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chancellor: Definition from Answers.com

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Chancellor or chancellour (archaic) (Latin: cancellarius) is an official title used in countries whose civilization has arisen directly or indirectly out of the Roman Empire.[citation needed] At different times and in different countries it has stood for various duties and has been borne by officers of various degrees of dignity. Various governments have a chancellor who serves as some form of junior or senior minister. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the audience. A Chancellor's office is called a chancellery or chancery.

Austria

The Chancellor of Austria, or Bundeskanzler, is the title for the head of government in Austria. In Austrian politics, the Bundeskanzler position is somewhat equivalent to that of a prime minister.

Argentina

In Argentina the Foreign Minister is mostly called asCanciller (Chancellor) and he works at the Cancillería (chancellery).[1]

Brazil

The Chancellor of Brazil, or Chanceler, is the country's foreign affairs minister, whose office is located inside Itamaraty Palace.

Chile

In Chile, the Chancellor is the Foreign Affairs Minister.

China

The Chancellor of China was the second highest rank after the Emperor of China.

Colombia

In Colombia, the Chancellor is the Foreign Affairs Minister.

Denmark

The office of chancellor (or royal chancellor) seems to have appeared in the 12th century, and until 1660 it was the title of the leader of the state administration (a kind of a "Home Office" but often with foreign political duties). Often he appeared to be the real leader of the government. From 1660–1848, the title continued as "Grand Chancellor" or "President of the Danish Chancellery," and was replaced in 1848 by the title "Minister of Domestic Affairs."

Egypt

There are two ancient Egyptian titles sometimes translated as chancellor. There is the "royal sealer" (xtmtj-bity or xtmw-bity), a title attested since the First Dynasty (about 3000 BC)[1]. People holding the post include Imhotep and Hemaka[2].

The other title translated as chancellor is "Keeper of the Royal Seal" (or overseer of the seal or treasurer—imy-r xtmt[3][4]). Officials holding the post include Bay or Irsu, Khety[5] Meketre[6], and Nakhti[7].

The first title (royal sealer) announced a certain rank at the royal court, the second (supervisor of the sealed goods, i.e. treasurer) was responsible for the state's income. This position appears around 2000 BC.

Estonia

In Estonia the Chancellor of Justice (Õiguskantsler, Currently Indrek Teder) supervises the legality of actions taken by the government and monitors the implementation of basic civil liberties.

Finland

In Finland the Chancellor of Justice (Oikeuskansleri, Justitiekanslern) supervises the legality of actions taken by the government and monitors the implementation of basic civil liberties. In this special function the chancellor also sits in the Finnish Cabinet, the Finnish Council of State.

France

For centuries, the King of France appointed a chancellor or Chancelier de France, a Great Officer of the Crown, as an office associated with that of keeper of the seals. The chancelier was responsible for some judicial proceedings. During the reigns of Louis XVIII, Charles X and Louis Philippe, the Chancellor of France presided over the Chamber of Peers, the upper house of the royal French parliament.

Germany

As in Austria, the Chancellor of Germany or Bundeskanzler (meaning "Federal Chancellor"), is the title for the head of government in Germany. Bundeskanzlerin is the feminine form. In German politics the Bundeskanzler position is somewhat equivalent to that of a prime minister and is elected by the Bundestag, the German Parliament, every four years, but can be replaced at any time by the parliament.

This can be only done by a so called constructive vote of non-confidence, it requires that the opposition, on the same ballot, proposes a candidate of their own.


After the unification of Germany, in the year 1871, the Chancellor of the Reich or Reichskanzler (meaning "Imperial Chancellor"), served not only as head of government, but also as presiding officer of the Bundesrat, the upper house of the German imperial parliament. After the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918, the German chancellor no longer presided over the upper house of parliament, but was head of the republic's government.

Adolf Hitler was appointed to the chancellorship in 1933 by President Hindenburg. On March 23, 1933, after the Reichstag fire, the parliament passed the Enabling Act, which gave to Hitler legal right to pass legislation without the approval or consent of the parliament: he was made a legal dictator. The office of "Chancellor" was combined with that of the "President" and called the Führer und Reichskanzler (meaning "Leader and Imperial Chancellor") after President Hindenburg's death in the year 1934.

Since the defeat of Nazi Germany and the formation of the Federal Republic in 1949, the chancellorship has adhered to its role as prescribed by the Basic Law. It differs from the chancellorship of Weimar Germany primarily in that the office is not appointed by the president, but through a majority Bundestag vote.

Lithuania

See Poland below.

Japan

The Daijō Daijin or Chancellor of the Realm was the head of the Daijō-kan, or Department of State in Heian Japan and briefly under the Meiji Constitution.

Mexico

In Mexico the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is called cancillería and the minister is called canciller (Chancellor).

Peru

As in many Latin American countries, in Peru, the Chancellor is the Foreign Affairs Minister.

Poland

For more details on this topic, see kanclerz.

In the Kingdom of Poland from the 14th century, there was a royal chancellor. In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795), the four chancellors were among the ten highest officials of the state. Poland and Lithuania each had a Grand Chancellor and a Deputy Chancellor, each entitled to a senatorial seat, responsible for the affairs of the whole Kingdom, each with his own chancery. See Offices in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Russia

In the Russian Empire, the chancellor was the highest rank of civil service as defined by the Table of Ranks and on the same grade as field marshal and General Admiral. Only the most distinguished government officials were promoted to this grade, such as foreign ministers Alexander Gorchakov and Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin.

Spain

The Spanish word “canciller” is the equivalent to the English chancellor. However, in Spain, the term refers to a civil servant responsible for technical issues relating to foreign affairs. Chancellors work in the embassies and consulates of Spain. Other Spanish speaking countries use the term “canciller” to refer to the Foreign Minister.

Sweden

In Sweden the Chancellor of Justice or Justitiekanslern acts as the Solicitor General for the Swedish Government. The office was introduced by Charles XII of Sweden in 1713. Historically there was also a Lord High Chancellor or Rikskansler as the most senior member of the Privy Council of Sweden. There is in addition to this a University Chancellor or Universitetskansler, who leads the National Agency for Higher Education.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, the Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler, Chancelier fédéral, Cancelliere della Confederazione) is elected by the Swiss parliament. He or she heads the Federal Chancellery, the general staff of the seven-member executive Federal Council, the Swiss government. The Chancellor participates in the meetings of the seven Federal Councilors with a consultative vote and prepares the reports on policy and activities of the council to parliament. The chancellery is responsible for the publication of all federal laws.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, a number of State offices contain the word chancellor:

  • The Lord Chancellor (Lord High Chancellor, King's Chancellor) is the occupant of one of the oldest offices of state, dating back to the Kingdom of England, and older than Parliament itself. Theoretically, the Lord Chancellor is the "Chancellor of Great Britain"; there was formerly an office of "Chancellor of Ireland" which was abolished in 1922, when all but Northern Ireland left the United Kingdom. The Lord Chancellor is the second highest non-royal subject in precedence (after the Archbishop of Canterbury). In addition to various ceremonial duties, he is head of the Ministry of Justice, which was created in May 2007 from the Department for Constitutional Affairs (which was created in 2003 from the Lord Chancellor's Department) In this role, he sits in the Cabinet. Until the Constitutional Reform Act of 2005, the Lord Chancellor had two additional roles:
    • Head of the English, but not Scottish, judiciary. In previous centuries, the Lord Chancellor was the sole judge in the Court of Chancery; when, in 1873, that court was combined with others to form the High Court, the Lord Chancellor became the nominal head of the Chancery Division. The Lord Chancellor was permitted to participate in judicial sittings of the House of Lords; he also chose the committees that heard appeals in the Lords. The de facto head of the Chancery Division was the Vice-Chancellor, and the role of choosing appelate committees was in practice fulfilled by the Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary.
    • De facto speaker of the House of Lords. These duties are now undertaken by the Lord Speaker. The current Lord Chancellor, Jack Straw, is the first in history to sit in the House of Commons rather than the House of Lords.
  • Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, another ancient office of state, the Chancellor being the Minister of the Crown responsible in theory for the running of the Duchy of Lancaster, a duchy in England belonging to the Crown but historically maintained separately from the rest of the kingdom, whose net revenues personally belong to the monarch. In reality, the post of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, effectively like a chairman of trustees, carries minimal work and responsibilities, so it is used in effect as a minister without portfolio position, often given to the chairman of the party in power to give her or him a seat in the cabinet.
  • Chancellor of the High Court, a senior legal position, the head of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice. Before 2005, the judge occupying this position was known as the Vice-Chancellor, the Lord Chancellor being the nominal head of the Division.

United States

In the United States, the only "chancellor" established by the federal government is the Chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution, a largely ceremonial office held by the Chief Justice of the United States. As the Smithsonian is a research and museum system, its use of the title is perhaps best thought of as akin to a university's chancellor.

State Chancellors

Some U.S. states, like Delaware, still maintain a separate Court of Chancery with jurisdiction over equity cases. Judges who sit on those courts are called chancellors.

Among the states that once had the judicial office of chancellor, but have now abolished it, is New York State. In 1789, after George Washington had been elected the first President of the United States, he traveled to the temporary national capital, New York City, to be sworn in to office. By tradition, the presidential oath is administered by the Chief Justice of the United States except in cases of emergency. Of course, at the time Washington took office there was no chief justice or any other federal judges, as there was not yet a president to appoint them. Therefore, the oath of office was administered to Washington by the highest-ranking judge available, Robert Livingston, the chancellor of New York State.

Educational usage

The title chancellor has several uses in U.S. educational institutions.

In government, it is title of the heads of the New York City Department of Education and the District of Columbia Public Schools, who run the municipally-operated public schools in those jurisdictions. New York State also has a chancellor of the University of the State of New York, a "university" as a fiction of law in that it is the body that licenses and regulations all educational and research institutions in the state and many professions (it is not to be confused with the State University of New York, an actual institution of higher learning).

Many public and private universities and university systems are headed by chancellors who function as the chief executive officer of the school or systems of schools.

In a few instances, the term chancellor is used for a student or faculty member within a high school or an institution of higher learning being either appointed or elected as chancellor in order to preside on the highest ranking judicial board or tribunal. They handle non-academic matters such as violations of behavior code, harassment, or violation of the school's created constitution.[8]

Uruguay

In Uruguay, Chancellor (Spanish: Canciller) is the title given to the Foreign Affairs Minister.

Other Organizations

Catholic Church

The chancellor is the principal record-keeper of a diocese or eparchy, or their equivalent. The chancellor is a notary, so that he may certify official documents, and often has other duties at the discretion of the bishop of the diocese: he may be in charge of some aspect of finances or of managing the personnel connected with diocesan offices, although his delegated authority cannot extend to vicars of the diocesan bishop, such as vicars general, episcopal vicars or judicial vicars. His office is within the "chancery." Vice-chancellors may be appointed to assist the chancellor in busy chanceries. Normally, the chancellor is a priest or deacon, although in some circumstances a layperson may be appointed to the post.[9] In the eparchial curia a chancellor is to be appointed who is to be a presbyter (priest) or deacon and whose principal obligation, unless otherwise established by the particular law, is to see that the acts of the curia are gathered and arranged as well as preserved in the archives of the eparchial curia. [10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Toby A. H. Wilkinson, Early Dynastic Egypt, Routledge 1999, p.131
  2. ^ Michael Rice, Who's Who in Ancient Egypt, Routledge 2001, p.63
  3. ^ pBerlin 10035 in U. Luft, Urkunden zur Chronologie der späten 12. Dynastie, Briefe aus Illahun, Wien 2006, 69 ff.
  4. ^ pLouvre 3230 B in E. Wente, Letters from Ancient Egypt, Atlanta, 1990, 92
  5. ^ Memoirs, Egypt Exploration Society—1958, p.7
  6. ^ Serdab of the Chancellor Meketre
  7. ^ Michael Rice, Who's Who in Ancient Egypt, Routledge 2001
  8. ^ Judicial Boards
  9. ^ CIC 482; CCEO 252—§1.
  10. ^ §2. If it seems necessary the chancellor can be given an assistant whose title is vice-chancellor. §3. The chancellor as well as the vice-chancellor are by the law itself notaries of the eparchial curia. In the 1983 Code of Canon Law for the Latin rite of the Catholic Church, the chancellor may be a layperson, and not necessarily a presbyter or deacon. The office of the Chancellor is mandatory in all diocessan (eparchial) curia. The primary function of the Chancellor is to keep the curial records properly.Beal, New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, Paulist Press, Mahwah, NJ, 2000, p.635

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