German order of precedence

Relative preeminence of officials for ceremonial purposes

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The German order of precedence is a symbolic hierarchy of the highest federal offices in Germany used to direct protocol. It has no official status, but has been established in practical use.[1] It consists of the holders or chairs of the five permanent constitutional bodies of the Federation.[a]

1. The President of Germany, the head of state of Germany.
2. The President of the Bundestag, the speaker of the German parliament, the Bundestag.
3. The Chancellor of Germany, the head of the government of Germany.
4. (1.) The President of the Bundesrat, the speaker of the Bundesrat, a federal legislative chamber, in which the governments of the sixteen German states are represented. The president of the Bundesrat is ex officio also deputy to the President of Germany (Basic Law, Article 57), thus becomes first in the order, while acting on behalf of the President or while acting as head of state during a vacancy of the presidency.
5. The President of the Federal Constitutional Court, the supreme court of Germany.

## Current office-holders

[edit]

No. | Office | Image | Incumbent | In office since | Deputy(s)

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|
|
|
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1st |
President of Germany |  | Frank-Walter Steinmeier | 19 March 2017 | Anke Rehlinger
President of the Bundesrat
(See 4th)
2nd |
President of the Bundestag |  | Julia Klöckner | 25 March 2025 | Andrea Lindholz
Josephine Ortleb
Omid Nouripour
Bodo Ramelow
Vice Presidents of the Bundestag
3rd |
Chancellor of Germany |  | Friedrich Merz | 6 May 2025 | Lars Klingbeil
Vice Chancellor of Germany
4th (1st) |
President of the Bundesrat |  | Anke Rehlinger | 1 November 2024 | Manuela Schwesig
First Vice President of the Bundesrat
Andreas Bovenschulte
Second Vice President of the Bundesrat
5th |
President of the Federal Constitutional Court |  | Stephan Harbarth | 22 June 2020 | Doris König
Vice President of the Federal Constitutional Court

## Living former office-holders

[edit]

The order of precedence is also observed with respect to former office-holders in some cases, for example if they participate in official ceremonies as honoured guests.

### Former Presidents of Germany

[edit]

* Christian Wulff (2010–2012)
* Joachim Gauck (2012–2017)

### Former Presidents of the Bundestag

[edit]

* Rita Süssmuth (1988–1998)
* Wolfgang Thierse (1998–2005)
* Norbert Lammert (2005–2017)
* Bärbel Bas (2021–2025)

### Former Chancellors of Germany

[edit]

* Gerhard Schröder (1998–2005)
* Angela Merkel (2005–2021)
* Olaf Scholz (2021–2025)

### Former Presidents of the Bundesrat

[edit]

* Björn Engholm (1988–1989)
* Walter Momper (1989–1990)
* Berndt Seite (1992)
* Oskar Lafontaine (1992–1993)
* Klaus Wedemeier (1993–1994)
* Edmund Stoiber (1995–1996)
* Erwin Teufel (1996–1997)
* Gerhard Schröder (1997–1998)
* Hans Eichel (1998–1999)
* Roland Koch (1999)
* Kurt Beck (2000–2001)
* Klaus Wowereit (2001–2002)
* Dieter Althaus (2003–2004)
* Matthias Platzeck (2004–2005)
* Peter Harry Carstensen (2005–2006)
* Ole von Beust (2007–2008)
* Peter Müller (2008–2009)
* Jens Böhrnsen (2009–2010)
* Hannelore Kraft (2010–2011)
* Horst Seehofer (2011–2012)
* Winfried Kretschmann (2012–2013)
* Stephan Weil (2013–2014)
* Volker Bouffier (2014–2015)
* Stanislaw Tillich (2015–2016)
* Malu Dreyer (2016–2017)
* Michael Müller (2017–2018)
* Daniel Günther (2018–2019)
* Dietmar Woidke (2019–2020)
* Reiner Haseloff (2020–2021)
* Bodo Ramelow (2021–2022)
* Peter Tschentscher (2022–2023)
* Manuela Schwesig (2023–2024)

### Former Presidents of the Federal Constitutional Court

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* Hans-Jürgen Papier (2002–2010)
* Andreas Voßkuhle (2010–2020)

## Notes

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1. ^ The two non-permanent constitutional bodies, the Federal Convention and the Joint Committee, are headed by the President of the Bundestag in personal union.

## References

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1. ^ "Protokollarische Rangfragen". Archived from the original on 2017-07-16. Retrieved 2017-09-17.

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