107-494: Olaf Scholz ( German: [ˈoːlaf ˈʃɔlts] ; born ( 1958-06-14 ) 14 June 1958) is a German politician who has been Chancellor of Germany since 2021. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as vice chancellor in the fourth Merkel cabinet and as Federal Minister of Finance from 2018 to 2021. He was also First Mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018, deputy leader of
214-543: A motion of confidence ( Vertrauensfrage , literally "question of trust"), either combined with a legislative proposal or as a standalone vote. If such a vote fails, the chancellor may ask the president for the dissolution of the Bundestag ; they are however not bound to do so, and the president in turn is not bound to follow this request. The chancellor must appoint one of the cabinet ministers as vice chancellor (Article 69.1 Basic Law). The vice chancellor may deputise for
321-556: A "chancellor majority" of yes-votes. If the Bundestag is unable to elect a chancellor in these fourteen days, a final ballot is held on the very next day. Once again, candidates must be nominated by at least a quarter of all MPs. Candidates receiving a "chancellor majority" in this ballot are elected. Otherwise, it is up to the President of Germany either to appoint the candidate with the plurality of votes as Chancellor or to dissolve
428-571: A coordinated approach. In addition, uniform rules for the carbon accounting of goods should apply among members. As part of the coalition agreement that led to Scholz becoming chancellor, the Social Democrats, Free Democrats, and Green party agreed to accelerate Germany's phaseout of coal to the year 2030, in line with the target set by the Powering Past Coal Alliance . The country's previous target had been to end
535-495: A department minister. The chancellor presided over the government, and he had to conduct business in accordance with given rules of procedure. In practice the Reich chancellor's power to determine political guidelines was limited by his own party as well as the other parties in the governing coalition. The Weimar chancellors were accordingly men whose strength lay in mediation rather than political initiative. Constitutionally, there
642-682: A few days later. On 9 November 1918, Imperial Chancellor Prince Maximilian of Baden , handed over his office of chancellor to Friedrich Ebert . Ebert continued to serve as head of government during the three months between the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the end of the German Empire in November 1918, the beginning of the November 11, 1918 Armistice , and the first gathering behind the Western Front battle lines and trenches of
749-630: A free press", and the newspaper ultimately published the interview with Scholz's answers blacked out. Scholz served as the SPD spokesperson on the inquiry committee investigating the 2005 German Visa Affair . Following the federal election later that year, he served as First Parliamentary Secretary of the SPD Bundestag Group. He also became Chief Whip of the Social Democratic Party. In this capacity, he worked closely with
856-634: A referendum, the citizens of Hamburg later rejected the city's candidacy, with more than half voting against the project. Later that year, Scholz – alongside Minister-President Torsten Albig of Schleswig-Holstein – negotiated a debt-restructuring deal with the European Commission . The deal allowed German regional lender HSH Nordbank to offload €6.2B in problematic assets, primarily underperforming ship loans, onto its government majority owners and avoid being shut down, saving around 2,500 jobs. In 2017, Scholz
963-464: A serious interference in the internal affairs of Germany and Europe and their sovereignty." Scholz has expressed support for a longstanding agreement that allows American tactical nuclear weapons to be stored and maintained on American bases within Germany. In June 2019, Scholz initially ruled out a candidacy for the party co-leadership following the resignation of Andrea Nahles . He explained that
1070-521: A simultaneous activity as Federal Minister of Finance and party leader was "not possible in terms of time". However, in August, Scholz announced his intention to run for party chairmanship with Klara Geywitz . He said that many of his preferred candidates had not run for office, expressing a sense of "responsibility". Of the six candidate duos standing for election, the Geywitz-Scholz due received
1177-534: A strong monarchist, bureaucratic, and ultimately antiparliamentary component, as in the Prussian tradition of, for instance, Hardenberg . In both of these aspects, the executive of the earlier confederation, and then empire, as it was formed in 1867 and 1871, was deliberately different from the previous Imperial Ministry of the German revolutionary years of 1848–1849 , which had been led by a prime minister elected by
SECTION 10
#17327727144121284-481: Is called "constructive motion of no confidence" ( konstruktives Misstrauensvotum ) and was created to avoid the situation that existed in the Weimar Republic, when it was easier to gather a parliament majority willing to remove a government in office than to find a majority capable of supporting a new stable government. In order to garner legislative support in the Bundestag , the chancellor can also ask for
1391-583: Is seen as such within the German public, it is only the third highest office , following the head of state (the President of Germany ) and the President of the Bundestag , a position similar to the speaker of the federal parliament. Whichever major party ( CDU /CSU or SPD ) does not hold the chancellorship usually calls its leading candidate for the federal election "chancellor-candidate" ( Kanzlerkandidat ). The federal government ( Bundesregierung ) consists of
1498-622: Is the head of the federal government of Germany , and the commander-in-chief of the German Armed Forces during wartime . The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Cabinet and heads the executive branch. The chancellor is elected by the Bundestag on the proposal of the federal president and without debate (Article 63 of the German Constitution ). The current officeholder is Olaf Scholz of
1605-624: Is traditionally Lutheran , and he was baptized in the Protestant Church in Germany . He holds largely secular political views, and left the Church in adulthood, but has emphasised a need for appreciation of Germany's Christian heritage and culture. Scholz joined the SPD in 1975 as a student, where he came into contact with the Jusos , the youth organization of the SPD. From 1982 to 1988, he
1712-546: Is under the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Finance, is alleged to have contributed to the longevity of the fraudulent business. During Scholz's time in office, the Ministry of Finance was one of the subjects of parliamentary inquiry into the scandal, but Scholz has denied any personal responsibility. Having vowed to strengthen financial market supervision, he replaced BaFin president Felix Hufeld . Within
1819-534: The Bundespräsidium , (i.e. the Prussian king; since 1871 called German Emperor). The state secretaries ( Staatssekretäre ) were civil servants subordinate to the chancellor and similar to ministers. Besides his executive duties, the constitution gave the chancellor only one function: presiding over the German Empire's upper legislative chamber of the Bundesrat (Federal Council), the representative organ of
1926-518: The 2015 state election in Hamburg, receiving around 47% of the vote. He formed a coalition government with the Green Party , with Green leader Katharina Fegebank being appointed to serve as Deputy First Mayor. In 2015, Scholz led Hamburg's bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics with an estimated budget of €11.2B ( US$ 12.6B ), competing against Los Angeles, Paris, Rome , and Budapest . In
2033-487: The Bundespräsidium , appointed him on 14 July 1867. Under the German Empire's constitution of 1 January 1871, the king had the additional title of Emperor. The constitution still called the chancellor, Bundeskanzler . This was changed a few months later in the new revised constitution of 16 April 1871 to Reichskanzler . Since the office remained the same, it was not necessary for Bismarck to be re-appointed. In
2140-568: The COVID-19 pandemic in Germany , Scholz drafted a series of financial rescue packages for the country's economy, including a €130B stimulus package in June 2020. The stimulus package included support for businesses and freelancers as well as a decision to keep factories open. This is often credited as having prevented mass layoffs, and the effects of the COVID-19 financial crisis on the German economy were initially relatively low. Scholz also oversaw
2247-465: The Committee for Labor and Social Matters . In the committee of inquiry into the visa affair of the Bundestag, he was chairman of the SPD parliamentary group. Scholz resigned his mandate on 6 June 2001, to take office as Senator. Because his seat was an overhang seat , it was not filled until the 2002 German federal election . On 30 May 2001, Scholz succeeded Hartmuth Wrocklage to become Senator for
SECTION 20
#17327727144122354-821: The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment between the EU and China. In September 2022, he condemned the treatment of ethnic Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang . In October 2019, Scholz condemned the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish -controlled northeastern areas of Syria , otherwise known as Rojava . Scholz has been campaigning for a financial transaction tax for several years. Experts have criticized parts of this plan, arguing that it would disproportionately affect small shareholders. In December 2019, Scholz pushed for
2461-502: The Federal Constitutional Court demanded budget cuts totaling €60 billion to ensure the government would not surpass debt limits as set in the constitution; this proved a significant challenge for Scholz's cabinet and contributed to the 2023–2024 protests . On 6 November 2024, his government majority collapsed as he fired Christian Lindner from the post of Federal Minister of Finance and broke up
2568-490: The German Empire , First German Republic (Weimar Republic) , National Socialist Germany (Nazi Germany) , Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) / German Democratic Republic (East Germany) or the earlier North German Confederation of 1867–1871, then the current reunified, revived and expanded Federal Republic of Germany - nearly all of them with the title of Chancellor as the elected head of government. In
2675-524: The German Empire , the Reichskanzler (" Imperial Chancellor ") served both as the emperor's first minister and as presiding officer of the Bundesrat , the upper chamber of the German parliament. He was neither elected by nor responsible to parliament (the Reichstag ). Instead, the chancellor was appointed by the emperor. The federal level had four organs: Technically, the foreign ministers of
2782-466: The National Assembly . In 1871, the concept of the federal chancellor was transferred to the executive of the newly formed German Empire, which now also contained the several South German states. Here too, the terms of "chancellor" and "federal agency" (as opposed to "ministry" or "government") suggested an (apparent) lower priority of the federal executive as compared to the governments of
2889-772: The Social Democratic Party , who was elected in December 2021, succeeding Angela Merkel . He was elected after the SPD entered into a coalition agreement with Alliance 90/The Greens and the FDP . The office of Chancellor has a long history, stemming back to the Holy Roman Empire ( c. 900-1806), when the office of German arch chancellor was usually held by the Roman Catholic archbishops of Mainz . The title was, at times, used in several states of German-speaking Central Europe . The modern office of chancellor
2996-710: The archbishop of Cologne was chancellor of Italy and the archbishop of Trier of Burgundy . These three prince-archbishops were also prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire electing the King of the Romans . Already in mediaeval times, the German chancellor had political power like Archbishop Willigis (archchancellor 975–1011, regent for King Otto III (AD 991–994) or Rainald von Dassel (chancellor, 1156–1162 and 1166–1167), under Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa . In 1559, Emperor Ferdinand I established
3103-696: The state dinner hosted by President Barack Obama in honor of Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House . As host of Hamburg's annual St. Matthias' Day banquet for the city's civic and business leaders, he brought several notable guests of honour to the city, including Jean-Marc Ayrault , Prime Minister of France, in 2013; David Cameron , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in 2016; and Justin Trudeau , Prime Minister of Canada, in 2017. From 2015 until 2018, Scholz also served as Commissioner of
3210-463: The "European stronghold of big business" and the social-liberal coalition , which puts the "bare maintenance of power above any form of substantive dispute". Referring to this period in his life, Scholz has later said that he "made almost all possible mistakes at some point". On 4 January 1984, Scholz and other Juso leaders attended a meeting in East Germany with Egon Krenz , then secretary of
3317-481: The Basic Law can be divided into three phases: The process begins with the President of Germany proposing a candidate to the Bundestag (A formality, as they are usually a candidate on which majority parties have agreed to beforehand), who is then voted upon without debate ("1st voting phase"). If the nominee reaches the necessary "chancellor majority", the President of Germany will appoint him or her and, after that,
Olaf Scholz - Misplaced Pages Continue
3424-447: The Basic Law sets forth three principles that define how the executive branch functions: Political party: CDU SPD The chancellor is elected by the Bundestag and formally appointed by the president of Germany. A chancellor's election is necessary whenever the office of Chancellor has fallen vacant. This is the case if a newly elected Bundestag meets for the first time, or during legislative periods, if
3531-495: The Basic Law, the chancellor may set the number of cabinet ministers and dictate their specific duties. Chancellor Ludwig Erhard had the largest cabinet, with 22 ministers, in the mid-1960s. Helmut Kohl presided over 17 ministers at the start of his fourth term in 1994; the 2002 cabinet, the second of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, had 13 ministers, and the Angela Merkel cabinet as of 22 November 2005 had 15. Article 65 of
3638-474: The Bundesrat, Bismarck could effectively control the proceedings by making deals with the smaller states. The term chancellor signalled the seemingly low priority of this institution compared to the governments of the German states, because the new chancellor of the federal empire should not be a full-fledged prime minister, in contrast to the heads of the states. The title of chancellor additionally symbolized
3745-410: The Bundestag and call new elections. Another possibility to vote a new chancellor into office is the constructive vote of no confidence , which allows the Bundestag to replace a sitting chancellor, if it elects a new chancellor with the "chancellor-majority" (see below). As of 2023, all chancellors of the federal republic have been (re-)elected on proposal of the President and on the first ballot with
3852-484: The Bundestag, later entering the First Merkel Government in 2007 as Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs . After the SPD moved into the opposition following the 2009 election , Scholz returned to lead the SPD in Hamburg. He was then elected deputy leader of the SPD. He led his party to victory in the 2011 Hamburg state election and became first mayor, a position he held until 2018. After
3959-617: The CDU Chief Whip Norbert Röttgen to manage and defend the grand coalition led by Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Bundestag. Scholz also served as a member of the Parliamentary Oversight Panel , which provides parliamentary oversight of the German federal intelligence services; the BND , MAD and BfV . In 2007, Scholz was appointed to serve as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in
4066-520: The CDU, CSU and SPD parties to form a coalition government following the 2013 federal election . In the subsequent negotiations, he led the SPD delegation in the financial policy working group; his co-chair from the CDU/CSU was Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble . Alongside fellow Social Democrats Jörg Asmussen and Thomas Oppermann , Scholz was reported in the media to be a possible successor to Schäuble in
4173-794: The Central Committee of the SED , and Herbert Häber , member of the Politburo of the SED-Central Committee. In 1987, Scholz crossed the inner-German border again and stood up for disarmament agreements as Juso-Vice at an FDJ peace rally in Wittenberg alongside FDJ head Eberhard Aurich . Scholz was elected to his first political office as a Deputy Member of the Bundestag representing the constituency of Hamburg-Altona in 1998 , aged 40. During his tenure, Scholz served on
4280-490: The Enabling Act to merge the office of chancellor with that of the president to create a new office, "the leader" (or Führer ). Although the offices were merged, Hitler continued to be addressed as " Führer und Reichskanzler " indicating that the head of state and head of government were still separate positions, albeit held by the same person, although the title of " Reichskanzler " was quietly dropped. This separation
4387-554: The Federal Government in 2020 certified the same deficiencies in the tax concept that Tenhagen had already pointed out. During his tenure as minister of finance, Scholz prioritized not taking on new government debt and limiting public spending. In 2018, he suggested the creation of an EU-wide unemployment insurance system to make the Eurozone more resilient to future economic shocks. In September 2019, Scholz negotiated
Olaf Scholz - Misplaced Pages Continue
4494-563: The Federal Republic of Germany for Cultural Affairs under the Treaty on Franco-German Cooperation . In 2013, Scholz opposed a public initiative aiming at a complete buyback of energy grids that the city of Hamburg had sold to utilities Vattenfall Europe AG and E.ON decades before; he argued this would overburden the city, whose debt stood at more than €20B at the time. Scholz was asked to participate in exploratory talks between
4601-589: The Großlohering elementary school in Großlohe. After graduating from high school in 1977, he began studying law at the University of Hamburg in 1978 as part of a one-stage legal training course. He later found employment as a lawyer specialising in labour and employment law, working at the law firm Zimmermann, Scholz und Partner. Scholz joined the Social Democratic Party at the age of 17. Scholz's family
4708-696: The Interior of Hamburg in the Senate led by Mayor Ortwin Runde . Wrocklage had resigned due to allegations of nepotism. He also succeeded Wrocklage as Deputy Member of the Bundesrat . During his brief time as Senator, Scholz controversially approved the involuntary use of emetics to gather evidence from suspected drug dealers. The Hamburg Medical Chamber expressed disapproval of this practice due to potential health risks. Scholz left office in October 2001, after
4815-479: The Napoleonic Wars and the peace-making Congress of Vienna did not have a government or parliament, only the single-chamber legislature Bundestag as representative organ of the various German states in the 51 year old Confederation. The role of the chancellor has varied during the different eras. From 1867 to 1918, the chancellor was the only responsible minister at the federal level. He was appointed by
4922-666: The People's Deputies , to attempt to govern Germany in the crisis aftermath of the war reversals and seek an armistice / peace with the attacking / invading Allies of World War I , which was attained in the Armistice of 11 November 1918 on the Western Front in occupied northern France and Belgium . Following the defeat of the 1918 German Empire in the First World War , a new post-war democratic republic government
5029-492: The President of the Bundestag will administer the oath of office before the assembled house. If this nominee is not elected, the right of nomination is transferred onto the Bundestag: Candidates can now be nominated for election, whereby a nomination must be supported by at least a quarter of all MPs. The Bundestag can hold any number of ballots in this manner for two weeks. To be elected, a candidate still needs
5136-505: The Reich President was forced to ask Adolf Hitler, to become Chancellor of Germany. Subsequently, the 1919 Weimar Constitution was de facto set aside. After the death of elderly German Reich President Paul von Hindenburg the following year in 1934, Adolf Hitler, the dictatorial party leader, also then took over the powers of the president. The new official title became Führer und Reichskanzler (meaning "Leader and Chancellor of
5243-468: The Reich"). The 1949 constitution gave the chancellor much greater powers than during the Weimar Republic of the 1920s and early 1930s, while strongly diminishing the role of the federal president. Germany is today often referred to as a "chancellor democracy", reflecting the role of the chancellor as the country's chief executive. Since 1867, 33 people have served as heads of government of
5350-586: The Reichstag before he made ministerial appointments. Based on these talks, the president would get a sense of which potential chancellor would be able to build a stable majority in the Reichstag. According to the sense of the Weimar Constitution, the president was thus to have the initiative. The task of putting together the Reich government was nevertheless the responsibility of the chancellor. The president could not appoint anyone as minister whom
5457-522: The Reichstag could also impeach the chancellor as well as the ministers and the president before the State Court for the German Reich ( Staatsgerichtshof für das Deutsche Reich ), the Weimar Republic's constitutional court. Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933 by Paul von Hindenburg . On taking office, Hitler immediately began accumulating power and changing
SECTION 50
#17327727144125564-597: The SPD from 2009 to 2019, and Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs from 2007 to 2009. Scholz began his career as a lawyer specialising in labour and employment law . He became a member of the SPD in the 1970s and was a member of the Bundestag from 1998 to 2011. Scholz served in the Hamburg Government under First Mayor Ortwin Runde in 2001 and became general secretary of the SPD in 2002, where he served alongside SPD leader and then-chancellor Gerhard Schröder . He became his party's chief whip in
5671-520: The SPD's stance towards renewable energy. The revised Climate Protection Act introduced by Olaf Scholz's cabinet as Mayor of Hamburg provides for a 65% reduction in CO 2 emissions by 2030, an 88% reduction by 2040 and climate neutrality by 2045. Scholz has advocated for the expansion of renewable energy capacities to replace fossil fuels. In May 2021, Scholz proposed the establishment of an international climate club, which should serve to develop common minimum standards for climate policy measures and
5778-522: The SPD, Scholz is widely viewed as forming part of the moderate wing of the party. Because of his flat enunciation and mechanical-sounding choice of words in press conferences and interviews, Scholz has been nicknamed "the Scholzomat" by some media outlets. In 2013, he said that he found the nickname "very appropriate". In January 2019, Scholz stated that he sees China primarily as an economic partner. He tried to persuade Chinese Vice Premier Liu He that China should be more open to German firms, and he supported
5885-451: The Social Democratic Party entered the fourth Merkel government in 2018, Scholz was appointed as both minister of finance and Vice Chancellor of Germany. In 2020, he was nominated as the SPD's candidate for Chancellor of Germany for the 2021 federal election . The party won a plurality of seats in the Bundestag and formed a " traffic light coalition " with Alliance 90/The Greens and the Free Democratic Party . On 8 December 2021, Scholz
5992-403: The Social Democratic Party. Scholz was one of a series of politicians who sparked debate over the German journalistic norm of allowing interviewees to "authorize" and amend quotes before publication. This came after his press team insisted on extensively editing an interview with Die Tageszeitung in 2003. Die Tageszeitung editor Bascha Mika condemned the norm as a "betrayal of the claim to
6099-419: The US Joe Biden to agree to the proposal, which his predecessor Donald Trump had been opposed to. Also in June 2021, Scholz oversaw the Federal Central Tax Office's purchase of information regarding German citizens using Dubai for tax avoidance and evasion . Scholz was criticized in the context of the Wirecard scandal ; serious misconduct by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), which
6206-433: The abdication of the emperor / kaiser Wilhelm II of the Hohenzollern dynasty , who then left Germany with his family for exile in the neighboring Kingdom of the Netherlands . Although he lacked the constitutional authority, the last imperial chancellor handed over his office to Friedrich Ebert , (leader of the anti-war Social Democratic Party who the next day became co-chairman of the temporary revolutionary Council of
6313-420: The agency of an imperial chancellery ( Reichshofkanzlei ) at the Vienna's Hofburg Palace , headed by a vice chancellor under the nominal authority of the Mainz archbishop. Upon the 1620 Battle of White Mountain , Emperor Ferdinand II created the office of an Archduchy of Austria court chancellor in charge of the internal and foreign affairs of the ruling dynasty of the Habsburg monarchy . From 1753 onwards,
6420-406: The allocation of funding received from Next Generation EU , the European Union's €750B COVID-19 recovery fund. 90% of the €28B available to Germany was invested into climate protection and digitization . At the G7 summit in June 2021, the G7 agreed on a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15%, which had been proposed by Scholz. Scholz is credited as having convinced President of
6527-503: The chairmanship of the SPD in 2004. The first chancellor, Konrad Adenauer , set many precedents that continue today and established the chancellorship as the clear focus of power in Germany. Under the provisions of the Basic Law giving him the power to set guidelines for all fields of policy, Adenauer arrogated nearly all major decisions to himself. He often treated his ministers as mere extensions of his authority rather than colleagues. While his successors have tended to be less domineering,
SECTION 60
#17327727144126634-461: The chancellor and cabinet ministers. The chancellor's authority emanates from the provisions of the Basic Law and in practice from their status as leader of the party (or coalition of parties) holding a majority of seats in the Bundestag (federal parliament). With the exception of Helmut Schmidt and Olaf Scholz , the chancellor has also been chairman of their own party. This was the case with Chancellor Gerhard Schröder from 1999 until he resigned
6741-440: The chancellor had not proposed. The chancellor alone had to answer to the Reichstag and the president for the policy guidelines, and he determined whether the conduct of business by the individual Reich ministries conformed to the guidelines. The government's decisions required a majority vote of the ministers, who sitting together were known as the National Ministry (Article 58). The chancellor could therefore be outvoted, as could
6848-419: The chancellor has acquired enough ex officio authority (in addition to their constitutional powers) that Germany is often described by constitutional law experts as a "chancellor democracy". The chancellor determines the composition of the Federal Cabinet . The president formally appoints and dismisses cabinet ministers, on the recommendation of the chancellor; no parliamentary approval is needed. According to
6955-423: The chancellor, if they are absent or unable to perform their duties. Although the chancellor is theoretically free to choose any cabinet minister, in coalition governments the leadership of the second biggest coalition party usually designates one of their ministers for the position, whom the chancellor appoints accordingly. Federal Ministry of Finance (Germany) Too Many Requests If you report this error to
7062-575: The climate package in a key role for the SPD. To this he said: "What we have presented is a great achievement", whereas climate scientists almost unanimously criticized the result as insufficient. In August 2020, Scholz held a phone call with US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin , discussing a lift of US sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, one of 23 gas pipelines between Europe and Russia. In exchange, Scholz offered €1B in subsidies to liquid gas terminals in northern Germany for US liquid gas imports. The move sparked controversy with regards to
7169-446: The coalition agreement. Scholz was born on 14 June 1958, in Osnabrück , Lower Saxony , and grew up in Hamburg 's Rahlstedt district. His parents worked in the textile industry . He has two younger brothers, Jens Scholz, an anesthesiologist and CEO of the University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein ; and Ingo Scholz, a tech entrepreneur. Olaf Scholz attended the Bekassinenau elementary school in Oldenfelde, and then switched to
7276-625: The defeat of his party at the 2001 Hamburg state election and the election of Ole von Beust as First Mayor. His successor was Ronald Schill , who had won on a Law and order platform, with an emphasis on harsh penalties for drug dealers. Scholz was elected again to the Bundestag in the 2002 German federal election . From 2002 to 2004, Scholz also served as General Secretary of the SPD ; he resigned from that office when party leader and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder , facing disaffection within his own party and hampered by persistently low public approval ratings, announced he would step down as Leader of
7383-436: The empire's states instructed their states' deputies to the Bundesrat and therefore outranked the chancellor. For this reason, Prince Bismarck (as he was from 1871 onwards) continued to serve as both minister president and foreign minister of the Kingdom of Prussia for virtually his entire tenure as chancellor of the empire (1871–1890), since he wanted to continue to exercise the power. Because Prussia controlled seventeen votes in
7490-423: The enlargement of this short-lived federal state to the newly unified and established German Empire (" Second Reich ") in 1871, the title was renamed to Reichskanzler (meaning " Imperial Chancellor "). 78 years later after the 1945 defeat in World War II , with the new reorganized Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)'s Basic Law (constitution) of 1949 , the title of Bundeskanzler - "Federal Chancellor"
7597-403: The federal states. For this reason, neither the chancellor nor the leaders of the imperial departments under his command used the title of Minister until 1918. The constitution of the German Empire was reformed / altered on 29 October 1918 , when the parliament Reichstag and Bundesrat was given the right to dismiss the chancellor. However, the change could not prevent the outbreak of revolution
7704-528: The first Merkel Government , succeeding Franz Müntefering . Following the 2009 federal election , when the SPD left the Government, Scholz was elected as Deputy Leader of the SPD, replacing Frank-Walter Steinmeier . Between 2009 and 2011, he was also a member of the SPD group's Afghanistan/Pakistan Task Force. In 2010, he participated in the annual Bilderberg Meeting in Sitges , Spain. In 2011, Scholz
7811-415: The former chancellor died or resigned. The chancellor's election is one of the few cases in which a vote in the Bundestag requires a majority of all elected members , not just a majority of those assembled at the time, or the so-called Kanzlermehrheit ("chancellor majority"). As with other elections performed by the Bundestag, the chancellor is elected via secret ballot. The election procedure laid down in
7918-559: The introduction of this tax at European Union level. According to a draft legislation, share purchases should be taxed when they involve shares in companies with a market capitalization over €1B . Journalist Hermann-Josef Tenhagen criticized this version of the transaction tax on the basis that it would disproportionately affect lower-income individuals. A report by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy commissioned by
8025-519: The loose federal government of the brief North German Confederation , which was created on 1 July 1867, had the title Bundeskanzler . The only person to hold the office for those three years was Otto von Bismarck , the serving minister president of the Kingdom of Prussia. Chancellor Bismarck served under the king of Prussia of the Hohenzollern royal dynasty , then William (Wilhelm) I , holder of
8132-419: The most votes in the first round of the membership elections on 26 October 2019, with 22.7%. They qualified for the runoff election with the second-placed team Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans , which had received 21.0% of the vote. On 30 November 2019, it was announced that Esken and Walter-Borjans had received 53.1% of the vote in the runoff election, with Geywitz and Scholz only receiving 45.3%. This
8239-525: The nature of the chancellorship. After only two months in office, and following the burning of the Reichstag building , the parliament passed the Enabling Act giving the chancellor full legislative powers for a period of four years – the chancellor could introduce any law without consulting parliament. The powers of the chancellor continued to grow until August 1934, when Hindenburg died. Hitler used
8346-645: The new National Assembly of the German Republic (Weimar Republic) several months later in the town of Weimar , in February 1919, but Ebert did not then use the title of chancellor. During that time, Ebert also served as chairman of the " Council of the People's Deputies ", until a month and half later on 29 December 1918 together with the allied Independent Social Democrat party leader Hugo Haase , who unfortunately died later that next year in November 1919. The office of chancellor ( Reichskanzler )
8453-522: The now-defunct communist German Democratic Republic (East Germany) , which also existed in a parallel life, first occupied in the eastern Soviet Zone (including a similar wedge of the former German capital of Berlin after World War II by the Red Army of the Soviet Union , which dominated East Germany from 7 October 1949 to 3 October 1990 (when the territory of the former GDR was reunified with
8560-634: The office of an Austrian state chancellor was held by Prince Kaunitz . The imperial chancellery lost its importance, and from the days of Queen Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II , merely existed on paper. After the 1806 dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire by Napoleon, Prince Klemens von Metternich served as state chancellor of the German-speaking Austrian Empire , likewise Prince Karl August von Hardenberg acted as Kingdom of Prussia 's chancellor (1810–1822). The German Confederation of 1815–1866, organized after
8667-412: The party's candidate for Chancellor of Germany at the 2021 federal election . Scholz is usually grouped with the moderate wing of the SPD, and his nomination was seen by Die Tageszeitung as marking a decline of the party's left. Scholz led the SPD to a narrow victory in the election, with the party receiving 25.8% of the second votes and 206 seats in the Bundestag . Following this victory, Scholz
8774-412: The post of Finance Minister at the time; whilst Schäuble remained in post, the talks to form a coalition were ultimately successful. In a paper compiled in late 2014, Scholz and Schäuble proposed redirecting revenue from the solidarity surcharge on income and corporate tax ( Solidaritätszuschlag ) to subsidize the federal states' interest payments. Under Scholz's leadership, the Social Democrats won
8881-416: The president on the recommendation of the chancellor (Article 53), and members of the government required the confidence of the Reichstag (Article 54). The provisions gave rise to the question of who in fact was responsible for forming the government. Constitutional law expert Ernst Rudolf Huber said that the constitution had tacitly assumed that the president would have discussions with party leaders in
8988-454: The sole exception of Helmut Kohl, who was elected to his first term via a constructive vote of no confidence against Helmut Schmidt . Unlike in other parliamentary legislatures, the Bundestag cannot remove the chancellor with a traditional motion of no confidence . Instead, the removal of a chancellor is only possible if a majority of the Bundestag members agree on a successor, who is then immediately sworn in as new chancellor. This procedure
9095-410: The subordinate ministers of various portfolios (departments / agencies) on the chancellor's recommendation. The chancellor or any minister had to be dismissed if the lower chamber of the Reichstag legislative assembly (continuing its old name of the previous century of the Reichstag ) demanded it. As today, the chancellor had the prerogative to determine the guidelines of government. In reality this power
9202-456: The title "Leading Minister". The 1949 German constitution, the Basic Law ( Grundgesetz ), invests the chancellor (German, Bundeskanzler ) with broad powers to initiate government policy. For that reason, some observers refer to the German political system as a "chancellor democracy". Even though the office of chancellor is often considered the most powerful in the German political system and
9309-527: The use of coal by 2038. In addition, the agreement set a phaseout of power generation from natural gas by 2040. The agreement also included provisions for the prohibition on natural gas heating in new buildings and replacement of natural gas systems in existing buildings. An end to the sale of combustion vehicles would come in 2035, in line with the target set by the European Commission . In December 2019, Scholz criticized US sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, saying: "Such sanctions are
9416-468: The various German states (which together with the Reichstag was the Reich's lower legislative chamber and major lawmaking body). The chancellor was also nearly always Minister President of Prussia , which was the largest and dominant state in the Empire. Indirectly, this gave him the power of the Bundesrat, including to dissolve the houses of parliament and call for elections. Although effective government
9523-682: The western Federal Republic of Germany), the position of chancellor did not exist. The equivalent position of head of government there was called either Minister President (Ministerpräsident) or the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the GDR (Vorsitzender des Ministerrats der DDR) , which was the second powerful position under General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (See Leaders of East Germany ). The head of
9630-664: Was Deputy Federal Chairman of the Jusos. Scholz was also Vice President of the International Union of Socialist Youth from 1987 to 1989. He supported the Freudenberger Kreis, a Marxist wing of the Jusos' university groups, arguing that society should "overcome the capitalist economy" in one of his publications. In it, Scholz criticized the "aggressive-imperialist NATO ", the Federal Republic as
9737-495: Was also called chancellor (from Latin : cancellarius ). The chapel's college acted as the emperor's chancery issuing deeds and capitularies . From the days of Louis the German , the Roman Catholic archbishop of Mainz was ex officio German archchancellor , a position he held until the end of the 900 year old Holy Roman Empire decreed by Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars in 1806; de jure .
9844-400: Was also the fact that the president had certain special rights. The actions of the president required the countersignature of the chancellor or the minister or ministers concerned, but the president always had to be informed about matters of foreign and defence policy. The Reichstag could call for the dismissal of any member of the government, including the chancellor. Under Articles 54 and 59,
9951-436: Was appointed Federal Minister of Finance . Scholz was sworn in alongside the rest of the fourth Merkel cabinet on 14 March 2018, also taking the role of Vice Chancellor of Germany under Angela Merkel . Within his first months in office, Scholz became one of Germany's most popular politicians, reaching an approval rating of 50%. In 2019, Scholz ran for leader of the SPD, but lost to Norbert Walter-Borjans . In response to
10058-413: Was appointed on the same day by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier . At 63 years, 177 days of age, Scholz is the oldest person to become Chancellor of Germany since Ludwig Erhard , who was 66 years, 255 days old when he assumed office on 17 October 1963. Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany , officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany ,
10165-413: Was continued in the Weimar Republic . The Weimar Constitution provided for a two-part executive consisting of a Reich president and a government made up of Reich ministers and a Reich chancellor (Article 52) who determined the guidelines of the government's policy (Article 56). The constitution stipulated that the president appoint and dismiss the chancellor and ministers. The ministers were appointed by
10272-507: Was criticised for his handling of riots that took place during the G20 summit in Hamburg. In late 2021, Scholz was widely criticised for his handling of the CumEx tax fraud at M. M. Warburg & Co. when he was the mayor of Hamburg. After a lengthy period of inter-party negotiations following the 2017 federal election , during which the CDU, CSU and SPD agreed to continue in coalition, Scholz
10379-462: Was elected and sworn in as chancellor by the Bundestag, succeeding Angela Merkel . As chancellor, Scholz has overseen Germany's response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . Despite giving a restrained and timid response compared to many other Western leaders, Scholz oversaw a significant increase in the German defence budget, weapons shipments to Ukraine , and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline
10486-730: Was established with the beginning of the North German Confederation in 1867, after the Prussian Army 's decisive military victory in the brief Austro-Prussian War of 1866 over the rival Austrian Empire . The office began with the Confederation under which its prime creator / instigator Otto von Bismarck , (previously foreign minister, then Chancellor of the Kingdom of Prussia since 1862), became Bundeskanzler (meaning " Federal Chancellor ") in 1867. With
10593-468: Was limited by the needs of coalition governments of the several major political parties (and numerous smaller minor ones) plus the powers of the Reich President in this early 20th century created version of a European German democratic republic and political system. When the Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler came to power after receiving a plurality in the parliamentary elections on 30 January 1933, and
10700-643: Was made more evident when, in April 1945, Hitler gave instruction that upon his death, the office of the Führer would dissolve and be replaced by the previous system of administration: that of the office of the President separate from that of Chancellor. On 30 April 1945, when Hitler committed suicide, he was briefly succeeded as Chancellor by Joseph Goebbels and as President of Germany by Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz . When Goebbels also committed suicide, Dönitz appointed Count Schwerin von Krosigk as head of government with
10807-623: Was possible only in cooperation with the Reichstag, the results of the elections had at most an indirect influence on the chancellorship. Only by October 1918 on the verge of disastrous defeat in the First World War , was the Empire's 1871 constitution changed and reformed after 47 years, to require that the chancellor have the trust / confidence of parliament (as in the British Parliament and other European parliamentary democracies). Some two weeks later, Chancellor Max von Baden declared
10914-466: Was put on hold. Three days after the invasion, Scholz set out the principles of a new German defence policy in his Zeitenwende speech . In September 2022, three of the four Nord Stream pipelines were destroyed . During the Israel–Hamas war , he authorized substantial German military and medical aid to Israel, and denounced the actions of Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups . In November 2023,
11021-722: Was revived, continuing to the present after 1992 with the Reunification of Germany following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War , and a newly expanded Federal Republic of Germany . Due to his administrative tasks, the head of the clerics at the chapel of an Kaiserpfalz during the Carolingian Empire (AD 800–887), beginning with first the king of the Franks , Charlemagne ,
11128-493: Was seen as an upset victory for the left-wing of the SPD, including skeptics of the grand coalition with the CDU . Esken and Walter-Borjans were little-known to the public at large, Esken being a backbencher in the Bundestag and Walter-Borjans being the former Minister of Finance of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2010 to 2017. Scholz on the other hand had the backing of much of the party establishment. On 10 August 2020, SPD party leadership agreed that it would nominate Scholz to be
11235-544: Was set up for the German people by the popularly elected Weimar National Assembly , which met in the historic town of Weimar in 1919/20. According to the Weimar Constitution for the First German Republic (a.k.a. "Weimar Republic", 1919-1933), the chancellor was head of a collegial democratic government. The chancellor was appointed by the new President of Germany (Reich President) , as were
11342-605: Was the lead SPD candidate at the Hamburg state election , which the SPD won with 48.3% of the votes, taking 62 of 121 seats in the Hamburg Parliament . Scholz resigned as a Member of the Bundestag on 11 March 2011, days after his formal election as First Mayor of Hamburg; Dorothee Stapelfeldt , also a Social Democrat, was appointed his Deputy First Mayor. In his capacity as First Mayor, Scholz represented Hamburg and Germany internationally. On 7 June 2011, Scholz attended
11449-475: Was widely considered to be the most likely next Chancellor of Germany in a traffic light coalition with The Greens and the Free Democratic Party . On 24 November, the SPD, Green and FDP reached a coalition agreement , naming Scholz as the new German chancellor. Scholz was elected chancellor by the Bundestag on 8 December 2021, with 395 votes in favour and 303 against. His new government
#411588