This article is about the second federal legislative chamber in Germany, in which the state governments are represented. For the elected German parliament, see Bundestag.
German Federal Council
Deutscher Bundesrat
74th year of business
History
Founded
23 May 1949; 74 years ago (1949-05-23)
Leadership
President
Manuela Schwesig, SPD since 1 November 2023
First Vice President
Peter Tschentscher, SPD since 1 November 2023
Second Vice President
Anke Rehlinger, SPD since 1 November 2023
Structure
Seats
69 seats
Elections
Voting system
Appointment by State Governments
Meeting place
Former chamber of the Prussian House of Lords, Berlin
Website
bundesrat.de
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The German Bundesrat (German:[ˈbʊndəsˌʁaːt]ⓘ, lit.'Federal Council') is a legislative body[a] that represents the sixteen Länder (federated states) of Germany at the federal level (German: Bundesebene). The Bundesrat meets at the former Prussian House of Lords in Berlin. Its second seat is located in the former West German capital of Bonn.
The Bundesrat legislates alongside the Bundestag, which consists of representatives directly elected by the German people. Laws that affect state powers and all constitutional changes need the consent of both houses. For its somewhat similar function, the Bundesrat is sometimes (controversially) described as an upper house of parliament along the lines of the United States Senate, the Canadian Senate, and the British House of Lords.[a]
The name "Bundesrat" was used by similar bodies in the North German Confederation (1867) and the German Empire (1871). The predecessor of the Bundesrat in the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) was the Reichsrat.
The political makeup of the Bundesrat is affected by changes in power in the states of Germany, and thus by elections in each state. Each state delegation in the Bundesrat is essentially a representation of the state government and reflects the political makeup of the governing coalition in each state legislature. Thus, the Bundesrat is a continuous body and has no legislative periods. For organizational reasons, the Bundesrat structures its legislative calendar in years of business (Geschäftsjahre), beginning each year on 1 November. Each year of business is congruous with the one-year-term of the Presidium of the Bundesrat. The sessions have been counted continuously since the first session on 7 September 1949. The Bundesrat's 1000th session took place on 12 February 2021 and was opened with a speech by President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
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the sixteen Länder (federated states) of Germany at the federal level (German: Bundesebene). The Bundesrat meets at the former Prussian House of Lords...
In Germany, the President of the Bundesrat or President of the Federal Council (German: Bundesratspräsident) is the chairperson (speaker) of the Bundesrat...
President of the Bundesrat (by constitutional custom the head of government of one of the sixteen German states, elected by the Bundesrat in a predetermined...
representatives of the German states. Laws were enacted by the Bundesrat and the Reichstag, the Imperial Diet elected by male Germans above the age of 25...
in Germany. President – Frank-Walter Steinmeier President of the Bundestag – Bärbel Bas Chancellor – Olaf Scholz President of the GermanBundesrat – Manuela...
may refer to: Federal Council (Austria) Bundesrat of Germany Federal Council (Switzerland) Bundesrat (German Empire) Federal Council (disambiguation)...
German reunification (German: Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single full sovereign state, which took place...
The German cannabis control bill (German: Cannabisgesetz) is a bill passed by the German Bundestag in February 2024, and the Bundesrat in March, that legalised...
cabinet and served as such until 2017, as well as deputy member of the GermanBundesrat from 2014 to 2017. Since September 2017, Ernst has been serving as...
bicameral legislature. The building is now used as the seat of the GermanBundesrat. Modeled on the House of Lords of the United Kingdom, the Herrenhaus...
Johannes Rau (German: [joˈhanəs ˈʁaʊ] ; 16 January 1931 – 27 January 2006) was a German politician (SPD). He was the president of Germany from 1 July 1999...
containing Reichstag Bundestag, and GermanBundesrat, the two legislative bodies in the Federal Republic of GermanyBundesrat (disambiguation) Reichsrat (disambiguation)...
governments of the sixteen German states are represented. The president of the Bundesrat is ex officio also deputy to the President of Germany (Basic Law, Article...
German). "Spahn beruft Kommission zum Verbot von Homo-"Heilung"". Queer.de (in German). 10 April 2019. Kowalski, Markus (12 April 2019). "Bundesrat berät...
change occurred with German reunification in 1990, in which the territory of the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) became part of the Federal...
Languages. The Bundesrat is sometimes referred to as an upper chamber of the German legislature. This is technically incorrect, since the German Constitution...
was elected President of the Bundesrat. Her one-year term started on 1 November 2023. Born in Frankfurt (Oder), East Germany, Schwesig grew up in the nearby...
Germany since the collapse of the German Empire in 1918. The Weimar Constitution of August 1919 created the office of President of the Reich (German:...
the previous North German Confederation; they became known as Länder during the Weimar Republic) each had votes in the Bundesrat, which gave them representation...
German Empire (German: Deutsches Kaiserreich), also referred to as Imperial Germany, the Second Reich or simply Germany, was the period of the German...
Customs Union were the Bundesrat and Reichstag of the North German Confederation, augmented by representatives of the south German governments in the former...
Bundesrat, Tschentscher is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and on the Committee on European Affairs. He is also a member of the German-Polish...
Alliance '90/Greens, he was President of the Bundesrat and ex officio deputy to the President of Germany from 2012 to 2013. He is the first member of...
was the Bundesrat (Federal Council). It represented the governments of the North German states. Prussia had 17 of 43 votes in the Bundesrat. Decisions...
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