List of chancellors of Germany by time in office

This is a list of chancellors of Germany by time in office from 1867 to 2021, including the Federal Republic of Germany and its predecessors. This is based on the difference between dates; if counted by number of calendar days all the figures would be one greater. Bismarck's successive tenure as Chancellor of the North German Confederation (1867–1871) and of the German Empire (1871–1890) is counted as one continuous term.

Otto von Bismarck, the longest-ever serving chancellor of Germany with almost 23 years
# in office Chancellor Time in office Rank
1
Otto von Bismarck
22 years, 262 days
1
32
Helmut Kohl
16 years, 26 days
2
34
Angela Merkel
16 years, 16 days
3
27
Konrad Adenauer
14 years, 31 days
4
24
Adolf Hitler
12 years, 90 days
5
4
Bernhard von Bülow
8 years, 270 days
6
31
Helmut Schmidt
8 years, 138 days
7
5
Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg
7 years, 364 days
8
33
Gerhard Schröder
7 years, 26 days
9
3
Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
5 years, 353 days
10
2
Leo von Caprivi
4 years, 220 days
11
30
Willy Brandt
4 years, 198 days
12
28
Ludwig Erhard
3 years, 46 days
13
29
Kurt Georg Kiesinger
2 years, 324 days
14
35
Olaf Scholz
2 years, 139 days
15
21
Heinrich Brüning
2 years, 61 days
16
19
Wilhelm Marx (second non-consecutive term)
2 years, 26 days
17
20
Hermann Müller (second non-consecutive term)
1 year, 272 days
18
14
Joseph Wirth
1 year, 188 days
19
18
Hans Luther
1 year, 117 days
20
17
Wilhelm Marx (first non-consecutive term)
1 year, 46 days
21
7
Georg von Hertling
333 days
22
13
Constantin Fehrenbach
313 days
23
11
Gustav Bauer
279 days
24
15
Wilhelm Cuno
263 days
25
22
Franz von Papen
169 days
26
10
Philipp Scheidemann
127 days
27
6
Georg Michaelis
110 days
28
16
Gustav Stresemann
109 days
29
9
Friedrich Ebert
96 days
30
12
Hermann Müller (first non-consecutive term)
86 days
31
23
Kurt von Schleicher
56 days
32
8
Max von Baden
37 days
33
26
Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk
21 days
34
Walter Scheel (acting)
9 days
35
25
Joseph Goebbels
1 day
36

See also[edit]