“Angela Merkel was president of Germany.”
Usage Entry 1441 / 1605 60-second read
President vs. Chancellor
The head of state in many republics versus the head of government in some parliamentary systems (e.g. Germany).
The comparisoni
“Angela Merkel was chancellor of Germany — Germany's head of government is the chancellor. The largely ceremonial president is a separate role.”
The ruleii
¶
Germany: chancellor leads.
In Germany and Austria, CHANCELLOR is head of government (like the UK's PM). The PRESIDENT is mostly ceremonial. In the UK, "Lord Chancellor" is a different historical role. Don't map American expectations onto European systems.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
Germany: chancellor = PM-equivalent.