This subproject focuses on the question of how leading officials at the Federal Chancellery interpreted and practiced democracy and political leadership. First, the depth of experience that influenced the thought and action of these officials will be investigated as well as how they grappled with those influences in terms of processes of validation and learning. The subproject will concentrate, secondly, on the stances and positioning of these figures with regard to topical areas such as society, the state, politics, and administration. The different networks they were part of play a particular role in this connection. Thirdly, the political styles and administrative cultures of the main Chancellery figures will be analyzed; this involves, in particular, the state of official relations within the Chancellery as well as relations with federal ministries, the Bundestag, and the general public. Thus, the focus also lies on the Chancellery’s methods of political steering with a view to the implementation of the Chancellor’s policy-making powers.