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The German Chancellery (german: Bundeskanzleramt, , more faithfully translated as ''Federal Chancellery'' or ''Office of the Federal Chancellor'') is an
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serving the executive office of the chancellor of Germany, the head of the federal government, currently Olaf Scholz. The Chancellery's primary function is to assist the chancellor in coordinating the activities of the federal government. The head of the Chancellery () holds the rank of either a Secretary of State () or a Federal Minister (), currently held by Wolfgang Schmidt. The headquarters of the German Chancellery is at the Federal Chancellery building in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
, which is the largest government headquarters in the world.


History

When the North German Confederation was created in 1867, the constitution mentioned only the ''Bundeskanzler'' as the responsible executive officer. There was no collegial government with ministers. Federal Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in the beginning only established a ''Bundeskanzleramt'' as his office. It was the only 'ministry' of the country until in early 1870 the Prussian foreign office became the North German foreign office. At that occasion, the Bundeskanzleramt lost some tasks to the foreign office.


Reichskanzleramt

When the North German Confederation became the German Empire in 1871, the Bundeskanzleramt was renamed to ''Reichskanzleramt''. It originally had its seat in the Radziwiłł Palace (also known as ''Reichskanzlerpalais''), originally built by Prince Antoni Radziwiłł on
Wilhelmstraße Wilhelmstrasse (german: Wilhelmstraße, see ß) is a major thoroughfare in the central Mitte and Kreuzberg districts of Berlin, Germany. Until 1945, it was recognised as the centre of the government, first of the Kingdom of Prussia, later of ...
77 in Berlin. More and more imperial offices were separated from the Reichskanzleramt, e.g. the ''Reichsjustizamt'' (Office for National Justice) in 1877. What remained of the Reichskanzleramt became in 1879 the ''Reichsamt des Innern'' (the home office).


Reichskanzlei

In 1878 Imperial Chancellor Bismarck created a new office for the chancellor's affairs, the ''Reichskanzlei''. It kept its name over the years, also in the republic since 1919. In 1938–39, the building '' Neue Reichskanzlei'' (New Imperial Chancellery), designed by Albert Speer, was built; its main entrance was located at Voßstraße 6, while the building occupied the entire northern side of the street. It was damaged during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and later demolished by
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
occupation forces.


Bundeskanzleramt

In 1949, the Federal Republic was created.
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
was made the provisional capital. Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer used the Museum Koenig for the first two months and then moved the ''Bundeskanzleramt'' into '' Palais Schaumburg'' until a new Chancellery building was completed in 1976. The new '' West German Chancellery building'' was a black structure completed in the International Style, in an unassuming example of modernism. In 1999, the headquarters of the Federal Chancellery were moved from Bonn to Berlin under the Berlin-Bonn Act, first into the Staatsratsgebäude, then in 2001 to the new building on the Spreebogen; since 2001 the secondary seat of the Federal Chancellery has been the Palais Schaumburg. A separate building, the '' Kanzlerbungalow'' served as private residence of the Chancellor and his family 1964–1999.


Headquarters

''Bundeskanzleramt'' is also the name of the building in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
that houses the personal offices of the chancellor and the Chancellery staff. Palais Schaumburg in
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
is the secondary official seat of the German Federal Chancellery. Opened in the spring of 2001, the current Chancellery building was designed by Charlotte Frank and Axel Schultes and was built by a joint venture of Royal BAM Group's subsidiary Wayss & Freytag and the Spanish
Acciona Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energy, produces 21 te ...
Occupying 12,000 square meters (129,166 square feet), it is also the largest government headquarters building in the world. By comparison, the new Chancellery building is ten times the size of the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
. Because of its distinctive but controversial architecture, journalists, tourist guides and some locals refer to the buildings as ''Kohllosseum'' (as a mix of
Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world ...
and former chancellor Helmut Kohl under whom it was built), ''Bundeswaschmaschine'' (federal laundry machine, because of the round-shaped windows and its cubic form), or ''Elefantenklo'' (elephant loo). Access for the general public is only possible on particular days during the year. Since 1999, the German government has welcomed the general public for one weekend per year to visit its buildings – usually in August.


Heads of the Chancellery

Heads of the German Chancellery (''Chef des Bundeskanzleramts'', ChefBK) attend Cabinet meetings. They may also sit as members of the Cabinet if they are also given the position of Minister for Special Affairs (''Minister für besondere Aufgaben''). They are often called "Kanzleramtsminister" (''chancellery minister''). Otherwise, they have the rank of a secretary of state (comparable to a minor or vice minister in other countries). The current Head of the Chancellery is Wolfgang Schmidt. Typically a ChefBK is a very close advisor of the chancellor, being the primary contact to the cabinet ministers. Many of them became cabinet ministers (with other portfolios) themselves, several ministers of the interior. Frank Walter Steinmeier who served as minister of the chancery under Schröder (1999-2005) later served as minister of foreign affairs (2005-2009 and 2013–2017) candidate for chancellor (2009) leader of the opposition (2009-2013) and ultimately in the largely ceremonial role of federal president (2017-).


See also

* Berlin Police * German Chancery Deutsche Kanzlei - government agency located in London during the reign of the Hanoverian kings in the UK


References


External links

* * {{Authority control 1871 establishments in Germany History of Berlin Bonn German federal agencies Buildings and structures in Berlin Government buildings completed in 2001 Postmodern architecture
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...