1949 West German presidential election information
1949 West German presidential election
← 1932 (Weimar Republic)
12 September 1949
1954 →
Nominee
Theodor Heuss
Kurt Schumacher
Rudolf Amelunxen
Party
FDP
SPD
Centre
Electoral vote
416
312
30
Percentage
51.7%
38.8
3.7
President before election
Karl Dönitz (as President of the German Reich at the end of World War II)
NSDAP
Elected President
Theodor Heuss
FDP
An indirect presidential election (officially the 1st Federal Convention) was held on 12 September 1949, following the first Bundestag election of 14 August 1949 and coalition talks/ negotiations between CDU/CSU, FDP and German Party (DP).
The FDP leader Theodor Heuss, who was nominated by CDU/CSU and FDP by agreement of the partners of the ruling coalition, was elected by the Federal Convention (composed of all members of the Bundestag and an equal number of delegates selected by the state legislatures).
Under the 1949 Basic Law, the new office of the Federal President was given fewer powers than the preceding office of Reich President, due to the bad experiences of the past, especially the abuse of emergency powers. Heuss therefore assumed a largely ceremonial role. However, his duties included the nomination of the first Federal Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer. Federal President Heuss took the oath of office in front of Bundestag and Bundesrat the same day of his election, on 12 September 1949.
This was the first German presidential election in post-war Germany and the second indirect election since 1919 that elected Social Democrat Friedrich Ebert as Germany's first President.
12 September 1949
Ballot
Candidate
Voters
%
Party
Supporting party
1st
Theodor Heuss
377
46.9%
FDP
FDP, CDU, DP
Kurt Schumacher
311
38.7%
SPD
Rudolf Amelunxen
28
3.5%
Zentrum
Hans Schlange-Schöningen
6
0.7%
CDU
Karl Arnold
1
0.1%
CDU
Josef Müller
1
0.1%
CSU
Alfred Loritz
1
0.1%
WAV
Abstention
76
9.5%
Invalid
2
0.2%
2nd
Theodor Heuss
416
51.7%
FDP
FDP, CDU, DP
Kurt Schumacher
312
38.8%
SPD
Rudolf Amelunxen
30
3.7%
Zentrum
Hans Schlange-Schöningen
2
0.2%
CDU
Abstention
37
4.6%
Invalid
3
0.4%
v
t
e
German presidential elections
Weimar Republic (1919–1933)
1919
1925
1932
East Germany (1949–1960)
1949
1953
1957
Federal Republic of Germany (since 1949)
1949
1954
1959
1964
1969
1974
1979
1984
1989
1994
1999
2004
2009
2010
2012
2017
2022
2027
and 28 Related for: 1949 West German presidential election information
day of his election, on 12 September 1949. This was the first Germanpresidentialelection in post-war Germany and the second indirect election since 1919...
Parlamentarischer Rat assembly of the WestGerman states on 23 May 1949. Most WestGerman parties at the time of the 1949 Bundestag election were committed to democracy...
1932 election was the last presidentialelection in Germany until 1949 (by which point the country was divided into WestGermany and East Germany). It...
An indirect presidentialelection (officially the 2nd Federal Convention) was held in WestGermany on 17 July 1954. The government parties and the opposition...
state to the German Empire in 1871, the title was renamed to Reichskanzler (meaning "Imperial Chancellor"). With Germany's constitution of 1949, the title...
Federal elections were held in WestGermany on 3 October 1976 to elect the members of the 8th Bundestag. Although the CDU/CSU alliance became the largest...
Federal elections were held in WestGermany on 25 January 1987 to elect the members of the 11th Bundestag. This was the last federal election held in West Germany...
Federal elections were held in WestGermany on 17 September 1961 to elect the members of the fourth Bundestag. The CDU/CSU remained the largest faction...
Federal elections were held in WestGermany on 19 September 1965 to elect the members of the 5th Bundestag. The CDU/CSU remained the largest faction,...
this reason, presidentialelections can indicate the result of an upcoming general election. According to a long-standing adage in German politics, "if...
Federal elections were held in WestGermany on 5 October 1980 to elect the members of the 9th Bundestag. Although the CDU/CSU remained the largest faction...
Federal elections were held in WestGermany on 6 March 1983 to elect the members of the 10th Bundestag. The CDU/CSU alliance led by Helmut Kohl remained...
Federal elections were held in Germany on 31 July 1932, following the premature dissolution of the Reichstag. The Nazi Party made significant gains and...
election 1949 Austrian legislative election1949 Belgian general election1949Germanpresidentialelection1949WestGerman federal election Bürgerschaftswahl...
next free national elections were not held until 1949 in WestGermany and 1990 in East Germany. The next free all-Germanelections took place in December...
Federal elections were held in WestGermany on 6 September 1953 to elect the members of the second Bundestag. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) emerged...
Federal elections were held in WestGermany on 19 November 1972 to elect the members of the 7th Bundestag. In the first snap elections since the resumption...
absolute majority for a single German parliamentary group in a free election. This was the first WestGerman federal election to take place in the Saarland...
Freistaaten ("free states"). The Federal Republic of Germany ("WestGermany") was created in 1949 through the unification of the three western zones previously...
Republic of Germany (German: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. The WestGerman Constitution...
Federal elections were held in WestGermany on 28 September 1969 to elect the members of the 6th Bundestag. The CDU/CSU remained the largest faction and...
Democrats had their worst election result since 1949. Since German reunification on 3 October 1990, the unemployment rate in Germany had risen from 4.2% to...
following elections occurred in the year 1948. Previous: List of elections in 1947 Next:List of elections in 1949 1948 Mauritian general election 1948 South...
of years, with indirect presidentialelections instated with the restoration of democracy (in 1871 and 1949, in WestGermany, respectively). Currently...
Federal elections were held in Germany on 2 December 1990 to elect the members of the 12th Bundestag. This was the first all-Germanelection since the...
The German federal election system regulates the election of the members of the national parliament, called the Bundestag. According to the principles...
percent, the voter turnout was the lowest in a German federal election since 1949. Since the 2005 election, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) had governed...
Global Information
German presidential elections