| Post: | Leader |
| Body: | the Opposition |
| Incumbent: | Friedrich Merz |
| Incumbentsince: | 15 February 2022 |
| Department: | |
| Member Of: | Bundestag |
| Termlength: | While parliamentary leader of the largest party not in government |
| Inaugural: | Kurt Schumacher |
| Formation: | 7 September 1949 |
| Salary: | €127,100.40 (2023) |
The Leader of the Opposition (pronounced as /de/) in Germany is the parliamentary leader of the largest political party in the Bundestag that is not in government.
In Germany, the Leader of the Opposition is an informal title that is not even mentioned and does not have any formal functions in the by-laws of the Bundestag. However, the Leader of the Opposition is, by convention, the first person to respond to the most senior government spokesperson during a debate.[1] [2] The title also exists on a state level, but only in the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein is the position formally recognized as an actual office.
Only two Leaders of the Opposition went on to be directly elected Chancellor afterwards: Helmut Kohl (1976–1982) and Angela Merkel (2002–2005).
| Image | Name | Party | Term of office | Chancellor | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Term Length | |||||||
| 1 | Kurt Schumacher | data-sort-value="SPD" | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 7 September 1949 | 20 August 1952 | Konrad Adenauer | |||
| 2 | Erich Ollenhauer | data-sort-value="SPD" | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 27 September 1952 | 14 December 1963 | Konrad Adenauer Ludwig Erhard | |||
| 3 | Fritz Erler | data-sort-value="SPD" | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 1963 | 1966 | Ludwig Erhard | |||
| 4 | Knut Freiherr von Kühlmann-Stumm | data-sort-value="FDP" | Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 1 December 1966 | 23 January 1968 | Kurt Georg Kiesinger | |||
| 5 | Wolfgang Mischnick | data-sort-value="FDP" | Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 23 January 1968 | 22 November 1969 | Kurt Georg Kiesinger | |||
| 6 | Rainer Barzel | data-sort-value="CDU" | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 22 November 1969 | 17 May 1973 | Willy Brandt | |||
| 7 | Karl Carstens | data-sort-value="CDU" | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 17 May 1973 | 13 September 1976 | Willy Brandt Helmut Schmidt | |||
| 8 | Helmut Kohl | data-sort-value="CDU" | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 13 September 1976 | 1 October 1982 | Helmut Schmidt | |||
| 9 | Herbert Wehner | data-sort-value="SPD" | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 1 October 1982 | 8 March 1983 | Helmut Kohl | |||
| 10 | Hans-Jochen Vogel | data-sort-value="SPD" | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 8 March 1983 | 12 November 1991 | Helmut Kohl | |||
| 11 | Hans-Ulrich Klose | data-sort-value="SPD" | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 12 November 1991 | 10 November 1994 | Helmut Kohl | |||
| 12 | Rudolf Scharping | data-sort-value="SPD" | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 10 November 1994 | 27 October 1998 | Helmut Kohl | |||
| 13 | Wolfgang Schäuble | data-sort-value="CDU" | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 27 October 1998 | 29 February 2000 | Gerhard Schröder | |||
| 14 | Friedrich Merz | data-sort-value="CDU" | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 29 February 2000 | 22 September 2002 | Gerhard Schröder | |||
| 15 | Angela Merkel | data-sort-value="CDU" | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 22 September 2002 | 22 November 2005 | Gerhard Schröder | |||
| 16 | Wolfgang Gerhardt | data-sort-value="FDP" | Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 22 November 2005 | 1 May 2006 | Angela Merkel | |||
| 17 | Guido Westerwelle | data-sort-value="FDP" | Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 1 May 2006 | 28 October 2009 | Angela Merkel | |||
| 18 | Frank-Walter Steinmeier | data-sort-value="SPD" | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 28 October 2009 | 16 December 2013 | Angela Merkel | |||
| 19 | Joachim Poß[3] | data-sort-value="SPD" | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 23 August 2010 | 26 October 2010 | Angela Merkel | |||
| 20 | Gregor Gysi | data-sort-value="The Left" | The Left | 17 December 2013 | 12 October 2015 | Angela Merkel | |||
| 21 | Dietmar Bartsch Sahra Wagenknecht | data-sort-value="The Left" | The Left | 12 October 2015 | 24 October 2017 | Angela Merkel | |||
| 22 | Alexander Gauland Alice Weidel | data-sort-value="AfD" | Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 24 October 2017 | 26 October 2021 | Angela Merkel | |||
| 23 | Ralph Brinkhaus | data-sort-value="CDU" | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 8 December 2021 | 15 February 2022 | Olaf Scholz | |||
| 24 | Friedrich Merz | data-sort-value="CDU" | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 15 February 2022 | Incumbent | Olaf Scholz | |||