List of chancellors of Germany by age

The median age of accession is roughly 54 years and 235 days, which falls between Gerhard Schröder and Helmut Schmidt. The youngest person to assume office was Joseph Wirth (aged 41 years, 246 days). The oldest person to assume office was Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (aged 75 years, 209 days).

The oldest living chancellor is Gerhard Schröder, born 7 April 1944 (aged 76 years, 303 days). The youngest living chancellor is the incumbent, Angela Merkel, born 17 July 1954 (aged 66 years, 202 days).

The longest lived chancellor was Helmut Schmidt, who lived to the age of 96 years and 322 days. Konrad Adenauer was the second longest-lived chancellor, who lived to the age of 91 years and 104 days, 5 years and 218 days short of Schmidt. Schmidt surpassed Adenauer's lifespan on 6 April 2010. The oldest living chancellor Gerhard Schröder will tie Adenauer if he lives to 20 July 2035, and tie Schmidt if he lives to 23 February 2041. The shortest lived chancellor was Joseph Goebbels, who died in office at the age of 47 years and 184 days.

The chancellor with the longest retirement is Heinrich Brüning. He left office on 30 May 1932, and died 37 years and 304 days later on 30 March 1970. The chancellor with the shortest retirement is Georg von Hertling, who died on 4 January 1919, 96 days after leaving office on 30 September 1918.

This List contains:

Order	Chancellor	Date of Birth	Zodiac sign
1	Konrad Adenauer	5 January	Capricorn
2	Gustav Bauer	6 January
3	Constantin Fehrenbach	11 January
4	Wilhelm Marx	15 January
5	Friedrich Ebert	4 February	Aquarius
6	Ludwig Erhard	4 February
7	Leo von Caprivi	24 February	Pisces
8	Hans Luther	10 March
9	Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst	31 March	Aries
10	Otto von Bismarck	1 April
11	Helmut Kohl	3 April
12	Kurt Georg Kiesinger	6 April
13	Kurt von Schleicher	7 April
14	Gerhard Schröder	7 April
15	Adolf Hitler	20 April
16	Bernhard von Bülow	3 May	Taurus
17	Gustav Stresemann	10 May
18	Hermann Müller	18 May
19	Wilhelm Cuno	2 July	Cancer
20	Max von Baden	10 July
21	Angela Merkel	17 July
22	Philipp Scheidemann	26 July	Leo
23	Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk	22 August	Virgo
24	Georg von Hertling	31 August
25	Joseph Wirth	6 September
26	Georg Michaelis	8 September
27	Franz von Papen	29 October	Scorpio
28	Joseph Goebbels	29 October
29	Heinrich Brüning	26 November	Sagittarius
30	Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg	29 November
31	Willy Brandt	18 December
32	Helmut Schmidt	23 December	Capricorn

• Births by Century
  • 19th century: 1st, Otto von Bismarck; last, Ludwig Erhard
  • 20th century: 1st, Kurt Georg Kiesinger; most recent, Angela Merkel
• Deaths by Century
  • 19th century: 1st, Otto von Bismarck; last, Leo von Caprivi
  • 20th century: 1st, Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst; last, Willy Brandt
  • 21st century: 1st, Helmut Schmidt; most recent, Helmut Kohl
• Between the births of Otto von Bismarck in 1815 and Angela Merkel in 1954, a Chancellor has been born in every decade except for the 1820s and 1920s.
• Between the deaths of Otto von Bismarck in 1898 and Helmut Kohl in 2017, a Chancellor has died in every decade except for the 2000s.
• The months with the most births – six – in April.
• No chancellor as of yet, has been born in June.
• The month with the most deaths – five – in March.
• No chancellor as of yet, has died in December.

Not all chancellors live to become the oldest of their time. Of the 30 deceased chancellors, 16 eventually became the oldest of their time, while 14 did not (including both chancellors who died in office and 12 others). Otto von Bismarck became the oldest living chancellor when he was appointed in 1867 and remained so until his death in 1898, for a record period of 31 years, 29 days. Ludwig Erhard became the oldest living chancellor after the death of Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, but he survived von Krosigk by only 62 days.

On two occasions the oldest living chancellor lost this distinction not by his death, but due to the appointment of a chancellor who was older. Bernhard von Bülow lost this distinction when Georg von Hertling was appointed, but when von Hertling died in 1919, von Bülow regained it again until his own death in 1929 for a total period of 27 years, 50 days. Hans Luther lost this distinction when Konrad Adenauer was appointed.

Franz von Papen was the oldest to acquire this distinction at the age of 87 years, 172 days. Joseph Wirth, who was aged 76 years, 119 days when he died on 3 January 1956, was the oldest and most recent chancellor to die without ever acquiring this distinction.

• Lists of political office-holders by age