|
The Chancellor of Germany is the head of government of Germany. The official title in German is ''Bundeskanzler(-in)'' (literally, Federal Chancellor), sometimes shortened to ''Kanzler(-in)''. The term, dating from the early Middle Ages, is derived from the Latin term ''cancellarius''. In German politics the ''Chancellor'' is equivalent to that of a prime minister in many other countries. German has two equivalent translations of prime minister, ''Premierminister'' and ''Ministerpräsident''. While Premierminister usually refers to heads of governments of foreign countries (e.g., Great Britain), Ministerpräsident may also refer to the heads of government of most German states. The current Chancellor is Angela Merkel, who is serving her third term in office. She is the first female chancellor, thus being known in German as ''Bundeskanzlerin''. That particular word was never used officially before Merkel, but it is a grammatically regular formation of a noun denoting a female chancellor. The modern office of Chancellor evolved from the position created for Otto von Bismarck in the North German Confederation in 1867; the Confederation evolved into a German nation-state with the 1871 Unification of Germany. The role of the Chancellor has varied greatly throughout Germany's modern history. Today, the Chancellor is widely considered to be the country's effective leader. ==Historical overview== The office of Chancellor has a long history, stemming back to the Holy Roman Empire, when the office of German archchancellor was usually held by Archbishops of Mainz. The title was at times used in several states of German-speaking Europe. The modern office of Chancellor was established with the North German Confederation, of which Otto von Bismarck became Chancellor in 1867. After the Unification of Germany in 1871, the office became known in German as ''Reichskanzler'' (lit. Chancellor of the Realm), although it continued to be referred to as Chancellor in English. With Germany's constitution of 1949, the title ''Bundeskanzler'' (Federal Chancellor) was revived in German. During the various eras, the role of the Chancellor has varied. From 1871 to 1918, the Chancellor was only responsible to the Emperor. With the founding of the republic and the constitutional reform in 1918, the Parliament was granted the right to dismiss the ''Reichskanzler''. According to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, the Chancellor was appointed by the President and responsible to Parliament ''and'' to the President. When the Nazis came to power on 30 January 1933, the Weimar Constitution was de facto set aside. After the death of President Hindenburg in 1934, Adolf Hitler, the dictatorial head of government ''and'' of state (as no new president was elected) of Nazi Germany was called officially ''Führer und Reichskanzler'' (literally "Leader and Chancellor of the Realm"). The 1949 constitution gave the Chancellor much greater powers than during the Weimar Republic, while strongly diminishing the role of the President. Germany is today often referred to as a "chancellor democracy", reflecting the role of the Chancellor as the country's chief executive who has the constitutional authority to establish the guidelines for all fields of government policy. Since 1867, 33 individuals have served as heads of government of Germany or its predecessor, the North German Confederation, most of them with the title Chancellor. Due to his administrative tasks, the head of the clerics at the chapel of an Imperial palace during the Carolingian Empire was called Chancellor (from (ラテン語:cancellarius)). The chapel's college acted as the Emperor's chancery issuing deeds and capitularies. Since the days of Louis the German, the Archbishop of Mainz was ''ex officio'' German Archchancellor, a position he held until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, while ''de jure'' 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 Empire electing the King of the Romans. Already in medieval times the German Chancellor had political power like Archbishop Willigis (Archchancellor 975–1011, regent for King Otto III of Germany 991–994) or Rainald von Dassel (Chancellor 1156–1162 and 1166–1167) under Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. In 1559 Emperor Ferdinand I established the agency of an Imperial chancellery (''Reichshofkanzlei'') at the Vienna 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 Austrian Court Chancellor in charge of the internal and foreign affairs of the Habsburg Monarchy. From 1753 onwards, the office of an Austrian State Chancellor was held by Prince Kaunitz. The Imperial chancellery lost its importance, and from the days of Maria Theresa and Joseph II merely existed on paper. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, Prince Metternich served as State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire (1821–1848), likewise Prince Hardenberg acted as Prussian chancellor (1810–1822). From 1867 to 1871 the title ''Bundeskanzler'' (federal chancellor) was again used in the German language, during the time of the North German Confederation. From 1871 to 1945, the office was named ''Reichskanzler'' (Imperial Chancellor). Since 1949 the formal title of the office in the German language is once again ''Bundeskanzler''. In the now defunct German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), which existed from 7 October 1949 to 3 October 1990 (when the territory of the former GDR was reunified with the Federal Republic of Germany), the position of Chancellor did not exist. The equivalent position was called either Minister President ''(Ministerpräsident)'' or Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the GDR ''(Vorsitzender des Ministerrats der DDR)''. (See Leaders of East Germany.) 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「Chancellor of Germany」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|