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The German Emperor (German: ''Deutscher Kaiser'') was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was used between the 18 January 1871 proclamation of King of Prussia and President of the North German Confederation Wilhelm I as "''Deutscher Kaiser''" and the official abdication of Wilhelm II on 28 November 1918.〔Statement of Abdication of William II〕 The Holy Roman Emperor is sometimes also called "German Emperor" when the historical context is clear. Following the revolution of 1918, the German head of state function was succeeded by the ''Reichspräsident'' ("President of the Reich"), beginning with Friedrich Ebert. ==Creation== The title "German Emperor" was carefully chosen by Minister President of Prussia and Chancellor of the North German Confederation Otto von Bismarck after discussion which continued until the proclamation of Wilhelm I at the Palace of Versailles during the Franco-Prussian War. William I accepted this title grudgingly as he would have preferred "Emperor of Germany"; this had been unacceptable to the federated monarchs, and also would have signaled a claim to lands outside his reign (Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg etc.). ''Emperor of the Germans'', as had proposed at the Frankfurt Parliament in 1848, was ruled out by William as he considered himself a king who ruled by divine right and chosen "By the Grace of God", not by the people in a popular monarchy. By this ceremony, the North German Confederation (''Norddeutscher Bund'') was transformed into the German Empire (''Deutsches Kaiserreich''). This empire was a federal monarchy; the emperor was head of state and president of the federated monarchs (the kings of Bavaria, Württemberg, Saxony, the grand dukes of Baden, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hesse, as well as other principalities, duchies and of the free cities of Hamburg, Lübeck and Bremen). Under the imperial constitution, the empire was a confederation of states under the permanent presidency of Prussia. The King of Prussia was named in the constitution as the "President of the Confederation." Thus, the imperial crown was directly tied to the Prussian crown—something Wilhelm II discovered in the aftermath of World War I. He erroneously believed that he ruled the empire in personal union with Prussia. With the war's end, he conceded that he could not remain emperor, but initially thought he could at least retain his Prussian crown. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「German Emperor」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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