Bezirksamtmann (plural ''Bezirksamtleute'') is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

administrative title of gubernatorial or lower rank, roughly translating as equivalent to the British District Officer. It is derived from ''

Bezirk The German term ''Bezirk'' (plural ''Bezirke'', derived from la, circulus, "circle") translated as "district" can refer to the following types of administrative divisions: * '' Stadtbezirk'', a subdivision of a city in the sense of a borough (e ...

'' ("district") + ''

Amtmann __NOTOC__ The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff. He was the most seni ...

'' ("official").

Colonial use

The title was used for colonial officials in the following minor German ''

Schutzgebiet A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...

e'' (i.e. colonial possessions of various status) in the Pacific: ''(probably incomplete list)'' *

Jaluit Jaluit Atoll ( Marshallese: , , or , ) is a large coral atoll of 91 islands in the Pacific Ocean and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is , and it encloses a lagoon with an area of . Most ...

(Marshall Islands), subordinate of the colonial governor of

German New Guinea German New Guinea (german: Deutsch-Neu-Guinea) consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups and was the first part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , ...

**1906 - 30 April 1907 Victor Berg (b. 1861 - d. 1907) **1907 Joseph Siegwantz (acting) **1908 - November 1909 Wilhelm Stuckhardt (d. 1909) **November 1909 - 1910 Berghausen (interim) **1910 - 1911 Georg Merz; he stayed on as only Stationsleiter ('Station chief') (1911 - 3 October 1914), subordinate to the Eastern Caroline islands district, see below *

Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...

, until 1888 a tribal protectorate, till 1889 under a

Reichskommissar (, rendered as "Commissioner of the Empire", "Reich Commissioner" or "Imperial Commissioner"), in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and Nazi Germany. Germa ...

**2 October 1888 - May 1889 Robert Rasch (acting) **May 1889 - 1895 Christian Johannson **1895 - 1898 Fritz Jung **1899 - 1906 Ludwig Kaiser (b. 1862 - d. 1906); afterwards the jurisdiction was downgraded and administered by Station Chiefs (''Stationsleiter''), from 1911 subordinated to the administrators of

Ponape Ponape may refer to: * Pohnpei, an island in the Federated States of Micronesia * ''Ponape'' (barque), a German sailing ship {{disambiguation ...

district (in the Eastern Carolinas, cfr. infra) *

Marianen Inseln The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro language, Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly Volcano#Dormant and reactivated, dormant volcani ...

(German for 'Marianas Islands', i.e. the Northern Marianas, sold by Spain), as subordinate of the colonial governor of

: **November 1899 - April 1907 Georg Fritz (on

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

) **1904 - 1907 Volker Reichel (on

Rota island Rota (Chamorro: Luta), also known as the "Friendly Island", is the southernmost island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the second southernmost of the Marianas Archipelago. In early Spanish records i ...

); afterwards administered by a Stationsleiter ('Station chief') who was subordinated to a district officer in Micronesia and thus to his superiors *in

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

, which was 18 July 1899 - 7 October 1914 under the authority of the governors of German New Guinea (and their Vice-governors of German New Guinea, which had the general supervision over the island districts), there were two island districts, under District officers which from 1889 were styled Bezirksamtmann: ** Western

Caroline islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...

(

Yap Yap ( yap, Waqaab) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federated States of Micr ...

and

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...

[and from 1907

) ***29 June 1886 - 18.. Manuel de Elisa ***.... - .... .... ***before November 1897 - after November 1898 S. Cortes ***1899 - 1909 Arno Senfft (b. 1864 - d. 1909) ***1909 Rudolf Karlowa ***1909 - 1910 Georg Fritz ***1910 - 1911 Hermann Kersting ***1911 - 1914 Baumert ** Eastern Caroline islands (

Ponape Ponape may refer to: * Pohnpei, an island in the Federated States of Micronesia * ''Ponape'' (barque), a German sailing ship {{disambiguation ...

[and from 1911 the Marshall Islands, cfr. supra]) ***June 1886 - 1887 Capriles ***14 March 1887 - 1887 Isidro Posadillo (d. 1887) ***October 1887 - January 1891 Luis Cadarso y Rey (d. 1898) ***c.1894 Concha ***before November 1897 - after November 1898 J. Fernandez de Cordoba ***12 October 1899 - August? 1901 Albert Hahl (b. 1868 - d. 1945) ***1 September 1901 - 30 April 1907 Victor Berg (b. 1861 - d. 1907) ***1907 - 1908? Girschner (acting) ***1908 - 1909 Georg Fritz ***1909 - 18 October 1910 Gustav Boeder (d. 1910) ***1910 - 7 October 1914 August Überhorst ...

German speaking countries

Germany

The ''Bezirksamtmann'' used to be the head officer of the ''Bezirksamt'' (district) in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

and the Palatinate between 1862 and 1920.

Switzerland

Several cantons in Switzerland have a ''Bezirksamtmann'' or ''Bezirksammann'' as head officer of the ''Bezirksamt'' (district).

Sources and references

WorldStatesmen- links to each nation
Gubernatorial titles