Chancellor of Germany (1949–present) German chancellor until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 while the Archbishop of Cologne was Chancellor of Italy and the Archbishop of Trier of Burgundy. These three Archbishops were also Prince-electors of the empire. Already in medieval times the chancellor had political power like Willigis of Mainz (Archchancellor 975–1011, regent for Otto III 991–994) or Rainald von Dassel (chancellor 1156–1162 and 1166–1167) under Frederick I. The modern office of chancellor was established with the North German Confederation, of which Otto von Bismarck became chancellor of the Confederation (official German title: "Bundeskanzler") in 1867. After unification of Germany
Chancellor of Germany (1949–present) the office of Chancellor has fallen vacant, which happens if the Chancellor dies or resigns, or if a newly elected "Bundestag" ("Federal Diet", the German Parliament) meets for the first time, the Chancellor is elected by a majority of the members of the "Bundestag" upon the proposal of the President ("Bundespräsident", literally "Federal President") ("1st voting phase"). This vote is one of the few cases in which a decision requires a majority of all elected members of the "Bundestag", not just a majority of those assembled at the time. This is referred to as the "Kanzlermehrheit" ("chancellor majority"), and is