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Historical rankings of chancellors of Germany

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Historical rankings of chancellors of Germany are surveys conducted to construct rankings of the success and popularity of the individuals who have served as Chancellor of Germany in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Opinion polls

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Overview

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Opinion poll rankings of the greatest chancellor

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Order Chancellor Political party Tenure Emnid (2005) Infratest dimap (2010) YouGov (2015)
1 Konrad Adenauer CDU 1949 – 1963 03 – 02
2 Ludwig Erhard CDU 1963 – 1966 06 – 07
3 Kurt Georg Kiesinger CDU 1966 – 1969 07 – 08
4 Willy Brandt SPD 1969 – 1974 04 02 04
– Walter Scheel ^ FDP 7 May – 16 May 1974 – – –
5 Helmut Schmidt SPD 1974 – 1982 01 01 01
6 Helmut Kohl CDU 1982 – 1998 02 04 05
7 Gerhard Schröder SPD 1998 – 2005 05 05 06
8 Angela Merkel CDU 2005 – 2021 – 03 02
9 Olaf Scholz SPD 2021 – present – – –

^ Following Willy Brandt's resignation as Chancellor, Walter Scheel was acting Chancellor for nine days.

Opinion poll rankings of the most important chancellor

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Order Chancellor Political party Tenure ZDF (2003) Forsa (2005) Forsa (2013)
1 Konrad Adenauer CDU 1949 – 1963 01 01 02
2 Ludwig Erhard CDU 1963 – 1966 05 05 07
3 Kurt Georg Kiesinger CDU 1966 – 1969 – 07 08
4 Willy Brandt SPD 1969 – 1974 02 02 03
– Walter Scheel ^ FDP 7 May – 16 May 1974 – – –
5 Helmut Schmidt SPD 1974 – 1982 04 03 01
6 Helmut Kohl CDU 1982 – 1998 03 04 04
7 Gerhard Schröder SPD 1998 – 2005 06 06 06
8 Angela Merkel CDU 2005 – 2021 – – 05
9 Olaf Scholz SPD 2021 – present – – –

^ Following Willy Brandt's resignation as Chancellor, Walter Scheel was acting Chancellor for nine days.

ZDF (2003)

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For the TV show Unsere Besten, more than 1 million Germans were asked to rank the 100 most notable Germans in an unrepresentative opinion poll. The list also included German chancellors:[1][2]

  1. Konrad Adenauer (#1 overall)
  2. Willy Brandt (#5)
  3. Helmut Kohl (#13)
  4. Helmut Schmidt (#21)
  5. Ludwig Erhard (#27)
  6. Gerhard Schröder (#82)

Neither Kurt Georg Kiesinger nor Angela Merkel (who was leader of the opposition at that time) were ranked among the 100 most notable Germans.

Forsa (2005)

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In an opinion poll conducted by Forsa in July 2005, the 1002 pollees were supposed to name the most notable German chancellor:[3]

  1. Konrad Adenauer – 35%
  2. Willy Brandt – 20%
  3. Helmut Schmidt – 18%
  4. Helmut Kohl – 17%
  5. Ludwig Erhard – 5%
  6. Gerhard Schröder – 1%
  7. Kurt Georg Kiesinger – 0%

The poll didn't include Chancellor Angela Merkel, since she had only assumed office in November 2005.

Emnid (2005)

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In an opinion poll from November 2005, the polling company Emnid asked for the best German chancellor:[4]

  1. Helmut Schmidt – 28%
  2. Helmut Kohl – 18%
  3. Konrad Adenauer – 17%
  4. Willy Brandt – 15%
  5. Gerhard Schröder – 10%
  6. Ludwig Erhard – 3%
  7. Kurt Georg Kiesinger – 1%

The poll didn't include Chancellor Angela Merkel, since she had only assumed office in November 2005.

Infratest dimap (2010)

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In March 2010, Infratest dimap asked 1500 people for their view of the term in office of German chancellors. The given numbers show the percentage of people agreeing with the statement that the named chancellor was a good one:[5]

  1. Helmut Schmidt – 75%
  2. Willy Brandt – 68%
  3. Angela Merkel – 67%
  4. Helmut Kohl – 59%
  5. Gerhard Schröder – 47%

The poll didn't include the first three German chancellors (Adenauer, Erhard, Kiesinger).

Forsa (2013)

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In December 2013, Forsa asked 1002 Germans to name the most notable German chancellor:[6]

  1. Helmut Schmidt – 25%
  2. Konrad Adenauer – 23%
  3. Willy Brandt – 18%
  4. Helmut Kohl – 17%
  5. Angela Merkel – 6%
  6. Gerhard Schröder – 3%
  7. Ludwig Erhard – 2%
  8. Kurt Georg Kiesinger – 0%

YouGov (2015)

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In May 2015, YouGov asked 1111 Germans to name the best German chancellor in their opinion:[7]

  1. Helmut Schmidt – 24%
  2. Konrad Adenauer and Angela Merkel – 18%
  3. Willy Brandt – 15%
  4. Helmut Kohl – 9%
  5. Gerhard Schröder – 5%
  6. Ludwig Erhard – 4%
  7. Kurt Georg Kiesinger – 1%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wer ist der größte Deutsche?, Stern Online
  2. ^ Adenauer gilt als der größte Deutsche, Spiegel Online
  3. ^ Deutsche messen Schröder kaum Bedeutung bei, Spiegel Online
  4. ^ Helmut Schmidt laut Umfrage beliebtester Bundeskanzler, Welt Online
  5. ^ Desaströse Werte für die FDP, tagesschau
  6. ^ Helmut Schmidt gilt den Deutschen als bedeutendster Kanzler, Zeit Online
  7. ^ Schmidt bester Kanzler, von Weizsäcker bester Bundespräsident, YouGov

Further reading

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  • Helms, Ludger. "Revisiting the German chancellorship: leadership weakness and democratic autocracy in the Federal Republic." in Poor Leadership and Bad Governance (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012).
  • Klein, Herbert, ed. 1993. The German Chancellors. Berlin: Edition.
  • Padgett, Stephen, ed. 1994. The Development of the German Chancellorship: Adenauer to Kohl. London: Hurst.
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