First Lady of Germany

First Lady of Germany is an unofficial title applied to the wife of the German head of state. Since 1919, the wife of the President of Germany has filled that function. Until 1918, the Empress of Germany filled the function.

The current first lady is Eva Köhler.

In postwar history, the office of Chancellor of Germany became much more important than the office of President itself, and hence, the wife of the Chancellor has since the 1960s often been perceived as a de facto first lady.

Empresses of Germany

• 1871-1888: Her Imperial and Royal Majesty Empress Augusta
• 1888: Her Imperial and Royal Majesty Empress Victoria
• 1888-1918: Her Imperial and Royal Majesty Empress Augusta Victoria

First Ladies since 1919 (wives of Presidents of Germany)

• Louise Ebert
• Ingeborg Dönitz
• Elly Heuss-Knapp
• Wilhelmine Lübke
• Hilda Heinemann
• Mildred Scheel
• Veronika Carstens
• Marianne von Weizsäcker
• Christiane Herzog
• Christina Rau
• Eva Köhler

Wives of the Chancellors of Germany

Princess Maria von Bülow

• 1871-1890: Princess Johanna von Bismarck (married to Prince Otto von Bismarck)
• 1894-1897: Princess Marie zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, the Duchess of Ratibor, the Princess of Corvey (born Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg) (married to Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst)
• 1900-1909: Princess Maria von Bülow (born Princess di Camporeale) (married to Prince Bernhard von Bülow)
• 1917: Margarete Michaelis (married to Georg Michaelis)
• 1917-1918: Countess Anna von Hertling (married to Count Georg von Hertling)
• 1918: Princess Maria-Luise av Baden (born Princess of Hanover and Cumberland, Royal Princess of Great Britain and Ireland, Duchess of Brunswick and Lüneburg, daughter of Crown Prince Ernest August of Hanover and Princess Thyra of Denmark) (married to Prince Maximilian av Baden)
• 1918-1919 Louise Ebert (married to Friedrich Ebert) and Thea Haase (born Lichtenstein) (married to Hugo Haase)
• 1919-1920 Hedwig Bauer (married to Gustav Bauer)
• 1920-1921 Marie Fehrenbach (married to Konstantin Fehrenbach)
• 1923: Käte Stresemann (married Gustav Stresemann)
• 1923-1924 and 1926-1928: Johanna Marx (born Verkoyen) (married to Wilhelm Marx)
• 1928-1932: None
• 1932-1933: Elisabeth von Schleicher (bon von Henning) (married to Kurt von Schleicher)
• 1933-1963: None
• 1963-1966: Luise Erhard (married to Ludwig Erhard)
• 1966-1969: Marie-Luise Kiesinger (married to Kurt Georg Kiesinger)
• 1969-1974: Rut Brandt (married to Willy Brandt)
• 1974-1982: Hannelore Schmidt (married to Helmut Schmidt)
• 1982-1998: Hannelore Kohl (married to Helmut Kohl)
• 1998-2005: Doris Schröder-Köpf (married to Gerhard Schröder)
• Since 2005: None (Angela Merkel is Chancellor)