Head of the Federal Foreign Office in the Central European country
The
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs
(German:
Bundesminister des Auswartigen
) is the head of the
Federal Foreign Office
and a member of the
Cabinet of Germany
. The current office holder is
Annalena Baerbock
. Since 1966, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has often also simultaneously held the office of
Vice-Chancellor of Germany
.
History of the office
[
edit
]
The
Foreign Office
was established within the
North German Confederation
in 1870 and its head, first appointed in 1871, had the rank of Secretary of State. As the German constitution of 1871 installed the Chancellor as the sole
responsible
government minister and since the Chancellor generally also held the position of
Foreign Minister of Prussia
, the Secretary of State fulfilled a more subject role as an assistant to the Chancellor, acting largely to draft correspondence rather than to actually direct the formation of foreign policy. This was especially true during the chancellorships of
Otto von Bismarck
(1871?1890) and
Bernhard von Bulow
(1900?1909), both of whom had considerable prior experience with foreign affairs, while secretaries at other times wielded more influence over the foreign policy.
Gustav Stresemann
, one of Germany's most influential Foreign Ministers and a 1926
Nobel Peace Prize
laureate
In 1919, the
Weimar Republic
elevated the head of the foreign office to the position of Foreign Minister responsible for his department. As governments were now formed by parties entering coalitions with each other, individual ministers also gained independence towards from the chancellor.
After a succession of short-lived ministers,
Gustav Stresemann
, leader of the small National-liberal
German People's Party
, held the office of Foreign Minister in successive cabinets from 1923 to his death in 1929. His long term gave stability to Germany's foreign policy and improved the minister's position towards the relatively weak and short-lived chancellors. Stresemann was awarded the 1926
Nobel Peace Prize
for his work for reconciliation between Germany and France.
[1]
The foreign office remained relatively unaffected by the establishment of the
Nazi regime
in 1933, as minister
Konstantin von Neurath
, appointed in 1932, remained in office until 1938; however, the office was increasingly marginalised in actual policy-making and with the replacement of Neurath by
Ribbentrop
lost any independent standing.
After
World War II
, two separate German states emerged in 1949, the democratic
Federal Republic of Germany
in the West and the communist-ruled
German Democratic Republic
in the East. While the
Soviet Union
ostensibly restored political sovereignty to its satellite and allowed for a
Foreign Ministry of the GDR
, West Germany's sovereignty was officially curtailed by the Western powers, especially in the field of foreign policy. In 1951 the Foreign Office was reestablished
[2]
in West Germany, but Chancellor
Konrad Adenauer
was required to hold the office of Foreign Minister until the Western powers restored sovereignty to West Germany in 1955. Then,
Heinrich von Brentano di Tremezzo
succeeded as foreign minister in 1955. In 1990, the GDR ceased to exist as a separate state and its territory was reunited with West Germany.
From the 1966 Grand Coalition government of
Kurt Georg Kiesinger
onwards, the office has been held by a member of the smaller partner in coalitions. Therefore, the Foreign Minister also mostly holds the office of
Vice Chancellor of Germany
, although this has become less common in recent years ? neither of the two most recent Foreign Ministers,
Heiko Maas
and
Annalena Baerbock
, have been Vice Chancellor, with the Vice Chancellorship being held by Finance Minister
Olaf Scholz
during Maas' tenure, and by Economy and Climate Minister
Robert Habeck
during Baerbock's.
List of officeholders
[
edit
]
German Reich (1871?1945)
[
edit
]
- State Secretaries for Foreign Affairs (1871?1919)
- Ministers of Foreign Affairs (1919?1945)
Political Party:
SPD
Zentrum
DDP
DVP
NSDAP
| No.
|
Portrait
|
Minister of Foreign Affairs
|
Took office
|
Left office
|
Time in office
|
Party
|
Cabinet
|
| 1
| | Brockdorff, Ulrich
Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau
(1869?1928)
| 13 February 1919
| 20 June 1919
| 127 days
| Independent
| Scheidemann
|
| 2
| | Muller, Hermann
Hermann Muller
(1876?1931)
| 21 June 1919
| 26 March 1920
| 279 days
| SPD
| Bauer
|
| 3
| | Koster, Adolf
Adolf Koster
(1883?1930)
| 10 April 1920
| 8 June 1920
| 59 days
| SPD
| Muller I
|
| 4
| | Simons, Walter
Walter Simons
(1861?1937)
| 25 June 1920
| 4 May 1921
| 59 days
| Independent
| Fehrenbach
|
| 5
| | Rosen, Friedrich
Friedrich Rosen
(1856?1935)
| 10 May 1921
| 22 October 1921
| 1 year, 136 days
| Independent
| Wirth I
|
| ?
| | Wirth, Joseph
Joseph Wirth
(1879?1956)
Acting
| 26 October 1921
| 31 January 1922
| 97 days
| Centre
| Wirth II
|
| 6
| | Rathenau, Walther
Walther Rathenau
(1867?1922)
| 1 February 1922
| 24 June 1922 †
| 143 days
| DDP
| Wirth II
|
| ?
| | Wirth, Joseph
Joseph Wirth
(1879?1956)
Acting
| 24 June 1922
| 14 November 1922
| 143 days
| Centre
| Wirth II
|
| 7
| | Rosenberg, Hans
Hans von Rosenberg
(1879?1956)
| 22 November 1922
| 11 August 1923
| 262 days
| Independent
| Cuno
|
| 8
| | Stresemann, Gustav
Gustav Stresemann
(1878?1929)
| 13 August 1923
| 3 October 1929 †
| 6 years, 51 days
| DVP
| Stresemann I
?
II
Marx I
?
II
Luther I
?
II
Marx III
?
IV
Muller II
|
| 9
| | Curtius, Julius
Julius Curtius
(1877?1948)
| 4 October 1929
| 9 October 1931
| 2 years, 5 days
| DVP
| Muller II
Bruning I
|
| 10
| | Bruning, Heinrich
Heinrich Bruning
(1885?1970)
| 9 October 1931
| 30 May 1932
| 234 days
| Centre
| Muller II
Bruning II
|
| 11
| | Neurath, Konstantin
Konstantin von Neurath
(1873?1956)
(Independent until 1937)
| 1 June 1932
| 4 February 1938
| 5 years, 248 days
| NSDAP
| Papen
Schleicher
Hitler
|
| 12
| | Ribbentrop, Joachim
Joachim von Ribbentrop
(1893?1946)
| 4 February 1938
| 30 April 1945
| 7 years, 85 days
| NSDAP
| Hitler
|
| 13
| | Seyss, Arthur
Arthur Seyss-Inquart
(1892?1946)
| 30 April 1945
| 2 May 1945
| 2 days
| NSDAP
| Goebbels
|
| 14
| | Krosigk, Lutz
Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk
(1887?1977)
| 2 May 1945
| 23 May 1945
| 21 days
| NSDAP
| Schwerin von Krosigk
|
German Democratic Republic (1949?1990)
[
edit
]
- Ministers of Foreign Affairs
Political Party:
CDU
SED
NDPD
SPD
| No.
|
Portrait
|
Minister of Foreign Affairs
|
Took office
|
Left office
|
Time in office
|
Party
|
Chairman
|
| 1
| | Dertinger, Georg
Georg Dertinger
(1902?1968)
| 12 October 1949
| 15 January 1953
| 3 years, 3 months
| CDU
| Grotewohl
|
| 2
| | Ackermann, Anton
Anton Ackermann
(1905?1973)
| 15 January 1953
| July 1953
| 5 months
| SED
| Grotewohl
|
| 3
| | Bolz, Lothar
Lothar Bolz
(1903?1986)
| July 1953
| 24 June 1965
| 11 years, 11 months
| NDPD
| Grotewohl
Stoph
|
| 4
| | Winzer, Otto
Otto Winzer
(1902?1975)
| 24 June 1965
| 20 January 1975
| 9 years, 6 months
| SED
| Stoph
Sindermann
|
| 5
| | Fischer, Oskar
Oskar Fischer
(1923?2020)
| 3 March 1975
| 12 April 1990
| 15 years, 1 month
| SED
| Sindermann
Stoph
Modrow
|
| 6
| | Meckel, Markus
Markus Meckel
(born 1952)
| 12 April 1990
| 20 August 1990
| 4 months
| SPD
| de Maiziere
|
| 7
| | Maiziere, Lothar
Lothar de Maiziere
(born 1940)
| 20 August 1990
| 2 October 1990
| 1 month
| CDU
| de Maiziere
|
Federal Republic of Germany (1949?present)
[
edit
]
- Ministers of Foreign Affairs, since 1951
Political Party:
CDU
SPD
FDP
Green
| No.
|
Portrait
|
Minister of Foreign Affairs
|
Took office
|
Left office
|
Time in office
|
Party
|
Cabinet
|
| 1
| | Adenauer, Konrad
Konrad Adenauer
(1876?1967)
| 15 March 1951
| 6 June 1955
| 4 years, 83 days
| CDU
| Adenauer I
?
II
|
| 2
| | Tremezzo, Heinrich
Heinrich von Brentano
(1904?1964)
| 6 June 1955
| 30 October 1961
| 6 years, 146 days
| CDU
| Adenauer II
?
III
|
| 3
| | Schroder, Gerhard
Gerhard Schroder
(1910?1989)
| 14 November 1961
| 30 November 1966
| 5 years, 16 days
| CDU
| Adenauer IV
?
V
Erhard I
?
II
|
| 4
| | Brandt, Willy
Willy Brandt
(1913?1992)
| 1 December 1966
| 20 October 1969
| 2 years, 323 days
| SPD
| Kiesinger
|
| 5
| | Scheel, Walter
Walter Scheel
(1919?2016)
| 21 October 1969
| 15 May 1974
| 4 years, 206 days
| FDP
| Brandt I
?
II
|
| 6
| | Genscher, Hans
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
(1927?2016)
| 17 May 1974
| 17 September 1982
| 8 years, 123 days
| FDP
| Schmidt I
?
II
?
III
|
| 7
| | Schmidt, Helmut
Helmut Schmidt
(1918?2015)
| 17 September 1982
| 1 October 1982
| 17 days
| SPD
| Schmidt III
|
8
(6)
| | Genscher, Hans
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
(1927?2016)
| 1 October 1982
| 17 May 1992
| 9 years, 226 days
| FDP
| Kohl I
?
II
?
III
?
IV
|
| 9
| | Kinkel, Klaus
Klaus Kinkel
(1936?2019)
| 18 May 1992
| 26 October 1998
| 6 years, 161 days
| FDP
| Kohl IV
?
V
|
| 10
| | Fischer, Joschka
Joschka Fischer
(born 1948)
| 27 October 1998
| 22 November 2005
| 7 years, 26 days
| Greens
| Schroder I
?
II
|
| 11
| | Steinmeier, Frank
Frank-Walter Steinmeier
(born 1956)
| 22 November 2005
| 28 October 2009
| 3 years, 340 days
| SPD
| Merkel I
|
| 12
| | Westerwelle, Guido
Guido Westerwelle
(1961?2016)
| 28 October 2009
| 17 December 2013
| 4 years, 50 days
| FDP
| Merkel II
|
13
(11)
| | Steinmeier, Frank
Frank-Walter Steinmeier
(born 1956)
| 17 December 2013
| 27 January 2017
| 3 years, 41 days
| SPD
| Merkel III
|
| 14
| | Gabriel, Sigmar
Sigmar Gabriel
(born 1959)
| 27 January 2017
| 14 March 2018
| 1 year, 46 days
| SPD
| Merkel III
|
| 15
| | Maas, Heiko
Heiko Maas
(born 1966)
| 14 March 2018
| 8 December 2021
| 3 years, 269 days
| SPD
| Merkel IV
|
| 16
| | Baerbock, Annalena
Annalena Baerbock
(born 1980)
| 8 December 2021
| Incumbent
| 2 years, 164 days
| Greens
| Scholz
|
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]