History of Germany since 1990 Helmut Kohl was reelected as Chancellor for his fifth and last term. The ruling liberal-conservative coalition government, consisting of the CDU/CSU and the FDP, lost the German federal election, 1998, and Gerhard Schröder was elected as Chancellor, the head of a coalition government consisting of his own SPD party and The Greens. Joschka Fischer, a leading Green politician, became Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister. Shortly after the formation of the government, Minister of Finance Oskar Lafontaine, a former SPD chairman and rival of Schröder, resigned from the cabinet. He was succeeded as Minister of Finance by Hans Eichel. In 1998,
Chancellor of Germany (1949–present) the chancellor of Germany receives €220,000 per annum and a €22,000 bonus, i.e. one and two thirds of Salary Grade B11 (according to § 11 (1) a of the Federal Law on MinistersBundesministergesetz, BGBl. 1971 I p. 1166 and attachment IV to the Federal Law on Salaries of OfficersBundesbesoldungsgesetz, BGBl. 2002 I p. 3020). Chancellor of Germany (1949–present) The Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (in German called ', meaning "Federal Chancellor", or ' for short) is, under the German 1949 Constitution, the head of government of Germany. Historically, the office has evolved from the office of chancellor