Download Excel File List of Presidents of Germany

A number of presidential offices have existed in Germany since the fall of the monarchies in 1918. During the 1919-1933 Weimar Republic the head of state was the President of Germany (German: Reichspräsident). Upon the death of Paul von Hindenburg in August 1934 the office was left vacant, with Adolf Hitler becoming head of state as Führer und Reichskanzler. In 1945, Karl Dönitz briefly became President. The West German constitution (Grundgesetz, Basic Law) of May 1949 created the office of President of Germany (German: Bundespräsident). Since Germany was reunited in 1990 the President has been the head of state for all of Germany. The East German constitution of October 1949 created the office of Präsident der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (DDR) ("President of the German Democratic Republic"). 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 (State Council). The Staatsrat was abolished by a constitutional amendment of the Volkskammer ("People's Chamber") on 5 April 1990. From then until the GDR joined the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990, the president of the Volkskammer also served as the GDR head of state.