List of rulers of Brandenburg


This article lists the Margraves and Electors of Brandenburg during the period of time that Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Mark, or March, of Brandenburg was one of the primary constituent states of the Holy Roman Empire. It was created in 1157 as the Margraviate of Brandenburg by Albert the Bear, Margrave of the Northern March. In 1356, by the terms of the Golden Bull of Charles IV, the Margrave of Brandenburg was given the permanent right to participate in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor with the title of Elector.
The early rulers came from several different dynasties, but from 1415 Brandenburg and its successor states were ruled by the House of Hohenzollern for over 500 years. From 1618 onward, Brandenburg was ruled in personal union with the Duchy of Prussia. The Hohenzollerns raised Prussia to a kingdom as the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, and from then on Brandenburg was de facto treated as part of the kingdom even though it was legally still part of the Holy Roman Empire. The titles of Margrave of Brandenburg and Elector of Brandenburg were abolished along with the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and Brandenburg was formally integrated into Prussia. Despite this, the Prussian kings still included the title "Margrave of Brandenburg" in their royal style. From 1871 to 1918 the Hohenzollerns were also German Emperors.

Margraves and Electors of Brandenburg

[House of Wittelsbach]

Luxemburg Dynasty">House of Luxembourg">Luxemburg Dynasty

ImageNameBeganEndedComments
Wenceslaus
Wenzel		2 October 137329 November 1378Emperor Charles IV forced the last Wittelsbach Elector to abdicate, and then installed his own son, Wenceslaus. As Wenceslaus was still a minor, the Emperor administered the margraviate for him.
Sigismund29 November 13781388Younger brother of Wenceslaus; took control of Brandenburg on his brother's ascension as King of Germany and Bohemia. Gave up Brandenburg to his cousin Jobst as security for a substantial loan.
Jobst138816 January 1411Sigismund's first cousin, nephew of Charles IV. Elected as German King in 1410 in opposition to Sigismund, but died very shortly afterwards.
Sigismund16 January 141130 April 1415Following Jobst's death, Sigismund regained control of Brandenburg and was elected undisputed King of Germany.

[House of Hohenzollern]

Partitions of Brandenburg under Hohenzollern rule

Table of rulers

Titular Margraves of Brandenburg after 1806

This includes Kings of Prussia with the title of Margrave of Brandenburg and pretenders to the throne of Prussia
MargravePortraitLifespanReign startReign end
Frederick William V
Friedrich Wilhelm III		3 August 1770 – 7 June 18406 August 18067 June 1840
Frederick William VI
Friedrich Wilhelm IV		15 October 1795 – 2 January 18617 June 18402 January 1861
William I
Wilhelm I		22 March 1797 – 9 March 18882 January 18619 March 1888
Frederick VIII
Friedrich III		18 October 1831 – 15 June 18889 March 188815 June 1888
William II
Wilhelm II		27 January 1859 – 4 June 194115 June 1888Prussian monarchy abolished on 28 November 1918
4 June 1941
William III
Wilhelm III		6 May 1882 – 20 July 19514 June 194120 July 1951
Louis Ferdinand
Ludwig Ferdinand I		9 November 1907 – 26 September 199420 July 195126 September 1994
George Frederick III
Georg Friedrich I		10 June 1976 – present26 September 1994Incumbent

Family tree

Upper Presidents of Brandenburg

In 1815 Brandenburg was constituted as the Prussian Province of Brandenburg without a sovereign ruler, but with Upper Presidents appointed by the central Prussian government. The upper president carried out central prerogatives on the provincial level and supervised the implementation of central policy on the lower levels of administration.
Since 1875, with the strengthening of self-rule within the provinces, the urban and rural counties elected representatives for the provincial diets. These parliaments legislated within the competences transferred to the provinces. The provincial diet of Brandenburg elected a provincial executive body, the provincial committee, and a head of province, the land director. Self-rule was abolished under the Nazi dictatorship.
After the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War, Brandenburg, which had previously been merely a province of Prussia, re-emerged as a German Land.

Prime Minister of Brandenburg, 1945–1952

After being abolished in a reorganization of the territories administered by the German Democratic Republic, the Land Brandenburg was restored in the prelude to German unification in 1990.

Ministers President">Minister President">Ministers President of Brandenburg, 1990 to date