Politics of Germany Economist Intelligence Unit has rated Germany as a "full democracy" in 2017. After 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany had Christian Democratic chancellors for 20 years until a coalition between the Social Democrats and the Liberals took over. From 1982, Christian Democratic leader Helmut Kohl was chancellor in a coalition with the Liberals for 16 years. In this period fell the reunification of Germany, in 1990: the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic. In the former GDR's territory, five "Länder" (states) were established or reestablished. The two parts of Berlin united as one "Land" (state). The political system of
Chancellor of Germany is the country's effective leader, although in formal protocol, the "Bundespräsident" and "Bundestagspräsident" are ranked higher. In German politics, the chancellor is the equivalent of a prime minister in many other countries. The chancellor is elected by the Bundestag. The current, official title in German is "Bundeskanzler(in)", which means "federal chancellor", and is sometimes shortened to "Kanzler(in)". The 8th and current chancellor is Angela Merkel, who is serving her fourth term in office. She is the first female chancellor. The title of Chancellor has a long history, stemming back to the Holy Roman Empire, when the office of German archchancellor