Misplaced Pages

#323676

71-487: The Council was implemented by the minister-presidents of the eleven states of Germany within the three Western Allied occupation zones and inaugurated on 1 September 1948. It included 70 state delegates selected by the Landtag parliaments specifically for this purpose (including five non-voting representatives of West Berlin ), many of them state ministers, government officials or legal academics. The deputies could rely on

142-473: A parliamentary system of government in which the chancellor (similar to a prime minister or minister-president in other parliamentary democracies) is the head of government. The president has a ceremonial role as figurehead , but also has the right and duty to act politically. They can give direction to general political and societal debates and have some important " reserve powers " in case of political instability (such as those provided for by Article 81 of

213-516: A President, you can form a government." (endorsing parties) (percentage) (endorsing parties) (percentage) ( FDP , CDU , CSU ) The office of president is open to all Germans who are entitled to vote in Bundestag elections and have reached the age of 40, but no one may serve more than two consecutive five-year terms. As yet (2022), only five presidents (Heuss, Lübke, von Weizsäcker, Köhler and Steinmeier (in office)) have been elected for

284-550: A bill is not technically a final veto. As of 2023, this has happened only nine times and no president has done it more often than two times during their term: Karl Carstens , Roman Herzog , Johannes Rau , Christian Wulff , and Joachim Gauck have signed and promulgated all bills during their respective terms. The president represents Germany in the world (Art. 59 Basic Law), undertakes foreign visits, and receives foreign dignitaries. They also conclude treaties with foreign nations (which do not come into effect until affirmed by

355-459: A chancellor and ministers to remain in office after the end of a chancellor's term until a successor is elected; or exercises his right to pardon on behalf of the federation - as these are exclusive powers of the president. Therefore, the president also receives the chancellor regularly for talks on current policy issues. German presidents also hold talks with individual federal ministers and other senior officials at their own discretion. The "Head of

426-696: A draft document prepared by the constitutional Herrenchiemsee convention held in August. The Council was officially opened by North Rhine-Westphalia minister-president Karl Arnold as host. The second speaker was Hessian minister-president Christian Stock as current head of the Ministerial Conference of the Federal States. The site of the opening ceremony was at the great hall of the Museum Koenig in Bonn,

497-471: A person is elected with a majority on this ballot, the President is once again obliged to appoint them. If there is no majority, the President has seven days to either appoint the person who received a plurality of votes on the final ballot or dissolve the Bundestag. The chancellor may only be removed if the Bundestag passes a constructive vote of no confidence , indicating that a prospective new chancellor has

568-577: A preliminary decision in view of the "provisional" capital of a West German state, which the minister-presidents at a convention in Düsseldorf on 11 October 1948 decided to locate in Bonn (instead of Frankfurt ). The assembly elected the Christian Democratic politician Konrad Adenauer , former mayor of Cologne , its president. The regular sessions of the Parliamentary Council were held at

639-515: A president is re-elected for a second consecutive term, he does not take the oath again. The president is involved in the formation of the Federal Government and remains in close cooperation with it. Basically, the president is free to act on his own discretion. However, according to Article 58 of the German constitution, the decrees, and directives of the president require the countersignature of

710-572: A president's term. The body is convened and chaired by the President of the Bundestag . From 1979 to 2009, all these conventions were held on 23 May, the anniversary of the foundation of the Federal Republic in 1949. The resignation of Horst Köhler in 2010, which necessitated an early meeting of the Federal Convention, brought this tradition to an end. In the first two rounds of the election,

781-508: A proposed federal minister, as no president has ever done so. The constitution places no restrictions on who may be chancellor. In practice, the president only proposes a person as chancellor who has previously garnered a majority support in prior coalition talks and traditionally does not interfere in those talks. However, after the " Jamaica coalition " talks failed in the wake of the 2017 election , President Steinmeier invited several Bundestag party leaders to try to bring them together to form

SECTION 10

#1733055898324

852-462: A second term and only two of them (Heuss and von Weizsäcker) completed those terms, while Lübke and Köhler resigned during their second term. The president must not be a member of the federal government or of a legislature at either the federal or state level. After taking office the president must take the following oath, stipulated by Article 56 of the Basic Law, in a joint session of the Bundestag and

923-449: A vote of confidence (in practice the king usually appoints the leader of the winning party as formateur to form a government). The federal ministers later swear an oath of allegiance to the king. The minister-presidents of the regions and linguistic communities are not appointed by the king, but are directly appointed by their respective parliament. Ministers of the regions and linguistic communities are not required to swear allegiance to

994-462: A whole category of offenses. That requires a law enacted by the Bundestag in conjunction with the Bundesrat. Due to the federal structure of Germany the federal president is only responsible for dealing with certain criminal matters (e.g. espionage and terrorism) and disciplinary proceedings against federal civil servants, federal judges, and soldiers". It is customary that the federal president becomes

1065-472: A working government. The president appoints federal judges, federal civil servants, and military officers. Unlike the head of state in Westminster system parliamentary democracies, the President does not have the reserve power to unilaterally dissolve the Bundestag. The Bundestag also does not have the power to dissolve itself. Dissolution by the President can only occur in two scenarios caused by action of

1136-413: A year or more. According to article 81 of the German constitution, the president can declare a "Legislation Emergency" and allow the federal government and the Bundesrat to enact laws without the approval of the Bundestag. They also have important decisive power regarding the appointment of a chancellor who was elected by plurality only, or the dissolution of the Bundestag under certain circumstances. It

1207-417: Is also theoretically possible, albeit a drastic step which has not happened since 1949, that the president refuses to sign legislation merely because they disagree with its content, thus vetoing it, or refuse to approve a cabinet appointment. In all cases in which a bill was not signed by the federal president, all presidents have claimed that the bill in question was manifestly unconstitutional. For example, in

1278-563: Is called the Landeshauptmann (literally 'state captain'), not Ministerpräsident . In the city-state of Vienna the head of the state government is called the Bürgermeister und Landeshauptmann (Mayor and state captain). The term minister-president ( Dutch : minister-president , French : ministre-président , German : Ministerpräsident ) is also used in Belgium to describe

1349-559: Is elected for a term of five years by secret ballot, without debate, by a specially convened Federal Convention which mirrors the aggregated majority position in the Bundestag (the federal parliament) and in the parliaments of the 16 German states . The convention consists of all Bundestag members, as well as an equal number of electors elected by the state legislatures in proportion to their respective populations. Since reunification, all Federal Conventions have had more than 1200 members, as

1420-406: Is officially referred to as "minister-president", although the informal term "premier" is also frequently used. His responsibilities are defined in the constitution of 1848 as the voorzitter van de ministerraad ('chair of the council of ministers'). The title of minister-president has been in use since 1945 and officially added to the constitution in 1983. In Norway , Vidkun Quisling , head of

1491-639: Is the head of government . "Minister-President" in the Constitution of Latvia of February 15, 1922, arose when the German term Ministerpräsident (minister-president) was translated; the term ministru prezidents (literally 'president of ministers', in Latvian) was coined by the member of the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia , Latvian writer Kārlis Skalbe . In the Netherlands the prime minister

SECTION 20

#1733055898324

1562-530: Is used, for instance, as a translation ( calque ) of the German word Ministerpräsident . From 1867 to 1918, the first minister of the government was known as Ministerpräsident (minister-president), before that Staatskanzler (state chancellor). Today the head of the Austrian Federal Government is called the Bundeskanzler (federal chancellor), while the head of a state government

1633-637: The Bundesrat (it is the only event that demands such a joint session constitutionally). The religious references may optionally be omitted. I swear that I will dedicate my efforts to the well-being of the German people, promote their welfare, protect them from harm, uphold and defend the Basic Law and the laws of the Federation, perform my duties conscientiously and do justice to all. (So help me God.) German constitutional law does not consider oaths of office as constitutive but only as affirmative . This means that

1704-617: The Communist Party , the German Party and the Centre Party each sent two delegates. Four of the 65 delegates were women: Elisabeth Selbert (SPD), Friederike Nadig (SPD), Helene Weber (CDU) and Helene Wessel (Centre). The SPD deputy Paul Löbe had served as President of the Reichstag parliament from 1925 until 1932, when he was succeeded by Hermann Göring . The primary purpose of

1775-486: The Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland ), is the head of state of Germany . The current officeholder is Frank-Walter Steinmeier who was elected on 12 February 2017 and re-elected on 13 February 2022. He is currently serving his second five-year-term, which began on 19 March 2022. Under the 1949 constitution (Basic Law) Germany has

1846-580: The Imperial Chancellor . The title of Hungary's head of government in Hungarian is miniszterelnök which literally translated means "minister-president". However, because "prime minister" or "premier" is the more usual title in a parliamentary system for a head of government in English-speaking nations, miniszterelnök is almost always translated as "prime minister." The Minister president

1917-524: The collaborationist government from 1942 to 1945 during the German occupation in World War II , held the title of Minister-President ( Norwegian : ministerpresident ). During the short lived Russian Republic , the role of a Minister-President was established. Alexander Kerensky was chosen to lead the provisional government. President of Germany The President of Germany , officially titled

1988-416: The head of government of one of the sixteen German states , elected by the Bundesrat in a predetermined order of annual alternation) as deputy of the president of Germany (Basic Law, Article 57). If the office of president falls vacant, they assume the powers of the president on an acting basis until a successor is elected. While doing so, they do not continue to exercise the role of chair of the Bundesrat. If

2059-582: The Basic Law). The president also holds the prerogative to grant pardons on behalf of the federation. The German presidents, who can be elected to two consecutive five-year terms, have wide discretion about how they exercise their official duties. Under Article 59 (1) of the Basic Law (German Constitution), the president represents the Federal Republic of Germany in matters of international law, concludes treaties with foreign states on its behalf and accredits diplomats. Furthermore, all federal laws must be signed by

2130-415: The Bundesrat, also acted as head of state for a few days: after the Basic Law had come into effect and he himself was elected as President of the Bundesrat, the first President of Germany was not yet elected and the office therefore vacant. None of these three presidents of the Bundesrat acting as President, has used any of the more important powers of the president, as for example vetoing a law or dissolving

2201-410: The Bundestag has always had more than 600 parliamentarians since then. It is not required that state electors are chosen from the members of the state legislature; often some prominent citizens are chosen. The German constitution, the Basic Law, requires that the convention be convened no later than 30 days before the scheduled expiry of the sitting president's term or 30 days after a premature expiry of

Parlamentarischer Rat - Misplaced Pages Continue

2272-643: The Bundestag or the Bundesrat impeaches the president, the Federal Constitutional Court is charged with determining if they are guilty of the offence. If the charge is sustained, the court has the authority to remove the president from office. The official residence of the president is Bellevue Palace in Berlin. The president's second official residence is the Hammerschmidt Villa in Bonn, the former capital city of West Germany . Although these are

2343-457: The Bundestag refuses to approve the draft, the cabinet can ask the federal president to declare a "legislative state of emergency" ( Gesetzgebungsnotstand ) with regard to that specific law proposal. After the declaration of the president, the Bundestag has four weeks to discuss the draft law. If it does not approve it the cabinet can ask the Federal Council for approval. After the consent of

2414-525: The Bundestag), accredit German diplomats, and receive the letters of accreditation of foreign diplomats. According to Article 60 (2) of the German Constitution, the president has the power to pardon. This means the president "has the authority to revoke or commute penal or disciplinary sentences in individual cases. The federal president cannot, however, issue an amnesty waiving or commuting sentences for

2485-414: The Bundestag, although they would have been entitled to do so under the same conditions as the president. While in office, the president enjoys immunity from prosecution and cannot be voted out of office or recalled. The only mechanism for removing the president is impeachment by the Bundestag or Bundesrat for willfully violating German law. In either of the two bodies a two-thirds majority is required. Once

2556-600: The Bundestag: The first scenario has never happened. The second has been used to call snap elections in 1972 , 1983 , and 2005 , in all three cases with the incumbent chancellor asking his own party to vote down the confidence motion and obtaining a dissolution. Though the use of this strategy is controversial and the latter two cases resulted in complaints to the Federal Constitutional Court , it has been upheld as lawful. All federal laws must be signed by

2627-602: The Council was to prepare a new constitution for Germany , thereby drawing lessons from the failure of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazism , in order to re-establish a federal state based upon a stable democracy , welfare and the Rechtsstaat maxim. The draft declared human dignity inviolable, and to respect and protect it the duty of all state authority. These basic principles were explicitly declared irreversible by

2698-483: The Federal Council is secured, the draft law becomes law. There are some constraints on the "legislative state of emergency". After a president has declared the state of emergency for the first time, the government has only six months to use the procedure for other law proposals. Given the terms provided by the constitution, it is unlikely that the government can enact more than one other draft law in this way. Also,

2769-551: The Office of the President" represents the will and views of the president in the meetings of the Federal Cabinet and reports back to the president. The president's most prominent powers and duties include: After an election or other vacancy in the chancellor's office, the president must propose an individual to the Bundestag to be elected chancellor. The Bundestag is required to vote on this proposed candidate. If this vote fails,

2840-594: The Senate ( Bürgermeister und Präsident des Senates ). On the federal level, the head of the federal government (with an effectively identical function as leader of the cabinet) is called the Chancellor or Federal Chancellor ( Kanzler or Bundeskanzler ). The positions of Minister-president in the German states (during the monarchy days) were mostly established in response to the 1848 German revolutions . The Minister-President of Prussia usually served simultaneously as

2911-399: The autumn of 2006, President Horst Köhler did so twice within three months. Also, in some cases, a president has signed a law while asking that the political parties refer the case to the Federal Constitutional Court in order to test the law's constitutionality. The Basic Law did not create an office of Vice President, but designated the President of the Bundesrat (by constitutional custom

Parlamentarischer Rat - Misplaced Pages Continue

2982-427: The candidate who achieves an absolute majority is elected. If, after two votes, no single candidate has received this level of support, in the third and final vote the candidate who wins a plurality of votes cast is elected. The result of the election is often determined by party politics. In most cases, the candidate of the majority party or coalition in the Bundestag is considered to be the likely winner. However, as

3053-495: The chancellor or the corresponding federal minister in charge of the respective field of politics. This rule ensures the coherence of government action, similar to the system of checks and balances in the United States. There is no need for a countersignature if the president proposes, appoints, or dismisses the chancellor; convenes or dissolves the Bundestag according to Article 63; declares a legislative state of emergency; calls on

3124-503: The council of ministers. It is an alternative term for prime minister , premier , chief minister , or first minister and very similar to the title of president of the council of ministers . In English-speaking countries, similar institutions may be called premiers or first ministers (typically at the subnational level) or prime ministers (typically at the national level). The plural is sometimes formed by adding an s to minister and sometimes by adding an s to president . The term

3195-404: The emergency has to be declared afresh for every proposal. This means that the six months are not a period in which the government together with the president and the Federal Council simply replaces the Bundestag as lawgiver. The Bundestag remains fully competent to pass laws during these six months. The state of emergency also ends if the office of the chancellor ends. During the same term and after

3266-429: The end, Wulff obtained a majority in the third ballot. If the opposition has turned in a strong showing in state elections, it can potentially have enough support to defeat the chancellor's party's candidate; this happened in the elections in 1979 and 2004. For this reason, presidential elections can indicate the result of an upcoming general election. According to a long-standing adage in German politics, "if you can create

3337-445: The executive (government) with the power to "enable decrees in a state of emergency" ( exekutives Notverordnungsrecht ), but for historical reasons the constitution avoided this expression. Though candidates are usually selected by a political party or parties, the president nonetheless is traditionally expected to refrain from being an active member of any party after assuming office. Every president to date, except Joachim Gauck (who

3408-449: The head of government of a Belgian region or linguistic community , but not the head of the Belgian federal government who is referred to as the prime minister ( Dutch : eerste minister , French : premier ministre , German : Premierminister ). According to the Belgian constitution , the federal prime minister is appointed by the king, and approved by the federal parliament with

3479-481: The honorary godparent of the seventh child in a family if the parents wish it. They also send letters of congratulations to centenarians and long-time married couples. Article 81 makes it possible to enact a law without the approval of the Bundestag: if the Bundestag rejects a motion of confidence, but a new chancellor is not elected nor is the Bundestag dissolved, the chancellor can declare a draft law to be "urgent". If

3550-414: The implementation of the Federal Constitutional Court as an separate judicial body, in accordance with the theories of Hans Kelsen . Its preamble stated the obligation to achieve German unity and the draft also provided for the accession of "other parts of Germany", as it was applied to the joining of the former Saar Protectorate in 1957 and German reunification in 1990. The Western Allies insisted on

3621-423: The incumbent president had serious doubts about the constitutionality of a bill laid before them, they have refused to sign it. It also has to be stated that the president may at their own discretion sign such a "vetoed" bill at any later time, if for example the Basic Law has been changed in the relevant aspect or if the bill in question has been amended according to his concerns, because their initial refusal to sign

SECTION 50

#1733055898324

3692-494: The king but simply take an oath in their respective parliament. See: A Minister President ( Ministerpräsident ) is the head of government in 13 of the 16 States of Germany . Exceptions are the city-states of Berlin , Hamburg and Bremen , where the head of government is called, respectively, the Governing Mayor ( Regierender Bürgermeister ), First Mayor ( Erster Bürgermeister ) and Mayor and President of

3763-549: The law and the constitution. It is a matter of political tradition – not legal restrictions – that the president generally does not comment routinely on issues in the news, particularly when there is some controversy among the political parties. This distance from day-to-day politics and daily governmental issues allows the president to be a source of clarification, to influence public debate, voice criticism, offer suggestions, and make proposals. In order to exercise this power, they traditionally act above party politics. The president

3834-423: The members of the Federal Convention vote by secret ballot and are free to vote against their party's candidate, some presidential elections were considered open or too close to call beforehand because of relatively balanced majority positions or because the governing coalition's parties could not agree on one candidate and endorsed different people, as they did in 1969, when Gustav Heinemann won by only six votes on

3905-755: The nearby Pedagogical Academy building. The delegates of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) already formed a united faction with their Christian Social (CSU) colleagues from Bavaria , as did the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) together with the Hessian Liberal-Democratic Party and the Democratic People's Party (DVP) from Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern . The 65 voting members included 27 Christian Democrats, 27 Social Democrats (SPD) led by Carlo Schmid , and five Liberals under Theodor Heuss . In addition,

3976-490: The president before they can come into effect. The president may refuse to sign the law, thus effectively vetoing it. In principle, the president has the full veto authority on any bill, but this, however, is not how past presidents handled their power. Usually, the president checks if the law was passed according to the order mandated by the Constitution and/or if the content of the law is constitutional. Only in cases in which

4047-400: The president before they can come into effect; presidents may veto a law if they believe it to violate the constitution. The president's actions and public appearances represent the state itself, its existence, legitimacy, and unity. The president enjoys a higher ranking at official functions than the chancellor. The president's role is integrative and includes the control function of upholding

4118-516: The president dies in office, resigns, or is otherwise removed from office, a successor is to be elected within thirty days. Horst Köhler, upon his resignation on 31 May 2010, became the first president to trigger this re-election process. Jens Böhrnsen , President of the Senate and Mayor of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and at the time President of the Bundesrat, became Acting President. Similarly, when Christian Wulff resigned in 2012, it

4189-440: The president does not have to take the oath at the moment of entering office in order to be able to exercise its constitutional powers. In practice, the oath is usually administered during the first days or weeks of a president's term on a date convenient for a joint session of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. Nevertheless, in theory a persistent refusal to take the oath is considered to be an impeachable offence by legal scholars. If

4260-482: The president is temporarily unable to perform their duties (this happens frequently, for example if the president is abroad on a state visit), he can at his own discretion delegate his powers or parts of them to the president of the Bundesrat. For example, in early November 2022, then President of the Bundesrat Peter Tschentscher deputised President Steinmeier when the latter was on a trip to Asia. If

4331-431: The ratification and the enactment of the first Election Law in preparation of the 1949 federal election , which among others the Basic Law had left it as a remaining task. Minister-president A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over

SECTION 60

#1733055898324

4402-428: The right of nomination falls to the Bundestag, which is then given 14 days to elect another person. In either case, the President is obliged to appoint the person if a majority of the entire elected Bundestag, not just those present, votes for them (the so-called Kanzlermehrheit , "Chancellor majority"). If the Bundestag cannot elect anyone with a majority in the 14-day period, it is required to hold one final ballot. If

4473-472: The six months, the chancellor cannot use the procedure of Article 81 again. A "legislative state of emergency" has never been declared. In case of serious disagreement between the chancellor and the Bundestag, the chancellor resigns or the Bundestag faces new elections. The provision of Article 81 is intended to assist the government for a short time, but not to use it in crisis for a longer period. According to constitutional commentator Bryde, Article 81 provides

4544-456: The so-called eternity clause . To distinguish it, for instance, from the newly established People's Republics behind the Iron Curtain , the draft laid stress on a parliamentary system and references related to notions separation of powers , all bound to the constitution. It included a charter of fundamental rights and the right of access to courts. The Chancellor as head of government

4615-578: The special status of Berlin , which is why the Bundestag MPs from West Berlin were not entitled to vote. The Council adopted the new constitution on 8 May 1949, with 53 votes for and 12 votes against, the Communist, German Party and Centre delegates voted against, as did six out of the eight CSU representatives. It also drafted the Election Law ("Wahlgesetz") for the first Bundestag election of 1949 (which

4686-418: The support of a majority. The President is then required to dismiss the chancellor and appoint the new candidate. The president also appoints and dismisses the remaining members of the federal government upon proposal of the chancellor. This theoretically means that the president can appoint only those candidates presented by the chancellor. It is unclear whether the president could refuse to dismiss or appoint

4757-422: The third ballot. In other cases, elections have turned out to be much closer than expected. For example, in 2010, Wulff was expected to win on the first ballot, as the parties supporting him (CDU, CSU and FDP) had a stable absolute majority in the Federal Convention. Nevertheless, he failed to win a majority in the first and second ballots, while his main opponent Joachim Gauck had an unexpectedly strong showing. In

4828-447: Was Horst Seehofer , Minister-President of Bavaria , as President of the Bundesrat, who became Acting President. When Heinrich Lübke, on the other hand, announced his resignation in 1968, it only came into effect the following year, a mere three months before the scheduled end of his term and after the expedited election of his successor. Back in 1949, Karl Arnold , at the time Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia and President of

4899-428: Was an independent ), has suspended their party membership for the duration of their term. Presidents have, however, spoken publicly about their personal views on political matters. The very fact that a president is expected to remain above politics usually means that when they do speak out on an issue, it is considered to be of great importance. In some cases, a presidential speech has dominated German political debate for

4970-465: Was authorized to draw up the guidelines of policies, while the powers of the President of Germany as head of state were limited. In consequence of the destructive motions in the former Reichstag, the draft implemented the constructive vote of no confidence , whereafter the Chancellor may only be removed from office by the Bundestag parliament if a prospective successor has the support of a majority. The concept of Streitbare Demokratie also included

5041-558: Was later on replaced by the "Bundeswahlgesetz"). The draft was approved by the three Western Supreme Commanders on May 12, as did the state assemblies—except for the Bavarian Landtag for an assumed insufficient realization of the federalism principle, knowing that the consent of two thirds of the state parliaments were enough for the enactment. The Basic Law was then formally signed and promulgated on May 23. The Parliamentary Council disassembled once it had finished its purpose, i.e. after

#323676