Führer of Amestris

The shoulder insignia of the Führer-President

The Führer (大総統 Daisōtō) is the chief executive of Amestris, acting as both head of state and head of government as well as Generalissimo of the State Military. The Führer is normally seen in his military uniform, with the insignia of the office comprising four stars on a gold plate.

Uses of the term written in English are rare in Japanese media, however on the State Alchemist certificate shown in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which is written in English, the rank is referred to as Generalissimo while the title and position are Führer. Most English media exclusively uses the term Führer in all instances, however Viz's English translation instead uses the term Führer President.

Notable Führer

• Führer King Bradley (deceased)
• Führer Grumman^OG09

Nomenclature

The State Alchemist Certificate which uses both "Generalissimo" and "Fuhrer".

The original Japanese term 大総統 (Daisōtō) is made up of two parts, the first being "大" (Dai), which means big or great. The second part, 総統 (Sōtō), most commonly refers to the "Führer" rank used by Nazi Germany, but it can also refer to any supreme leader of a totalitarian state, such as the President of China, or the former Italian rank of Duce (which was only held by the fascist dictator Mussolini). Note that the "President" in this case refers only to fascist or dictatorial presidents who are not monarchs. A similar but distinct term, 大統領 (Daitōryō), is instead used when referring to an elected president of a republic.

大総統 (Daisōtō) is also commonly used in Japanese fiction as a rank for any dictator-like position, as is this case in Fullmetal Alchemist. The 2003 anime adaptation would be the first to solidify 大総統 as meaning "Führer" by making Amestris a direct counterpart to real-world Germany.

While this explicit connection doesn't exist in the original manga, in Brotherhood, upon becoming a State Alchemist, Edward receives a certificate which is written in English even in the Japanese version. The document is labelled at the top as "Prefecture of the Generalissimo", however it later states: "This official document certifies that the nation of Amestris, prefecture of the Generalissimo appoints the name FULLMETAL to EDWARD ELRIC, in the name of Fuhrer King Bradley." This would seem to indicate that "Führer" is a position title in Amestris used to refer to the rank of Generalissimo, similar to how it was used by Hitler.

• Daisōtō is sometimes confused with the similar but distinct term 大元帥 (Daigensui), which refers to the highest rank in a military, such as Grand Marshal or Generalissimo. Daigensui is often associated as having high political power as well as military rank, creating some overlap with Daisōtō.

Trivia

• In the 2003 anime, despite Amestris being made the direct parallel to real world Germany, Amestris' Führer King Bradley is oddly not the parallel version of Germany's Führer, Adolf Hitler.
• In the 2003 anime, instead of having a successor appointed for Bradley at the end of the series, the office of Führer was retired, and the National Assembly took control of Amestris.
• The title "Führer" was a term adopted by Adolf Hitler while he ruled Germany, referring to a special position known as Generalissimo, in which the person entitled accumulates the functions of head of state and government as well as supreme command of the military.
  • Although Hitler is the most well-known head of state to have held such a title, there have been others that have been called "Führer" before him, as well as many other world leaders who have held the position of Generalissimo, such as Francisco Bahamonde of Spain and Josip Tito of Yugoslavia.
• The term President refers to the position of the leader of a republican state.
  • In a presidential republic, the president acts as both head of state and head of government.
  • In a parliamentary republic, the president holds only the title of head of state, with the position of head of government being held by the prime minister.
• Although Roy Mustang hasn't become Führer as of the end of the manga and 2009 series, Hiromu Arakawa states he'll eventually become the leader of Amestris and that if she were to make any extra chapter about Fullmetal Alchemist in the future, it would be about that event. She also stated she has decided Roy would not yet become Führer because "he's still too young".