| Deputy to the Federal Chancellor | |
|---|---|
| Stellvertreter des Bundeskanzlers | |
 Coat of Arms of the German Government | |
 Flag of Germany | |
.jpg) | |
| Style | Mr. Vice-chancellor (informal) His Excellency (diplomatic) |
| Status | Deputy head of government |
| Member of | Federal Cabinet |
| Seat | As Federal Minister; currently Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Berlin/Bonn |
| Nominator | Chancellor or the coalition party |
| Appointer | Chancellor |
| Term length | At the Chancellor's pleasure |
| Constituting instrument | German Basic Law (German Constitution) |
| Formation | 24 May 1949 |
| First holder | Franz Blücher |
The Vice-Chancellor of Germany, officially the Deputy to the Federal Chancellor (German: Stellvertreter des Bundeskanzlers), is the second highest ranking German cabinet member. The chancellor is the head of government and, according to the constitution, gives this title of deputy to one of the federal ministers. It is custom that the title is given to a minister of the largest coalition partner, since 1966 typically the foreign minister. Since 2011, the minister for economic affairs has held the title most often.
In everyday politics, being vice-chancellor is considered more of an honorary title. The vice-chancellor may head cabinet meetings when the chancellor is not absent. The function of vice-chancellor is to use the specific constitutional powers of the chancellor in case that the chancellor is unable to perform their duties. This kind of substitution has never been made use of in the history of the Federal Republic. Should a chancellor resign, die or be permanently unable to perform the duties of office, the vice-chancellor does not automatically become the next chancellor. In such a case the Federal President assigns a minister to serve as acting chancellor until the Bundestag (parliament) elects a new chancellor.[1]).
Although Stellvertreter is the constitutional term, vice-chancellor (Vizekanzler) is used more commonly. Chancellor (Kanzler) is the traditional term for the German head of government since 1867/71. A general deputy was introduced by law in 1878 (Stellvertretungsgesetz). In the Weimar Republic of 1919–1933, the office of Vizekanzler was mentioned in the internal reglement of the government. The current title has existed since the constitution of 1949.
Robert Habeck (Greens) is the current officeholder since 8 December 2021.
- ^ Ute Mager, in: von Münch/Kunig: Grundgesetz-Kommentar II, 5. Auflage 2001, Rn. 10/11 zu Art. 69.