List of nicknames of German politicians

This is a list of nicknames of German politicians. Only a few have widely known nicknames (in German: Spitzname). Most notable politicians who have had popular nicknames were chancellors or high-ranking party leaders in Germany's major political parties of the past (CDU, SPD, etc.).

Distortions or mocking variations of a person's name, such as ‘What-a-fool’ or ‘Pistolius’ were not taken into account.

Nicknames The nicknames are given in the German original with a rough English translation:

„der Alte“ (the Old One), Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967) (CDU), the first Chancellor (1949–1963) of the Federal Republic of Germany. „Birne“ (the Pear) – Helmut Kohl (CDU) – a well-known mocking nickname, popularized by cartoons,cf. spiegel.de: Kohl-Karikaturen: Die Rache der Birne (Christoph Gunkel) referring to Kohl's head shape. „Bomber-Joschka“derstandard.at: Heuchelei aus Schwäche - commentary (Bomber Joschka), Joschka Fischer (Alliance 90/The Greens), because of his support for the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War, which violated international law and caused thousands of deaths (cf. „Bomber Harris“). „Eurofighter“ (Eurofighter) – Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), Member of the European Parliament – because of her commitment to (new) German military readiness. „Flinten-Uschi”Deutschlandfunk: Mit „Flinten-Uschi“ auf dem Minenfeld des Sexismus (Arno Orzessek) (Shotgun Uschi), a nickname for Ursula von der Leyen (CDU), originated during her time as Germany's Federal Minister of Defense (2013–2019), refers to her position at the head of the Bundeswehr. „Gas-Gerd“ (Gas Gerd) – Gerhard Schröder (SPD) – often in reference to energy policy or the economy (connected with Russia). „Mutti“ (Mom) – Angela Merkel (CDU) – referring to her hairstyle or her down-to-earth, pragmatic style. „Muttis Klügster“ (Mom's Smartest) – Norbert Röttgen (CDU) – due to his know-it-all secondary role alongside Chancellor Angela Merkel. „Panzer-Toni” (Tank Toni)zeit.de: "Panzer-Toni ist kein schöner Spitzname" - Anton Hofreiter (Alliance 90/The Greens), because of his strong public advocacy for supplying weapons to Ukraine, especially heavy weapons such as battle tanks. „Pinocchio“tass.ru: Полиция ФРГ начала расследование против пенсионера, назвавшего Мерца "Пиноккио" [German police have launched an investigation against a pensioner who called Merz ‘Pinocchio’] (cf. anti-spiegel.ru: Die deutsche Polizei hat Ermittlungen gegen einen Rentner eingeleitet, der Merz „Pinocchio“ genannt hat.)nzz.ch: Rentner bezeichnet Friedrich Merz auf Facebook als «Pinocchio» – Polizei nimmt Ermittlungen aufyoutube.com: "Friedrich "Pinocchio" Merz hat seine Wähler verraten" | 100 Tage Merz: Kritik (Gerald Grosz) (Pinocchio) – Friedrich Merz (CDU) – after the famous fictional character by Carlo Collodi whose nose grows when lying; so called because of breaking election promises, especially regarding new debt.The German chancellor is currently governing in a Bundestag composition possibly rendered illegitimate (due to possibly incorrect vote counting after the federal election); cf. Deutschlandfunk: Letzter Stopp Bundesverfassungsgericht. „Plisch und Plum“ (Plisch and Plum) – Karl Schiller (SPD) (Minister of Economics) and Franz-Josef Strauß (CSU) (Minister of Finance). „Schmidt-Schnauze“ (Schmidt-snout) - Helmut Schmidt (SPD), because of his ready wit. „Scholzomat“ (Scholz-o-mat) – Olaf Scholz (SPD) – because of his often technocratical style. „Tonne“ (the Barrel) – Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) – because of his robust appearance. „Willy“ (Willy) – Willy Brandt (SPD) – very popular, a friendly nickname.

List of nicknames of German politicians

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