Germany

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Germany Image File history File links Coat_of_Arms_of_Germany. ... Politics of Germany takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Federal Chancellor is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ...

Constitution

Federal Council (Bundesrat) Federal Parliament (Bundestag) Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) Constitutional Court Federal Court of Justice

President Horst Köhler Chancellor Angela Merkel Cabinet

States (Länder) Districts (Kreise)

Elections Political parties Former parties

Human rights Foreign relations EU Politics

Other countries • Politics Portal view • talk • edit

The President of the Bundestag (German: Präsident des Deutschen Bundestages or Bundestagspräsident) presides over the sessions of the Bundestag, the parliament of Germany, with functions similar to that of a speaker in other countries. In the German order of precedence, his office is ranked second right after the President and before the Chancellor. The current President of the Bundestag is Norbert Lammert, since October 18, 2005. The Bundesrat (federal council) is the representation of the 16 Federal States (Länder) of Germany at the federal level. ... The Bundestag (Federal Diet) is the parliament of Germany. ... The Federal Convention (Bundesversammlung) is a special body in the institutional system of Germany, convoked only for the purpose of selecting the Bundespräsident every five years. ... The Bundesverfassungsgericht The Federal Constitutional Court (in German: Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVerfG) is a special court established by the German constitutional document, the Grundgesetz (Basic Law). ... The Bundesgerichtshof or BGH (German for federal court) is the highest Germany for civil and criminal lawsuits. ... The President of Germany (German: Bundespräsident) is Germanys head of state. ... Horst Köhler ( â–¶(?), born 22 February 1943) is the current President of Germany. ... The head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (German: Kanzler or Bundeskanzler meaning federal chancellor). ...   (IPA //) (born in Hamburg, Germany on July 17, 1954) is the current Chancellor of Germany. ... The Cabinet of Germany (German: Bundeskabinett, Bundesregierung) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... Germany is a Federal Republic made up of 16 States, known in German as Länder (singular Land). ... There are 439 German districts (Kreise), administrative units in Germany. ... Elections in Germany gives information on election and election results in Germany, including elections to the Federal Diet (the lower house of the federal parliament), the Landtage of the various states, and local elections. ... This is a list of political parties in Germany. ... Germany is seen to be one of the democratic nations in Europe. ... The Federal Republic of Germany is a Central European country and member of the European Union, Group of 8 and NATO (among others). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... The Bundestag (Federal Diet) is the parliament of Germany. ... It has been suggested that Speakers of the House be merged into this article or section. ... The German order of precedence is a symbolic hierarchy of officials in the Government of Germany used to direct protocol. ... The President of Germany (German: Bundespräsident) is Germanys head of state. ... The head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (German: Kanzler or Bundeskanzler meaning federal chancellor). ... Norbert Lammert Dr. Norbert Lammert (born November 16, 1948 in Bochum) is a German politician (CDU). ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Election and customs

The President of the Bundestag is elected during the constituent session of each election period after the Federal elections by all members of the Bundestag. The president has to be a member. Until the election of the president, the session is chaired by the Alterspräsident, the oldest member of the Bundestag.^[1] Elections in Germany gives information on election and election results in Germany, including elections to the Federal Diet (the lower house of the federal parliament), the Landtage of the various states, and local elections. ...

Usually, the President of the Bundestag is a member of the largest parliamentary group. This custom had emerged already in times of the Weimar Republic, but this is not required by law. The term ends with the election period, and there is no provision for an early deposition. He can be reelected in the next election period provided he becomes a member of the Bundestag again. Anthem: Das Lied der Deutschen The Länder of Germany during the Weimar Republic, with the Free State of Prussia (Freistaat Preußen) as the largest Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President  - 1919-1925 Friedrich Ebert  - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor  - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann  - 1933 Adolf Hitler...

Traditionally, the President of the Bundestag is elected uncontested, and the only exception so far has been in 1954. After the unexpected death of Hermann Ehlers, Ernst Lemmer competed with the "official" CDU/CSU candidate Eugen Gerstenmaier and lost after three ballots with a difference of 14 votes (204 for Gerstenmaier, 190 for Lemmer, 15 abstentions). This article needs cleanup. ... The acronym CSU, when used by itself, can refer to: The California State University system Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. The Connecticut State University System Channel Service Unit - a WAN equivalent of a network interface card a Crime Scene Unit - a group of crime scene investigators who respond... Eugen Karl Albrecht Gerstenmaier (born 25 August 1906 in Kirchheim unter Teck; died 13 March 1986 in Bonn) was a German Evangelical theologian, resistance fighter in the Third Reich, and a CDU politician. ...

Vice presidents

The President of the Bundestag has several deputies, the Vice Presidents of the Bundestag (German: Vizepräsident des Deutschen Bundestages or Bundestagsvizepräsident), who are supplied by the other parliamentary groups. The number of vice presidents was not fixed in the Bundestag's Geschäftsordnung (rules of order) until 1994, when it was decided that each parliamentary group should be represented by one vice president.^[1] After the 2005 election, the CDU/CSU and SPD changed the rules of order to grant a second vice presidential post to the SPD, a move that was opposed by the other parties, so there are six vice presidents in the 16th Bundestag: Susanne Kastner and Wolfgang Thierse for the SPD, Gerda Hasselfeldt for the CDU/CSU, Hermann Otto Solms for the FDP, Katrin Göring-Eckardt for Alliance '90/The Greens and Petra Pau for the Left Party. Rules of order, also known as standing orders or rules of procedure, are the written rules of parliamentary procedure adopted by a deliberative assembly, which detail the processes used by the body to make decisions. ... German federal elections took place on September 18, 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany. ... Social Democratic Party of Germany Spectral Power Density ... Wolfgang Thierse is the current speaker of the Bundestag. ... Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | German political parties | Liberal parties ... Katrin Göring-Eckhart (3 May 1966 - ), a German politician, has served as a member of the German Green Party in the Bundestag since 1998. ... Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (literally: Alliance 90/The Greens), the German Green Party, is a political party in Germany whose regional predecessors were founded in the late 1970s as part of the new social movements. ... Petra Pau (born 9 August 1963) is one of two members of the Party of Democratic Socialism in the German parliament, the Bundestag. ... The Left Party (In German: , officially with a period at the end), formerly Party of Democratic Socialism (Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus, PDS) is a left-wing socialist political party in Germany. ...

Legal background

The legal foundation for the office is Article 40 of the Basic Law which states that the Bundestag elects a president and his vice presidents and is to give itself rules of order. Due to a 1952 Federal Constitutional Court decision, the Geschäftsordnung has to be enacted afresh in every election period, but usually the old rules are reenacted without change.^[2] The Geschäftsordnung regulates the duties of the President of the Bundestag and his vice presidents as well as their number. // The Basic Law (German: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution[1] of modern Germany. ... The Bundesverfassungsgericht The Federal Constitutional Court (in German: Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVerfG) is a special court established by the German constitutional document, the Grundgesetz (Basic Law). ...

Duties

The president's most important duty is to chair the sessions of the Bundestag. He determines the order of speakers and opens and closes the debates, and ensures that debates take place in an orderly fashion.^[3] In the case of grave disruption, he may exclude a member of parliament for up to 30 session days.^[4] All draft legislation initiated by the Federal Government, the Bundestag or the Bundesrat is addressed to him as well as all submissions and petitions from within or addressed to the Bundestag. The President of the Bundestag also chairs the Council of Elders, which manages the internal affairs of the Bundestag.^[5] For the election of a new Federal President, the President of the Bundestag convenes and chairs the Bundesversammlung.^[6] The Bundesrat (federal council) is the representation of the 16 Federal States (Länder) of Germany at the federal level. ... The Council of Elders is a joint deliberative body which includes the following stakeholders: President; Vice presidents; Bundestag members appointed by parliamentary groups in proportion to their size. ... The President of Germany (German: Bundespräsident) is Germanys head of state. ... The Federal Convention (Bundesversammlung) is a special body in the institutional system of Germany, convoked only for the purpose of selecting the Bundespräsident every five years. ...

Additionally, he receives the statements of account of the political parties, monitors party financing and regulates campaign cost reimbursement. The president also has police power over the premises of the parliament and oversees its police force, can veto any search and seizure there to protect the independence of the parliament,^[7] and acts as the employer of the Bundestag's public servants. Search and seizure is a legal procedure used in many common law whereby police or other authorities and their agents, who suspect that a crime has been committed, do a search of a persons property and confiscate any relevant evidence to the crime. ...

References

This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of October 31, 2006.

Presidents of the Bundestag

Erich Köhler | Hermann Ehlers | Eugen Gerstenmaier | Kai-Uwe von Hassel | Annemarie Renger | Karl Carstens | Richard Stücklen | Rainer Barzel | Philipp Jenninger | Rita Süssmuth | Wolfgang Thierse | Norbert Lammert Image File history File links Coat_of_Arms_of_Germany. ... Eugen Karl Albrecht Gerstenmaier (born 25 August 1906 in Kirchheim unter Teck; died 13 March 1986 in Bonn) was a German Evangelical theologian, resistance fighter in the Third Reich, and a CDU politician. ... Kai-Uwe von Hassel (b. ... Karl Carstens (December 14, 1914 - May 30, 1992) was a German politician. ... Richard Stücklen (20 August 1916 - 2 May 2002) was a German politician of the CSU. From 1957 to 1966, he served as Federal Minister for Post and Communication and from 1979 to 1983 as President of the Bundestag, of which he was a member for over 40 years. ... Rainer Candidus Barzel (born June 20, 1924 in Braunsberg, East Prussia)) is a German CDU Politician. ... Philipp-Hariolf Jenninger (born 10 June 1932) is a German politician of the CDU. From 1984 to 1988, when he resigned after protests related to his speech commemorating the anniversary of Kristallnacht, he served as President of the Bundestag. ... Rita Süssmuth (CDU), president of the German Bundestag 1988-1998 Rita Süssmuth (born 17 February 1937 in Wuppertal) is a German politician and a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). ... Wolfgang Thierse is the current speaker of the Bundestag. ... Norbert Lammert Dr. Norbert Lammert (born November 16, 1948 in Bochum) is a German politician (CDU). ...