Chancellor of Germany was not even re-installed. In the 1871 German Empire, the imperial chancellor ("Reichskanzler") served both as the emperor's first minister, and as presiding officer of the Bundesrat, the upper chamber of the German parliament. He was neither elected by nor responsible to Parliament (the "Reichstag"). Instead, the chancellor was appointed by the emperor. The federal level had four organs: Technically, the foreign ministers of the empire's states instructed their states' deputies to the federal council (Bundesrat) and therefore outranked the chancellor. For this reason, Prince Bismarck (as he was from 1871 onwards) continued to serve as both prime minister and
Chancellor the directly elected federal parliament), every four years on the beginning of the electoral period after general elections. Between general elections, the Federal Chancellor (together with the whole cabinet) can only be removed from office by a ' ("constructive motion of no confidence") which consists in the candidacy of an opposition candidate for the office of Chancellor in the '. If this candidate gets a majority of the entire membership of the ", he or she will be sworn in immediately as new Federal Chancellor. The current German " is Angela Merkel of the CDU (Christian Democratic Union). The former