The Parlamentarische Rat (parliamentary council) was a predecessor of the West GermanBundestag. Its primary purpose was to prepare a new constitution for Germany. It was elected in 1948 and disassembled once it had finished its purpose, i.e. upon the ratification of the Grundgesetz. Some of its most famous members were Konrad Adenauer (CDU) who later became federal chancellor, and Kurt Schumacher (SPD) who was the leader of the opposition in the next few years to follow. The Parlamentarische Rat gathered in Bonn. West Germany was the informal but almost universally used name for the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 until 1990, during which years the Federal Republic did not yet include East Germany. ... The Bundestag (Federal Diet) is the parliament of Germany. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of modern Germany. ... Konrad Adenauer (January 5, 1876–April 19, 1967) was a German statesman. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Dr Kurt Schumacher Dr Kurt Schumacher (13 October 1895 - 20 August 1952), was the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in the early years of the German Federal Republic. ... The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD – Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) is the second oldest political party of Germany still in existence and also one of the oldest and largest in the world, celebrating its 140th anniversary in 2003. ... Bonn is a city in Germany (Population (2004 est): 313,605 ; the 19th largest city in Germany), in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine. ...
He was a member of the Landtag until the state ceased to exist upon the creation of the state Baden-Württemberg on 17 May 1952.
From 1948 to 1949 Schmid was a member of the ParlamentarischerRat, acting as leader of the SPD faction and chair of the Chief Committee, playing a pivotal role in the drawing up of the German Basic Law.
Arguably, Schmid's most distinctive contribution to the German constitutional system was the "Constructive Vote of No Confidence" which stated that a Chancellor can only be removed from office by the Federal Diet upon the Diet's election of another Chancellor.