Chancellor candidate

In German politics, the term chancellor candidate (German: Kanzlerkandidat) refers to the "lead candidate" nominated by a political party to become chancellor, should their party secure a parliamentary majority in a German federal election. By naming a chancellor candidate, a party signals that its parliamentary group (Fraktion) intends to elect this individual as chancellor in the newly constituted Bundestag.

According to Article 63, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law, the chancellor is elected by the Bundestag on the proposal of the president. This process is particularly relevant at the beginning of a new parliamentary term, as the incumbent chancellor’s term officially ends at that point, requiring the election of a new chancellor and the formation of a new government, including a cabinet. Since a majority in the Bundestag is crucial for electing the chancellor, the larger parties traditionally nominate a chancellor candidate before a federal election to indicate to voters whom they intend to support for the position.

Smaller parties typically refrain from nominating a chancellor candidate. Until 2002, only the CDU/CSU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) put forward chancellor candidates. However, in the 2002 federal election, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) did so for the first time, and in 2021, Alliance 90/The Greens also nominated a chancellor candidate for the first time. In the 2025 German federal election, a chancellor candidate was nominated by Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) as well.