Leader of the opposition (Germany)
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then-Leader of the Opposition Angela Merkel with future Leader of the Opposition Guido Westerwelle at the Munich Security Conference in early 2005.
The leader of the opposition in Germany is the parliamentary leader or leaders of the strongest opposition faction in the German parliament, the Bundestag. It is a nominal title that is not even mentioned and does not have any formal functions in the by-laws of the Bundestag. However, the leader of the opposition is, by convention, the first person to respond to the most senior government spokesperson during a debate.[1][2] The title also exists on a state level, but only in the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein it is formally recognized as an actual office.
Only two leaders of the opposition were directly elected Chancellor of Germany afterwards: Helmut Kohl (1976–1982) and Angela Merkel (2002–2005).
List of opposition leaders in Germany since 1949 (Federal Republic of Germany)[]
# | Name (Birth–Death) |
Party | Term of office | Chancellor | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Term Length | |||||
1 | Kurt Schumacher (1895–1952) | Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) |
7 September 1949 | 20 August 1952 | 2 years, 348 days | Konrad Adenauer | |
2 | Erich Ollenhauer (1901–1963) | Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) |
27 September 1952 | 14 December 1963 | 11 years, 78 days | Konrad Adenauer | |
3 | Fritz Erler (1913–1967) | Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) |
1963 | 1966 | 2 years, 273 days | Ludwig Erhard | |
4 | (1916–1977) | Free Democratic Party (FDP) |
1 December 1966 | 23 January 1968 | 1 year, 53 days | Kurt Georg Kiesinger | |
5 | Wolfgang Mischnick (1921–2002) | Free Democratic Party (FDP) |
23 January 1968 | 22 November 1969 | 1 year, 272 days | Kurt Georg Kiesinger | |
6 | Rainer Barzel (1924–2006) | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) |
22 November 1969 | 17 May 1973 | 3 years, 207 days | Willy Brandt | |
7 | Karl Carstens (1914–1992) | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) |
17 May 1973 | 13 September 1976 | 3 years, 119 days | Willy Brandt | |
8 | Helmut Kohl (1930–2017) | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) |
13 September 1976 | 1 October 1982 | 6 years, 18 days | Helmut Schmidt | |
9 | Herbert Wehner (1906–1990) | Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) |
1 October 1982 | 8 March 1983 | 1 year, 158 days | Helmut Kohl | |
10 | Hans-Jochen Vogel (1926–2020) | Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) |
8 March 1983 | 12 November 1991 | 8 years, 249 days | Helmut Kohl | |
11 | Hans-Ulrich Klose (1937–) | Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) |
12 November 1991 | 10 November 1994 | 2 years, 363 days | Helmut Kohl | |
12 | Rudolf Scharping (1947–) | Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) |
10 November 1994 | 26 October 1998 | 3 years, 350 days | Helmut Kohl | |
13 | Wolfgang Schäuble (1942–) | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) |
27 October 1998 | 29 February 2000 | 1 year, 125 days | Gerhard Schröder | |
14 | Friedrich Merz (1955–) | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) |
29 February 2000 | 22 September 2002 | 2 years, 206 days | Gerhard Schröder | |
15 | Angela Merkel (1954–) | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) |
22 September 2002 | 22 November 2005 | 3 years, 61 days | Gerhard Schröder | |
16 | Wolfgang Gerhardt (1943–) | Free Democratic Party (FDP) |
22 November 2005 | 1 May 2006 | 160 days | Angela Merkel | |
17 | Guido Westerwelle (1961–2016) | Free Democratic Party (FDP) |
1 May 2006 | 28 October 2009 | 3 years, 180 days | Angela Merkel | |
18 | Frank-Walter Steinmeier (1956–) | Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) |
28 October 2009 | 16 December 2013 | 4 years, 49 days | Angela Merkel | |
19 | Gregor Gysi (1948–) | The Left | 17 December 2013 | 12 October 2015 | 1 year, 299 days | Angela Merkel | |
20 | Dietmar Bartsch (1958–) Sahra Wagenknecht (1969–) |
The Left | 12 October 2015 | 24 October 2017 | 2 years, 12 days | Angela Merkel | |
21 | Alexander Gauland (1941–) Alice Weidel (1979–) |
Alternative for Germany (AfD) |
24 October 2017 | 26 October 2021 | 4 years, 2 days | Angela Merkel | |
22 | Ralph Brinkhaus (1968–) | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) |
8 December 2021 | Incumbent | 50 days | Olaf Scholz |
References[]
- ^ "Oppositionsführer - Ein Titel ohne Mittel". Cicero Online (in German). Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ Online, FOCUS. "Opposition: Bedeutung und Rechte im Bundestag". FOCUS Online (in German). Retrieved 2018-07-31.
Categories:
- Opposition leaders