Chancellor - Head of Government

Head of Government

  • The Chancellor of Germany or Bundeskanzler (meaning "Federal Chancellor" in German), is the title for the head of government in Germany. Bundeskanzlerin is the feminine form. In German politics the Bundeskanzler position is equivalent to that of a prime minister and is elected by the Bundestag, the German Parliament, every four years. The current German Bundeskanzlerin is Angela Merkel.
The former German Empire, the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany had the equivalent position of Reichskanzler ("Chancellor of the Empire"), as the head of the executive appointed by the German Emperor from 1871 until 1918, and then as the head of government until 1945.
  • The Chancellor of Austria, also titled Bundeskanzler, is the head of government in Austria, a nation whose political system is similar to that of Germany, its neighbor. Werner Faymann is the current Bundeskanzler in Austria.
  • In Switzerland, the Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler, Chancelier fédéral, Cancelliere della Confederazione) is elected by the Swiss parliament. He or she heads the Federal Chancellery, the general staff of the seven-member executive Federal Council, the Swiss government. The Chancellor participates in the meetings of the seven Federal Councilors with a consultative vote and prepares the reports on policy and activities of the council to parliament. The chancellery is responsible for the publication of all federal laws.

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