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AT A GLANCE
POLITICAL SYSTEM
In terms of protocol, the Federal President is
Germany’s most senior representative. The
President of the Bundestag is, in terms of protocol, the second most senior. The proxy for
the Federal President is the President of the
The people
elect
All German citizens aged 18 and
over are eligible to vote.
They elect MPs in a general,
direct, free, and equal election
by secret ballot.
Bundesrat – an office held on an annual basis
by the premier of the one of the federal states.
The office with the greatest political power is
that of the Federal Chancellor. The President
elect
of the Federal Constitutional Court is likewise
one of the country’s high representatives.
State parliaments
Joachim Gauck, b. 1940,
independent, Federal
President since March 2012
Dr. Angela Merkel, b. 1954,
CDU, Federal Chancellor
since November 2005
As a rule the legislature of
the state parliaments is five
years. The state constitutions
regulate their powers and how
they are organised.
send
delegates to
elect
State governments
Dr. Norbert Lammert,
b. 1948, CDU, Bundestag
President since 2005
Dr. Andreas Vosskuhle,
b. 1963, President of the
Federal Constitutional Court
The state governments are
elected in each case by the state
parliaments in a secret vote,
and can also be brought down
by them.
send
delegates to