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
Chancellor of the Exchequer Prescott. It reverted to the chancellor in 2007, then Alistair Darling. The chancellor traditionally carries his Budget speech to the House of Commons in a particular red Despatch Box. The Chancellor's red briefcase is identical to the briefcases used by all other government ministers (known as ministerial boxes or "Despatch Boxes") to transport their official papers but is better known because the chancellor traditionally displays the briefcase, containing the Budget speech, to the press in the morning before delivering the speech. The original Budget briefcase was first used by William Ewart Gladstone in 1853 and continued in use until 1965