List of German presidents since 1919

A number of presidential offices have existed in Germany since the abolition of the imperial monarchy in 1918. During the 1919-1933 Weimar Republic the head of state was the "Reichspräsident" (Reich President). Upon the death of Paul von Hindenburg in August 1934 the office was abolished until 1945, when Karl Dönitz briefly became Reich President according to the last will of Adolf Hitler.

The West German constitution ("Grundgesetz" or Basic Law) of May 1949 created the office of "Bundespräsident" ("Federal President"). The East German constitution of October 1949 created the office of "Präsident der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik" (DDR) [President of the German Democratic Republic (GDR)] . Upon the death of Wilhelm Pieck in 1960, the office of "Präsident der DDR" was abolished and replaced by a collective head of state, the "Staatsrat der DDR" (State Council of the GDR). The "Vorsitzender" (Chairman) of the "Staatsrat" was considered to be the head of state of the GDR. The "Staatsrat" was abolished by a constitutional amendment of the first and only freely elected "Volkskammer" ("People's Chamber" or parliament) on 5 April 1990. From then until the GDR joined with the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990, the president of the "Volkskammer" also served as the GDR head of state.

Reich Presidents "(Reichspräsidenten)" (1919-1945)

No.	Name	Took office	Left office	Party
1.	Friedrich Ebert	11 February 1919	28 February 1925 (death)	SPD
2.	Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg	12 May 1925	2 August 1934 (death)	"(None)"
3.	Adolf Hitler - was head of state but used the titles Leader and Chancellor of the Reich Führer und Reichskanzler	2 August 1934	30 April 1945 (committed suicide)	National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP)
4.	Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz	30 April 1945	23 May 1945 (arrested)	"(None)"

Federal Presidents "(Bundespräsidenten)" since 1949

No.	Name	Took office	Left office	Party
1.	Theodor Heuss	13 September1949	12 September1959	FDP
2.	Heinrich Lübke	13 September 1959	30 June 1969	CDU
3.	Gustav Heinemann	1 July 1969	30 June 1974	SPD
4.	Walter Scheel	1 July 1974	30 June 1979	FDP
5.	Karl Carstens	1 July 1979	30 June 1984	CDU
6.	Richard von Weizsäcker	1 July 1984	30 June 1994	CDU
7.	Roman Herzog	1 July 1994	30 June 1999	CDU
8.	Johannes Rau	1 July 1999	30 June 2004	SPD
9.	Horst Köhler	1 July 2004	Incumbent	CDU

President of the GDR "(Präsident der DDR)" (1949-1960)

*Wilhelm Pieck (SED) 11 October 1949 to 7 September 1960 (death)

Chairmen of the Council of State of the GDR "(Vorsitzende des Staatsrats der DDR)" (1960-1990)

No.	Name	Took office	Left office	Party
1.	Walter Ulbricht	12 September 1960	1 August 1973 (death)	SED
2.	Willi Stoph	3 October 1973	29 October 1976 (replaced)	SED
3.	Erich Honecker	29 October 1976	18 October 1989 (resigned)	SED
4.	Egon Krenz	18 October 1989	6 December 1989 (resigned)	SED
5.	Manfred Gerlach	6 December 1989	5 April 1990 (office abolished)	LDPD

President of the People's Chamber of the GDR "(Präsident/-in der Volkskammer der DDR)" (1990)

*Sabine Bergmann-Pohl (CDU) 5 April to 2 October 1990 (office abolished)

NOTE: The office of "Präsident der Volkskammer der DDR" was created by the GDR constitution in October 1949 and remained throughout the existence of the GDR. With the abolition of the office of the Chairman of the Council of State of the GDR, the President of the People's Chamber became the GDR's head of state for the remainder of the state's existence.

List of acting heads of state "(Geschäftsführendes Staatsoberhaupt)"

*Hans Luther (DVP) was acting Reich President from 28 February to 12 March 1925.
*Walter Simons was acting Reich President from 12 March to 12 May 1925.
*Karl Arnold (CDU) was acting head of state of the Federal Republic from 7 September to 12 September 1949. He filled this role in his capacity as President of the Bundesrat.
*Johannes Dieckmann (SED) briefly filled the role of acting State President of East Germany on two occasions: in 1949 (before Wilhelm Pieck took office) and again in 1960 (after Pieck died).
*Friedrich Ebert junior (SED) was Acting Chairman of the Council of State in East Germany from 1 August 1973 to 3 October 1973.
*Manfred Gerlach (LDPD) was Acting Chairman of the Council of State in East Germany from 6 December 1989 to 5 April 1990.

ee also

*History of Germany
*Politics of Germany
*President of Germany
*President of Germany (Weimar Republic)