president of Germany

Also known as Reichspräsident, President of the Reich

head of state of Germany (1919–1945)

Key facts

Style: His Excellency
Type: Head of state
Status: Abolished
Residence: Presidential Palace
Seat: Berlin, Germany
Appointer: Direct election , under a two-round system
Term length: Seven years, with the possibility of indefinite re-election
Constituting instrument: Weimar constitution
Precursor: German Emperor
Formation: 11 February 1919 (first) , 30 April 1945 (last)
First holder: Friedrich Ebert
Final holder: Paul von Hindenburg (constitutionally) , Karl Dönitz ( de facto )

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Article

The president of Germany (German: Reichspräsident, lit. 'president of the Reich') was the head of state under the Weimar Constitution, which was officially in force from 1919 to 1945, encompassing the periods of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany.

The Weimar constitution created a semi-presidential system in which power was divided between president, cabinet and parliament. The president was directly elected under universal adult suffrage for a seven-year term, although Germany's first president, Friedrich Ebert, was elected by the Weimar National Assembly rather than the people. The intention of the framers of the constitution was that the president would rule in conjunction with the Reichstag (legislature) and that his extensive emergency powers would be exercised only in extraordinary circumstances. The political instability of the Weimar period and an increasingly severe factionalism in the legislature, however, led to the president occupying a position of considerable power, legislating by decree and appointing and dismissing governments at will.