List of heads of state of Germany
Under the 1919 Constitution, the first republican constitution of Germany, the President replaced the monarch as ceremonial head of state with semi-presidential powers. The President was to be elected by universal suffrage for a seven-year term. In the event of a vacancy the Chancellor served as Acting President, but in case of a longer vacancy parliament was to decide on the Acting President by law. However, the first President, Friedrich Ebert, was elected by the National Assembly; he also acted as head of state during the revolutionary period, as Co-Chairman of the Council of the People's Deputies, together with Hugo Haase from 10 November 1918 until 29 December 1918 and thereafter together with Philipp Scheidemann.Under the current Constitution, the second republican constitution of Germany, the President is the ceremonial head of state. The President is elected indirectly for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy the President of the Bundesrat serves as Acting President.During the East German period the title of the heads of state varies from President to Chairman of the Council.
Legal status of Germany
After the "Machtergreifung" of the Nazi Party in 1933, state power had been personified more and more within Reich Chancellor ("Reichskanzler") Adolf Hitler, who upon the death of Reich President Paul von Hindenburg on 2 August 1934 simultaneously served as head of government and as head of state (styled "Führer" and "Reichskanzler"). Furthermore, by the final months of the war, governmental functions at all levels within Nazi Germany had been assimilated into the apparatus of the Nazi Party. Following Hitler's suicide on April 30, 1945, the successor regime appointed in his political testament resigned during the cabinet's May 2 session. Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, appointed Reich President in Hitler's testament, gave the task of forming a political administration to Leading Minister Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk; however, the consequent Flensburg Government did not possess any "de facto" central governmental authority within Germany, nor was it recognised by any Axis, Allied or neutral government.