Chancellor of Germany it is regarded as impolite and was seen as a way of acknowledging Merkel's future leadership. There is one living former German Chancellor: Chancellor of Germany The title Chancellor has designated different offices in the history of Germany. It is currently used for the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (), the head of government of Germany. The term, dating from the Early Middle Ages, is derived from the Latin term "cancellarius". The modern office of chancellor evolved from the position created for Otto von Bismarck in the North German Confederation in 1867; this federal state evolved into a
Grand chancellor (China) executive officials of the three highest departments of the empire were called "chancellors" (真宰相) together. In the Tang dynasty, the government was divided into three departments: the Department of State Affairs (尚書省), the Secretariat (中書省), and the Chancellery (門下省). The head of each department was generally referred to as the "chancellor". In the Song dynasty, the post of chancellor was also known as the "Tongpingzhangshi" (同平章事), in accordance with late-Tang terminology, while the vice-chancellor was known as the "jijunsi". Some years later, the post of chancellor was changed to "prime minister" (首相 "shou xiang") and the post of vice-chancellor was