List of rulers of Brandenburg

Coat of arms of the Margraviate of Brandenburg.

This article lists the Margraves and Electors of Brandenburg during the period of time that Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Mark, or March, of Brandenburg was one of the primary constituent states of the Holy Roman Empire. It was created in 1157 as the Margraviate of Brandenburg by Albert the Bear, Margrave of the Northern March. In 1356, by the terms of the Golden Bull of Charles IV, the Margrave of Brandenburg was given the permanent right to participate in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor with the title of Elector (German: Kurfürst).

The early rulers came from several different dynasties, but from 1415 Brandenburg and its successor states were ruled by the House of Hohenzollern for over 500 years. From 1618 onward, Brandenburg was ruled in personal union with the Duchy of Prussia. The Hohenzollerns raised Prussia to a kingdom as the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, and from then on Brandenburg was de facto treated as part of the kingdom even though it was legally still part of the Holy Roman Empire. The titles of Margrave of Brandenburg and Elector of Brandenburg were abolished along with the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 (although they were one of the titles of the Kings of Prussia until 1918), and Brandenburg was formally integrated into Prussia. From 1871 to 1918 the Hohenzollerns were also the German Emperors.

Margraves of Brandenburg

Ascanian Dynasty
Name		Reign		Comments
Albert I		1157–1170		Ruler of the Nordmark from 1134. Called "Albert the Bear".
Otto I		1170–1184		Son of Albert I. Ruled together with his father from 1144.
Otto II		1184–1205		Son of preceding.
Albert II		1205–1220		Brother.
John I Otto III		1220–1266 1220-1267		Co-rulers, sons of Albert II.
From 1266 to 1319, Brandenburg was held by the two lines of Brandenburg-Stendal and Brandenburg-Salzwedel, all of whom jointly shared the title of Margrave.
Brandenburg-Stendal			Brandenburg-Salzwedel
Co-rulers, sons of John I: John II, 1266–1282 Conrad, 1266–1304 Otto IV, 1266–1308 Henry I, 1266–1318			Co-rulers, sons of Otto III: John III, 1267–1268 Otto V, 1267–1298 Otto VI, 1267–1291 Albert III, 1267–1300
Co-rulers: Waldemar, 1308–1319, son of Conrad Henry II, 1319–1320, son of Henry I			Co-rulers: Herman, 1298–1308 (alone from 1300) John V, 1308–1317
After the extinction of the Ascanian dynasty in 1320, Brandenburg came under the control of the Emperor Louis IV of the House of Wittelsbach, who granted Brandenburg to his eldest son, Louis V of Bavaria.
Wittelsbach Dynasty
Name		Reign		Comments
Louis I "the Brandenburger"		1323–51		Cousin of Henry II, Son of Emperor Louis IV.
Louis II "the Roman".		1351–56		Half-brother of preceding; named Elector in 1356.

Electors of Brandenburg

Wittelsbach Dynasty
Image	Name	Began	Ended	Comments
	Louis II Ludwig II	10 January 1356	17 May 1365	First Elector of Brandenburg. Called "the Roman"
	Otto VII	17 May 1365	18 August 1373	Brother of preceding. Co-ruler of Brandenburg with his brother from 1351, but as a minor (b. 1346) took no part in administration until his brother's death. Abdicated 1373 but retained Electoral title. Died 1379.
Luxemburg Dynasty
Image	Name	Began	Ended	Comments
	Wenceslaus Wenzel	2 October 1373	29 November 1378	Emperor Charles IV forced the last Wittelsbach Elector to abdicate, and then installed his own son, Wenceslaus. As Wenceslaus was still a minor (b. 1361), the Emperor administered the margraviate for him.
	Sigismund	29 November 1378	1388	Younger brother of Wenceslaus; took control of Brandenburg on his brother's ascension as King of Germany and Bohemia. Gave up Brandenburg to his cousin Jobst as security for a substantial loan.
	Jobst	1388	16 January 1411	Sigismund's first cousin, nephew of Charles IV. Elected as German King in 1410 in opposition to Sigismund, but died very shortly afterwards.
	Sigismund	16 January 1411	30 April 1415	Following Jobst's death, Sigismund regained control of Brandenburg and was elected undisputed King of Germany.
Hohenzollern Dynasty
Image	Name	Began	Ended	Comments
	Frederick I Friedrich I	30 April 1415	20 September 1440	Originally Burgrave of Nuremberg. Appointed by King Sigismund in 1415 and enfeoffed in 1417. His eldest son John the Alchemist administered Brandenburg as Margrave from 1425 to 1437, but Frederick retained the Electorship.
	Frederick II Friedrich II	20 September 1440	10 February 1471	Son of Frederick I. Called "Irontooth" (German: Eisenzahn). Administered Brandenburg from 1437 and became Elector on his father's death in 1440.
	Albert III Achilles Albrecht III Achilles	10 February 1471	11 March 1486	Brother.
	John Cicero Johann Cicero	11 March 1486	9 January 1499	Son.
	Joachim I Nestor	9 January 1499	11 July 1535	Son. His younger brother, Albert was co-Margrave 1499–1513, but only Joachim was Elector.
	Joachim II Hector	11 July 1535	3 January 1571	Son. First Protestant Elector of Brandenburg.
	John George Johann Georg	3 January 1571	8 January 1598	Son.
	Joachim Frederick Joachim Friedrich	8 January 1598	28 July 1608	Son.
	John Sigismund Johann Sigismund	28 July 1608	3 November 1619	Son. Duke of Prussia from 1618.
	George William Georg Wilhelm	3 November 1619	1 December 1640	Son. Ruled during the Thirty Years' War. Also Duke of Prussia.
	Frederick William Friedrich Wilhelm	1 December 1640	9 May 1688	Son. Called "the Great Elector". Also Duke of Prussia.
	Frederick III Friedrich III	9 May 1688	25 February 1713	Son. "King in Prussia" as Frederick I from 1701; from here the ordinals reset
	Frederick William I Friedrich Wilhelm I	25 February 1713	31 May 1740	Son. King in Prussia. Called "the Soldier-King".
	Frederick II Friedrich II	31 May 1740	17 August 1786	Son. King in Prussia to 1772; after annexations of Polish Prussian territory, "King of Prussia". Called "Frederick the Great".
	Frederick William II Friedrich Wilhelm II	17 August 1786	16 November 1797	Nephew. King of Prussia.
	Frederick William III Friedrich Wilhelm III	16 November 1797	6 August 1806	Son. King of Prussia and last Elector of Brandenburg. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806, after which Frederick William ruled as independent King of Prussia (including Brandenburg) to his death in 1840.

Titular Margraves of Brandenburg after 1806

This includes Kings of Prussia with the title of Margrave of Brandenburg (1806–1918) and pretenders to the throne of Prussia (1918–present)

Margrave	Portrait	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end
Frederick William III Friedrich Wilhelm III		3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840	6 August 1806	7 June 1840
Frederick William IV Friedrich Wilhelm IV		15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861	7 June 1840	2 January 1861
William I Wilhelm I		22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888	2 January 1861	9 March 1888
Frederick III Friedrich III		18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888	9 March 1888	15 June 1888
William II Wilhelm II		27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941	15 June 1888	Prussian monarchy abolished on 28 November 1918 4 June 1941
William III Wilhelm III		6 May 1882 – 20 July 1951	4 June 1941	20 July 1951
Louis Ferdinand I Ludwig Ferdinand I		9 November 1907 – 26 September 1994	20 July 1951	26 September 1994
George Frederick I Georg Friedrich I		10 June 1976 – present	26 September 1994	Incumbent

Upper Presidents of Brandenburg

In 1815 Brandenburg was constituted as the Prussian Province of Brandenburg without a sovereign ruler, but with Upper Presidents appointed by the central Prussian government. The upper president carried out central prerogatives on the provincial level and supervised the implementation of central policy on the lower levels of administration.

• 1815–1824: Georg Friedrich Christian von Heydebreck (1765–1828)
• 1825–1840: Friedrich Magnus von Bassewitz (1773–1858)
• 1840–1842: vacancy
• 1842–1848: August Werner von Meding (1792–1871)
• 1848–1849: Robert von Patow (1804–1890), per pro
• 1849–1850: vacancy
• 1849–1850: August Hermann Klemens Freiherr Wolff von Metternich (1803–1872), per pro
• 1850–1858: Eduard Heinrich von Flottwell (1786–1865)
• 1859–1862: Eduard Heinrich von Flottwell (1786–1865)
• 1862: Werner Ludolph Erdmann von Selchow (1806–1884)
• 1862–1879: Gustav Wilhelm von Jagow (1813–1879)
• 1879–1899: Heinrich von Achenbach (1829–1899)
• 1899–1905: Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg (1856–1921)
• 1905–1909: August von Trott zu Solz (1855–1938)
• 1909–1910: Friedrich Wilhelm von Loebell (1855–1931)
• 1910–1914: Alfred von Conrad (1852–1914)
• 1914–1917: Rudolf von der Schulenburg (1860–1930)
• 1917–1919: Friedrich Wilhelm von Loebell (1855–1931)
• 1919–1933: Adolf Maier (1871–1963)
• 1933–1936: Wilhelm Kube (1887–1943)
• 1937–1945: Emil Stürtz (1892–1945), since 1936 per pro

Land Directors of Brandenburg

Since 1875, with the strengthening of self-rule within the provinces, the urban and rural counties elected representatives for the provincial diets (Provinziallandtage). These parliaments legislated within the competences transferred to the provinces. The provincial diet of Brandenburg elected a provincial executive body (government), the provincial committee (Provinzialausschuss), and a head of province, the land director (Landesdirektor).^[1] Self-rule was abolished under the Nazi dictatorship.

• 1876–1896: Albert Erdmann Karl Gerhard von Levetzow (1827–1903), German Conservative Party
• 1896–1912: Otto Karl Gottlob von Manteuffel (1844–1913), German Conservative Party
• 1912–1930: Joachim von Winterfeldt-Menkin (1865–1945)
• 1930–1933: Hugo Swart (1885–1952)

Post-monarchy

History of Brandenburg and Prussia
Northern March pre–12th century		Old Prussians pre–13th century
Margraviate of Brandenburg 1157–1618 (1806)		Teutonic Order 1224–1525
		Duchy of Prussia 1525–1618	Royal (Polish) Prussia 1466–1772
Brandenburg-Prussia 1618–1701
Kingdom in Prussia 1701–1772
Kingdom of Prussia 1772–1918
Free State of Prussia 1918–1947			Klaipėda Region (Lithuania) 1920–1939 / 1945–present
Brandenburg (Germany) 1947–1952 / 1990–present	Recovered Territories (Poland) 1918/1945–present	Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia) 1945–present

After the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War, Brandenburg, which had previously been merely a province of Prussia, re-emerged as a German Land.

Prime Minister of Brandenburg, 1945–1952

• Karl Steinhoff (SPD/SED), 1945–1949.
• Rudolf Jahn (SED), 1949–1952.

After being abolished in a reorganization of the territories administered by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), the Land Brandenburg was restored in the prelude to German unification in 1990.

Ministers President of Brandenburg, 1990 to date

• Manfred Stolpe (SPD), 1990–2002.
• Matthias Platzeck (SPD), 2002–2013
• Dietmar Woidke (SPD), since 2013.

Notes

1. In other Prussian provinces the same office used to be called Landeshauptmann (about in English: land captain). Cf. article: "Landesdirektor", in: Der Große Brockhaus: Handbuch des Wissens in zwanzig Bänden: 21 vols.; Leipzig: Brockhaus, ¹⁵1928–1935; Bd. 11 (1932), p. 71.

See also

• List of rulers of Prussia