Premier of Werania

Chancellor of the Weranian Confederation
Chancellor of the Weranian Confederation
	Incumbent; Otto von Hößlin; since 28th June 2019
Style	The Honourable
Residence	Palais Beinhoff, Westbrücken, Werania
Nominator	Volkstag
Appointer	Monarch of Werania
Term length	No fixed term.; Remains in office whilst commanding the confidence of the Bundestag.
Inaugural holder	Ulrich von Bayrhoffer
Formation	17th March 1842
Deputy	Vice Chancellor
Salary	€125,000

The Chancellor of the Weranian Confederation (Weranian: Bundskanzler der Ostischen Bund) has been the head of government of the Werania since the unification of the confederation under the efforts of King Rudolf VI and Cislanian Minister-President Ulrich von Bayrhoffer, who became the inaugural Chancellor. The Chancellor officially chairs the Government of Werania, and since the 1940's has evolved from a first-amongst-equals to a more presidential office with the ultimate authority over executive affairs. The Chancellor is officially appointed by the monarch, who must appoint a candidate nominated by the Volkstag. The Volkstag must pass a vote of no confidence to remove a Chancellor.

There has been 43 individuals who have been Chancellor. The current Chancellor is Otto von Hößlin who has served in the post since June 2019.

History

Powers and duties

Qualifications

The qualifications for the Chancellor are laid out in the constitution;

Must be a deputy in either the Bundestag (this in of itself requires Werania nationality, permanent residence in Werania for over 20 years, be over the age of 21).
Be of good moral conduct (i.e have no record of a felony or not currently under investigation).
Since a 1953 constitutional amendment Chancellors must not be currently serving in the military (although

Selection process

Following the resignation or removal of a cabinet the monarch of Werania assigns a regierungsbildner who is considered to be the most likely candidate to lead a new cabinet. The regierungsbildner is then nominated by the Volkstag to lead a cabinet with a simple-majority ballot being conducted to see if they and their cabinet can command the confidence of the Volkstag. The Chancellor must sit in either of the two houses of the Bundestag in order to be nominated - however since the assassination of Chancellor Dietrich Nischwitz in 1944 all Chancellors have emerged from the Volkstag rather then the Herrstag. Since the 1950's the regierungsbildner and thus the Chancellor has always come from the majority party in the Volkstag or the senior party in the governing coalition.

Once the Chancellor's candidacy is approved by a majority of Volkstag deputies it is referred to the Herrstag who also by a simple majority must approve of the Chancellor. After that it is presented to the monarch to formally approves of the candidacy. If either the Herrstag or monarch rejects the nomination from the Volkstag the rejecting party and Volkstag are given a month to come to a consensus - ultimately however if no consensus is reached the Volkstag's nomination automatically becomes Chancellor. This occurred in 1918 when the monarch Leopold IV refused to approve of Albrecht Küchenthal as Chancellor; after a month of deadlock outgoing Chancellor Erich Schätzle convinced Leopold to accept the Volkstag's choice of Chancellor without approving it himself. This occurred again in 1998 when the Herrstag rejected Heinrich Schuberth as Chancellor but the Volkstag prevailed.

The Chancellor can only be removed through an impeachment, presenting the resignation of their cabinet to the monarch or losing a vote of no confidence in the Volkstag. In the role of an immediate vacancy of the Chancellor the vice-chancellor automatically takes the role in a caretaker cabinet; however in the vice-chancellery is also vacant the monarch may appoint a sitting Volkstag member to serve as a caretaker until the Volkstag nominates a candidate for Chancellor. This has only occurred once in 1950 after the entire cabinet of Chancellor Franz Rössler resigned; the monarch as a result appointed Johannes von Günther to serve in a caretaker capacity with von Günther's cabinet lasting a mere two months. Usually if a Chancellor resigns or is removed from office they and their cabinet continue to serve in a caretaker role until a new cabinet is sworn in.

List

Living former Chancellors

As of 2019 there are six living former Chancellors. The last Chancellor to die was Ludolf Ostermann in 2016, who served as Chancellor from 1979 to 1991.