Reichsminister (in German singular and plural; 'minister of the realm') was the title of members of the German Government during two historical periods: during the March Revolution of 1848/1849 in the German Reich of that period, and in the modern German federal state from 1919 to the end of the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

regime in 1945. "''

Reich ( ; ) is a German word whose meaning is analogous to the English word " realm". The terms and are respectively used in German in reference to empires and kingdoms. In English usage, the term " Reich" often refers to Nazi Germany, also ca ...

''" was the name of the German federal state from 1871 to 1945: ''Deutsches Reich''. In English, it is translated to "empire" (for the period with an Emperor), and often left untranslated for the time after. A ''Reichsminister'' was a member of the national government, not to be confused with a member of a government of one of the many ''Länder'' (states) of Germany. The

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

that existed until 1806 did not have a modern government and thus no ministers. In German, the word ''Reichsminister'' may refer in rare cases to a minister of a different country, such as a Danish ''rigsminister'' or a Dutch ''rijksminister''.

Revolution 1848/1849

In 1848, the first parliament for all of Germany, the National Assembly (or

Frankfurt parliament The Frankfurt National Assembly () was the first freely elected parliament for all German Confederation, German states, including the German-populated areas of the Austrian Empire, elected on 1 May 1848 (see German federal election, 1848). The ...

in English), voted for a provisional constitutional order. It also installed a ''

Reichsverweser A ''Reichsverweser'' () or imperial regent represented a monarch when there was a vacancy in the throne, such as during a prolonged absence or in the period between the monarch's death and the accession of a successor. The term comes from the O ...

'' as a kind of provisional head of state. The ''Reichsverweser'' had the task of installing the ministers. The Reichsverweser and the Reichsminister together formed the Provisorische Zentralgewalt (provisional central power, also called imperial government). The Reichsminister together met as the ''Ministerrat'' or ''Gesamt-Reichsministerium''. Although not mentioned in the constitutional order, usually one of the Reichsminister held the title of ''Ministerpräsident''.

German federal state since 1867

When the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...

(1867) and the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

(1871) were created, the chancellor (''Bundeskanzler'', then ''Reichskanzler'') was the only responsible member of government. The chancellor installed heads of the governmental departments with the title of a ''Staatssekretär''. They developed into ''de facto'' ministers, but they were officially not colleagues of the chancellor. In the revolution of 1918/1919, the National Assembly of Weimar similarly agreed first on a provisional constitutional order (February 1919). A ''Reichspräsident'' installed ministers; one of them used the title ''Reichsministerpräsident'' in practice. The

Weimar Constitution The Constitution of the German Reich (), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era. The constitution created a federal semi-presidential republic with a parliament whose ...

of August 1919 introduced the title of ''Reichskanzler'' again, now with ''Reichsminister'' (plural) as his colleague. The National Socialists did not change the titles after 1933, albeit the official cabinet government lost some of its significance due to

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

installing numerous other office holders with similar tasks. The last ''Reichsminister'' (plural) were imprisoned by Allied forces in May 1945 ('

Flensburg Government The Flensburg Government (), also known as the Flensburg Cabinet (''Flensburger Kabinett''), the Dönitz Government (''Regierung Dönitz''), or the Schwerin von Krosigk Cabinet (''Kabinett Schwerin von Krosigk''), was the rump government of Naz ...

'). In the German constitution of 1949, the German government consists of the ''Bundeskanzler'' and the ''Bundesminister''.

References

{{authority control 20th century in Germany Reich Ministries of Nazi Germany