Vice Chancellor: Competencies of the Chancellor representative in Germany

The office of Vice Chancellor is prestigious  

• The Vice Chancellor is the Federal Chancellor's deputy

• The Federal Chancellor personally appoints his deputy

• Vice Chancellors must belong to the Federal Cabinet

Berlin - The

deputies

of the

Federal Chancellor

is the second highest German

cabinet member

.

Colloquially he is also called the

Vice Chancellor

.

In everyday politics, the title of Vice Chancellor is more of an honorary title.

The Vice Chancellor's job is solely

to use

the

Chancellor's

specific

constitutional

powers in

the

event that

the

Chancellor

is unable to carry out his duties.

Current

incumbent

is the

SPD

-

politicians

and

Finance Minister

Olaf Scholz

(* 14.06.1958).

He was appointed to the office on March 14, 2018 by

Chancellor

Angela Merkel

(* July 17, 1954).

The Vice Chancellor always has his official seat in the Federal Ministry assigned to him as a cabinet member.

So currently the German Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz as Finance Minister has his headquarters in the Federal Ministry of Finance

in

Berlin.

The ministry can be found on Google Maps not far from Potsdamer Platz.

The Vice Chancellor: Explanation of terms

The office of

Vice Chancellor has

existed since the constitution in 1949. While the term “Vice Chancellor” is also the constitutional term in Austria, the German Basic Law only names this office as “

Deputy”

.

Nevertheless, over the years

the term “Vice Chancellor” has

also become established in German

politics

.

Appointment as Vice Chancellor and termination of office

The German

Federal Cabinet

consists of the

Federal Chancellor

and the

Federal Ministers

.

The Federal Chancellor appoints his

deputy

from among the Federal Ministers

.

Unlike the appointment of the Chancellor or a

Cabinet Minister

, there is no formal appointment by the

Federal President

.

Theoretically, the Chancellor has complete freedom of choice when choosing his deputy.

However, since a German government is usually based on a

coalition

of two or more parties, the Chancellor traditionally gives the title of Vice Chancellor to a minister from the second largest

party

in the coalition.

A cabinet only exists for one legislative period.

The office of the

deputy chancellor

depends on whether the vice-chancellor is still part of the new cabinet after a federal election and whether the chancellor he is supposed to represent is still in office.

In addition, the Federal Chancellor also has the right to withdraw the office of the Vice Chancellor.

The Vice Chancellor and his duties

The

Basic Law

does not

define the duties of the

Vice Chancellor

.

According to the management of the

Federal Government

, the Vice Chancellor takes on the role of

deputy

when the

Chancellor

himself is generally prevented from carrying out his business.

For example, he can

lead

cabinet meetings

when the

Chancellor

is abroad or ill.

If a Federal Chancellor resigns, dies or is permanently prevented from exercising his office, the Vice Chancellor does not automatically take his place.

In such a case, the

Federal President

instructs

a

minister

to act as

Chancellor

until the

Bundestag

elects a new Chancellor.

The

Basic Law

also does not specify who will act as the

deputy of

the

Vice Chancellor

.

In the

Federal Cabinet's

rules

of procedure, it

is agreed that

cabinet

meetings are

chaired

by a

cabinet member appointed

by the

Federal Chancellor

or the Vice Chancellor

if neither the

Chancellor

nor a

representative are able

to lead.

If such a determination has not been made, or if the particular is unable to do so, the cabinet member present with the longest uninterrupted membership in the

federal government is

called upon to lead. 

Authority of the Vice Chancellor: rights and duties of the Deputy

If the

Vice Chancellor represents

the

Federal Chancellor

in day-to-day political business, he must adhere to the following regulations:

• The

  Vice Chancellor

  must strictly follow the instructions of the

  Federal Chancellor

  .

• He should always direct his actions towards the goal of changing as little as possible of the Chancellor's policy.

• The Vice Chancellor has to justify himself accordingly for any deviation.

The rights to which the

Vice Chancellor is

entitled include the right to represent

the

Federal Chancellor's

constitutional

powers

, which in turn are

defined

by the

Basic Law

.

The

Chancellor

cannot simply appoint any

minister

to represent him in these matters.

He must

always

contact

the

Vice Chancellor

with a

request for

representation

and

thus assign him the

authority

for the required period.