The vice-chancellor of Germany, unofficially the vice-chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (), officially the deputy to the federal chancellor (), is the second highest ranking German cabinet member. The chancellor is the head of government and, according to the constitution, gives this title of deputy to one of the federal ministers. It is common that the title is given to the major minister provided by the (smaller) coalition partner. In everyday politics, being a vice chancellor is more an honorary title. The vice-chancellor may head cabinet meetings when the chancellor is abroad. The function of vice chancellor is to use the specific constitutional powers of the chancellor in case that the chancellor is unable to perform their duties. This kind of substitution has never been made use of in the history of the Federal Republic. Should a chancellor resign, die or be permanently unable to perform the duties of office, the vice chancellor does not automatically become the next chancellor. In such a case the Federal President assigns a minister to serve as acting chancellor until the Bundestag (parliament) elects a new chancellor.). Although is the constitutional term, most Germans know the deputy by the expression Vice-Chancellor (). Chancellor () is the traditional term for the German head of government since 1867/71. A general deputy was introduced by law in 1878 (). In the Weimar Republic of 1919–1933, the office of was mentioned in the internal reglement of the government. The current office or title has existed since the constitution of 1949. The current vice-chancellor of Germany is Robert Habeck, who took office on 8 December 2021, succeeding Olaf Scholz, who gave up the role in order to become chancellor. History Such an office was initially established by the 1878 (Deputation Act), which provided for the imperial chancellor appointing a deputy, officially known as (General Deputy to the Imperial Chancellor). In addition to the general deputy, who could sign for all the affairs of the chancellor, the chancellor could appoint deputies with limited responsibilities. The act was revised on 28 October 1918, when the possibility of appointing deputies with limited responsibilities was removed and the vice-chancellor was given the right to appear before parliament. In the Weimar Republic, the office was considered less important. It was not even mentioned in the constitution. Usually it was held by the minister of justice or the interior. The most known office