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President of Germany (1919–1945)

The President of the Reich (German: Reichspräsident) was the German head of state under the Weimar constitution, which was officially in force from 1919 to 1945. In English he was usually simply referred to as the President of Germany.

This article is about the head of the German state that existed 1919–1945. For the modern President of Germany, see President of Germany.

President of the Reich

His Excellency

Head of state

Abolished

Presidential Palace

Berlin, Germany

Direct election
under a two-round system

Seven years,
with the possibility of indefinite re-election

Weimar constitution

German Emperor

11 February 1919

Friedrich Ebert

Paul von Hindenburg (constitutionally)
Karl Dönitz (de facto)

The Weimar constitution created a semi-presidential system in which power was divided between president, cabinet and parliament.[1][2][3] The Reichspräsident was directly elected under universal adult suffrage for a seven-year term. It was intended that the president would rule in conjunction with the Reichstag (legislature) and that his emergency powers would be exercised only in extraordinary circumstances, but the political instability of the Weimar period, and a paralysing factionalism in the legislature, meant that the president came to occupy a position of considerable power, capable of legislating by decree and appointing and dismissing governments at will.


In 1934, after the death of President Hindenburg, Adolf Hitler, already chancellor, assumed the powers of the presidency[4] as Führer und Reichskanzler ("Leader and Chancellor"), highlighting the positions he already held in party and government. In his last will in April 1945, Hitler named Joseph Goebbels his successor as chancellor but named Karl Dönitz as Reichspräsident, thus reviving the presidential office. However, this revival only lasted until shortly after the German surrender in May 1945.


The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany established the office of Federal President (Bundespräsident), which is, however, a chiefly ceremonial post largely devoid of political power.

Appointment of the Government: The ("Chancellor of the Reich") and his cabinet were appointed and dismissed by the president. No vote of confirmation was required in the Reichstag before the members of the cabinet could assume office, but any member of the cabinet was obliged to resign if the body passed a vote of no confidence in him. The president could appoint and dismiss the chancellor at will, but all other cabinet members could, save in the event of a no confidence motion, only be appointed or dismissed at the chancellor's request.

Reichskanzler

Dissolution of the Reichstag: The president had the right to dissolve the Reichstag at any time, in which case a general election had to occur within sixty days. Legally, he was not permitted to do so more than once for the same reason, but this limitation had little significance in practice.

Promulgation of the law: The president was responsible for signing bills into law. The president was constitutionally obliged to sign every law passed in accordance with the correct procedure but could insist that a bill first be submitted to the electorate in a . Such a referendum could, however, only override the decision of the Reichstag if a majority of eligible voters participated.

referendum

Foreign relations: The president was entitled to represent the nation in its foreign affairs, to accredit and receive ambassadors and to conclude treaties in the name of the state. However approval of the Reichstag was required to declare war, conclude peace or to conclude any treaty that related to German laws.

Commander-in-chief: The president held supreme command of the armed forces.

Amnesties: The president had the right to confer amnesties.

Removal and succession[edit]

The Weimar constitution did not provide for a vice presidency. If the president died or left office prematurely a successor would be elected. During a temporary vacancy, or in the event that the president was "unavailable", the powers and functions of the presidency passed to the chancellor. In December 1932, according to a constitutional amendment, if the president died or was permanently incapacitated, the President of the Reichsgericht (Supreme Court) would be interim president instead of the chancellor, holding the post until new elections.


The provisions of the Weimar constitution for the impeachment or deposition of the president are similar to those found in the Constitution of Austria. The Weimar constitution provided that the president could be removed from office prematurely by a referendum initiated by the Reichstag. To require such a referendum the Reichstag had to pass a motion supported by at least two-thirds of votes cast in the chamber. If such a proposal to depose the president was rejected by voters the president would be deemed to have been re-elected and the Reichstag would be automatically dissolved.


The Reichstag also had authority to impeach the president before the Staatsgerichtshof, a court exclusively concerned with disputes between state organs. However it could only do this on a charge of willfully violating German law; furthermore the move had to be supported by a two-thirds majority of votes cast, at a meeting with a quorum of two-thirds of the total number of members.

1919–1921

1919–1921

1921–1926

1921–1926

1926–1933

1926–1933

1933–1934

1933–1934

1934–1945

1934–1945

President of Germany

List of presidents of Germany

Politics of Germany

History of Germany

Chapter 4, Presidents and Assemblies, Matthew Soberg Shugart and John M. Carey, Cambridge University Press, 1992.