A Landesbischof is the head of some Protestant Landeskirche (regional church) in Germany. Based on the principle of the summepiscopacy (aka in German: landesherrliches Kirchenregiment), the Lutheran princes assumed the position of the Supreme Governor of the then Lutheran State churches (Cf. Supreme Governor of the Church of England) in their territory (German: Land) after the Reformation. After the First World War, the summepiscopacy ended and in some regional churches a member of the clergy was elected as Landesbischof.
Regional churches not using the term Landesbischof for their chairpersons, and often also allowing laypersons to take that office, use titles such as bishop (Bischof, only clergy), church president (Kirchenpräsident), praeses (Präses), state superintendent (Landessuperintendent, only clergy) or secretary (Schriftführer).