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume VI: The Weimar Imperial Constitution . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [u. a.] 1981, p. 326.
6. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume VI: The Weimar Imperial Constitution . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [u. a.] 1981, pp. 325/326.
7. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume VI: The Weimar Imperial Constitution . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [u. a.] 1981, p. 47.
8. ^ The "German October" 1923 , German Historical Museum
9. ↑ Bernd Braun : The Chancellor of the Weimar Republic, speech by Dr. Brown. Retrieved March 26, 2017 . 

Please note the information on legal issues!