180. The first Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany was …

Answer options

1. Ludwig Erhard.
2. Willy Brandt.
3. Konrad Adenauer.
4. Gerhard Schröder.

Explanation

Konrad Adenauer was elected Federal Chancellor by the first Bundestag on 15 September 1949 pursuant to Article 63 of the Basic Law, securing the so‑called chancellor majority (the absolute majority of all members). His tenure established the practice of a “chancellor democracy” (Richtlinienkompetenz under Article 65), while he advanced Westbindung, NATO accession in 1955, and European integration (ECSC, EEC), and consolidated the social market economy domestically. The institutional design—election by the Bundestag and the constructive vote of no confidence under Article 67—was a deliberate lesson from Weimar’s instability and, under Adenauer, fostered early governmental stability in the Federal Republic.