at first, the chancellor was only an advisor to the emperor. the emperor chose the chancellor. later this changed. under the 1919 weimar constitution, the elected president chose the chancellor. in nazi germany, politicians ignored the constitution. the chancellor became a dictator under adolf hitler. during allied occupation, there was no chancellor in east or west germany. this changed after the 1949 basic law. this made the chancellor the most important job in the government. the president became less important.