Federal Returning Officer



In Germany, the Federal Returning Officer ("Bundeswahlleiterin", or "Bundeswahlleiter" when the office is held by a man) is the Returning Officer responsible for overseeing elections on the federal level. The Federal Returning Officer and his or her deputy are appointed indefinitely by the Federal Minister of the Interior; traditionally this position has been held by the President of the Federal Statistical Office of Germany.

List of federal returning officers

 * 1) Gerhard Fürst (1948–1964)
 * 2) Patrick Schmidt (1964–1972)
 * 3) Hildegard Bartels (1972–1980)
 * 4) Franz Kroppenstedt (1980–1983)
 * 5) Egon Hölder (1983–1992)
 * 6) Hans Günther Merk (1992–1995)
 * 7) Johann Hahlen (1995–2006)
 * 8) Walter Radermacher (2006–2008)
 * 9) Roderich Egeler (2008–2015)
 * 10) Dieter Sarreither (2015–2017)
 * 11) Georg Thiel (2017–2022)
 * 12) Ruth Brand (2023–present)