Heads of the German Chancellery


The Head of the Chancellery is the highest ranking official of the German Chancellery and the principal assistant of the Chancellor of Germany. The Chief of Staff is in charge of the running of the German Chancellery as well as with coordinating the federal government's work. The Chief of Staff is either a member of the federal cabinet with the rank of Federal Minister for Special Affairs or holds the rank of Secretary of State. All Chiefs of Staff since 2005 have been members of the federal cabinet.

List of the Heads of the Federal Chancellery

NameTook officeLeft officePartyRank
Franz-Josef Wuermeling12 October 194914 January 1951CDUSecretary of State
Walter Hallstein17 October 19491 March 1950CDUSecretary of State
Otto Lenz15 January 195119 September 1953CDUSecretary of State
Hans Globke28 October 195315 October 1963CDUSecretary of State
Ludger Westrick17 October 196330 November 1966CDUSecretary of State
Federal Minister from 16 June 1964
Werner Knieper1 December 196631 December 1967–Secretary of State
Karl Carstens1 January 196822 October 1969CDUSecretary of State
Horst Ehmke22 October 196918 December 1972SPDFederal Minister
Horst Grabert18 December 197215 May 1974SPDSecretary of State
Manfred Schüler16 May 19741 December 1980SPDSecretary of State
Manfred Lahnstein1 December 198028 April 1982SPDSecretary of State
Gerhard Konow29 April 19824 October 1982–Secretary of State
Waldemar Schreckenberger4 October 198215 November 1984CDUSecretary of State
Wolfgang Schäuble15 November 198420 April 1989CDUFederal Minister
Rudolf Seiters21 April 198925 November 1991CDUFederal Minister
Friedrich Bohl26 November 199127 October 1998CDUFederal Minister
Bodo Hombach27 October 19987 July 1999SPDFederal Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier7 July 199922 November 2005SPDSecretary of State
Thomas de Maizière22 November 200528 October 2009CDUFederal Minister
Ronald Pofalla28 October 200917 December 2013CDUFederal Minister
Peter Altmaier17 December 201314 March 2018CDUFederal Minister
Helge Braun14 March 2018incumbentCDUFederal Minister