The Leader of the Social Democratic Party (Vorsitzender der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Deutschlands) is the most senior political figure within the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Since December 2019, the office has been held jointly by Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans.
| Leader of the Social Democratic Party | |
|---|---|
| Vorsitzender der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Deutschlands | |
 | |
Saskia Esken (left) Lars Klingbeil (right) since 11 December 2021 | |
| Member of | Federal Executive Federal Presidium |
| Inaugural holder | Paul Singer |
| Formation | 1890 |
| Deputy |
|
The Leader of the Social Democratic Party is supported by a General Secretary, which since December 2021 has been Kevin Kühnert. Furthermore, the leaders are supported by five deputy leaders, which currently are Klara Geywitz, Hubertus Heil, Kevin Kühnert, Serpil Midyatli, and Anke Rehlinger.
The Leader of Social Democratic Party is elected by Party conferences, usually with around 600 delegates representing all the state and local party chapters. To stand as leader, a candidate needs to be nominated by 90 "Ortsvereine", local chapters. It is unusual for more than one person to be nominated as party leader, as the decision who becomes leader is usually made behind the scenes within the Presidium and Federal Executive. This has drawn hefty criticism, so much so that in the last leadership election in April 2018, Simone Lange[1] challenged Andrea Nahles, the candidate nominated by the Federal Executive. This challenge, in German called "Kampfabstimmung" has only happened twice before; once in 1993[2] and once in 1995.[3]
A list of leaders (including acting leaders) since 1949.[4]
| Portrait | Name (Born–Died) |
Term of office | State | Chancellor | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Days | |||||
| Leadership (1946–2019) | |||||||
| 1 | 
|
Kurt Schumacher (1895–1952) |
11 May 1946 | 20 August 1952 (died in office) |
6 years, 101 days |  Lower Saxony
|
Konrad Adenauer |
| 2 | 
|
Erich Ollenhauer (1901–1963) |
27 September 1952 | 14 December 1963 (died in office) |
11 years, 78 days |  North Rhine-Westphalia
|
Konrad Adenauer Ludwig Erhard |
| 3 | 
|
Willy Brandt (1913–1992) |
16 February 1964 | 14 June 1987 | 23 years, 118 days |  Berlin
|
Ludwig Erhard Kurt Georg Kiesinger Himself Helmut Schmidt Helmut Kohl |
| 4 | 
|
Hans-Jochen Vogel (1926–2020) |
14 June 1987 | 29 May 1991 | 3 years, 349 days |  Bavaria
|
Helmut Kohl |
| 5 | 
|
Björn Engholm (born 1939) |
29 May 1991 | 5 May 1993 (resigned) |
1 year, 341 days |  Schleswig-Holstein
|
Helmut Kohl |
| Acting | 
|
Johannes Rau (1931–2006) |
5 May 1993 | 25 June 1993 | 51 days | North Rhine-Westphalia
|
Helmut Kohl |
| 6 | 
|
Rudolf Scharping (born 1947) |
25 June 1993 | 16 November 1995 | 2 years, 144 days |  Rhineland-Palatinate
|
Helmut Kohl |
| 7 | 
|
Oskar Lafontaine (born 1943) |
16 November 1995 | 12 March 1999 (resigned) |
3 years, 116 days |  Saarland
|
Helmut Kohl Gerhard Schröder |
| 8 | 
|
Gerhard Schröder (born 1944) |
12 March 1999 | 21 July 2004 | 5 years, 131 days | Lower Saxony
|
Himself |
| 9 | 
|
Franz Müntefering (born 1940) |
21 July 2004 | 15 March 2005 (resigned) |
237 days | North Rhine-Westphalia
|
Gerhard Schröder |
| 10 | 
|
Matthias Platzeck (born 1953) |
15 March 2005 | 10 April 2006 (resigned) |
1 year, 26 days |  Brandenburg
|
Gerhard Schröder Angela Merkel |
| 11 | 
|
Kurt Beck (born 1949) |
10 April 2006 | 7 September 2008 (resigned) |
2 years, 150 days | Rhineland-Palatinate
|
Angela Merkel |
| Acting | 
|
Frank-Walter Steinmeier (born 1956) |
7 September 2008 | 18 October 2008 | 41 days | Lower Saxony
|
Angela Merkel |
| 12 (9) |
|
Franz Müntefering (born 1940) |
18 October 2008 | 13 November 2009 | 1 year, 26 days | North Rhine-Westphalia
|
Angela Merkel |
| 13 | 
|
Sigmar Gabriel (born 1959) |
13 November 2009 | 19 March 2017 | 7 years, 126 days | Lower Saxony
|
Angela Merkel |
| 14 | 
|
Martin Schulz (born 1955) |
19 March 2017 | 13 February 2018 (resigned) |
331 days | North Rhine-Westphalia
|
Angela Merkel |
| Acting | 
|
Olaf Scholz (born 1958) |
13 February 2018 | 22 April 2018 | 68 days |  Hamburg
|
Angela Merkel |
| 15 | 
|
Andrea Nahles (born 1970) |
22 April 2018 | 3 June 2019 (resigned) |
1 year, 42 days | Rhineland-Palatinate
|
Angela Merkel |
| Co-Leadership (2019–present) | |||||||
| Acting | 
|
Manuela Schwesig (born 1974) |
3 June 2019 | 10 September 2019 (resigned) |
99 days |  Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
|
Angela Merkel |
|
Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel (born 1969) |
3 June 2019 | 1 October 2019 (resigned) |
120 days |  Hesse
|
Angela Merkel | |
|
Malu Dreyer (born 1961) |
3 June 2019 | 6 December 2019 | 186 days | Rhineland-Palatinate
|
Angela Merkel | |
| 16 | 
|
Norbert Walter-Borjans (born 1952) |
6 December 2019 | 11 December 2021 | 2 years, 5 days | North Rhine-Westphalia
|
Angela Merkel Olaf Scholz |
|
Saskia Esken (born 1961) |
6 December 2019 | 21 December 2021 | 4 years, 198 days |  Baden-Württemberg
| ||
| 17 | 21 December 2021 | Incumbent | |||||
|
Lars Klingbeil (born 1978) |
11 December 2021 | Incumbent | 2 years, 193 days | Lower Saxony
|
Olaf Scholz | |