President of the Bundestag
Encyclopedia
The President of the Bundestag ( or ) 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 after the President
and before the Chancellor. The current President of the Bundestag is Norbert Lammert
, since October 18, 2005.
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 Father of the House
, the so called Alterspräsident, the oldest member of the Bundestag.
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.
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).
, 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
.
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. The Geschäftsordnung regulates the duties of the President of the Bundestag and his vice presidents as well as their number.
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. For the election of a new Federal President
, the President of the Bundestag convenes and chairs the Bundesversammlung
.
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, and acts as the employer of the Bundestag's public servants.
Presidium of the Bundestag
The Presidium of the German Bundestag consists of the President of the Bundestag
and a variable number (currently 4) of Vice-Presidents of the Bundestag.
The president is elected by all members the Bundestag during its first meeting; he almost always comes from the largest Fraktion in the Bundestag (tradition has made this a sort of unwritten law). His administration ends with the end of a legislature; he can, however, be re-elected, as long as he is also re-elected to the Bundestag.
In 1994 it was decided that every Fraktion in the Bundestag should be represented by a Vice Ppresident.
The most important role of the president is the direction of the Bundestag sittings. To demonstrate the importance of the parliament in Germany's democracy, the parliament's president receives a higher salary than the Chancellor and the Federal President
.
(ed.), Der Bundestagspräsident. Amt - Funktion - Person. 16. Wahlperiode, München 2007, ISBN 978-3-7892-8201-0
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
, the parliament of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, with functions similar to that of a speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
in other countries. In the German order of precedence
German order of precedence
The German order of precedence is a symbolic hierarchy of officials in the Government of Germany used to direct protocol. It has no official status, but has been established in practical use....
, his office is ranked second after the President
President of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
and before the Chancellor. The current President of the Bundestag is Norbert Lammert
Norbert Lammert
Norbert Lammert is a German politician . He has been the President of the Bundestag, the German parliament, since 2005.-Early Life:...
, since October 18, 2005.
Election and customs
The President of the Bundestag is elected during the constituent session of each election period after the Federal electionsElections in Germany
The following information deals with elections in Germany, including elections to the Bundestag , the Landtags of the various states, and local elections.-Election system:...
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 Father of the House
Father of the House
Father of the House is a term that has by tradition been unofficially bestowed on certain members of some national legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the term refers to the oldest member, but in others it refers the longest-serving member.The...
, the so called Alterspräsident, the oldest member of the Bundestag.
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
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
, 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.
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
Hermann Ehlers
Hermann Ehlers was a German politician. He was President of the Bundestag from 19 October 1950 - 29 October 1954.He was a member of the Christian Democratic Union.- Early life :...
, Ernst Lemmer competed with the "official" CDU/CSU
Christian Social Union of Bavaria
The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany...
candidate Eugen Gerstenmaier
Eugen Gerstenmaier
Eugen Karl Albrecht Gerstenmaier was a German Evangelical theologian, resistance fighter in the Third Reich, and a CDU politician...
and lost after three ballots with a difference of 14 votes (204 for Gerstenmaier, 190 for Lemmer, 15 abstentions).
Vice Presidents
The President of the Bundestag has several deputies, the Vice Presidents of the Bundestag ( or ), 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. After the 2005 electionGerman federal election, 2005
German federal elections took place on 18 September 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany. They became necessary after a motion of confidence in Chancellor Gerhard Schröder failed on 1 July...
, the CDU/CSU and SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
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
Wolfgang Thierse
Wolfgang Thierse is a German politician .- Early years in the GDR :Thierse was born in Breslau . He is a Roman Catholic and grew up in East Germany. After his A-levels he first worked as a typesetter in Weimar...
for the SPD, Gerda Hasselfeldt
Gerda Hasselfeldt
Gerda Hasselfeldt is a Bavarian politician who served as Health Minister for one year before being succeeded by Horst Seehofer....
for the CDU/CSU, Hermann Otto Solms
Hermann Otto Solms
Hermann Otto Solms is a German politician of the Free Democratic Party ....
for the FDP, Katrin Göring-Eckardt
Katrin Göring-Eckardt
Katrin Göring-Eckardt , is a German politician and lutheran theologian. She has served as a member of the German Green Party in the Bundestag since 1998....
for Alliance '90/The Greens
Alliance '90/The Greens
Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...
and Petra Pau
Petra Pau
Petra Pau is a member of The Left in the German parliament, the Bundestag. First elected in 1998, from 2002 - 2005 she was one of just two party representatives, having been directly elected as the representative of Berlin Marzahn – Hellersdorf, a working-class area of east Berlin...
for the Left Party
Left Party (Germany)
The Party of Democratic Socialism was a democratic socialist political party active in Germany from 1989 to 2007. It was the legal successor to the Socialist Unity Party , which ruled the German Democratic Republic until 1990. From 1990 through to 2005, the PDS had been seen as the left-wing...
.
Legal background
The legal foundation for the office is Article 40 of the Basic LawBasic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is the constitution of Germany. It was formally approved on 8 May 1949, and, with the signature of the Allies of World War II on 12 May, came into effect on 23 May, as the constitution of those states of West Germany that were initially included...
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
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
The Federal Constitutional Court is a special court established by the Grundgesetz, the German basic law...
decision, the Geschäftsordnung has to be enacted afresh in every election period, but usually the old rules are reenacted without change. The Geschäftsordnung regulates the duties of the President of the Bundestag and his vice presidents as well as their number.
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. In the case of grave disruption, he may exclude a member of parliament for up to 30 session days. All draft legislation initiated by the Federal Government, the Bundestag or the BundesratBundesrat of Germany
The German Bundesrat is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder of Germany at the federal level...
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
Council of Elders of the Bundestag (Germany)
The Council of Elders of the German parliament Bundestag is a joint deliberative body which includes the following members:* President;* Vice presidents;* Bundestag members appointed by parliamentary groups in proportion to their size...
, which manages the internal affairs of the Bundestag. For the election of a new Federal President
President of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
, the President of the Bundestag convenes and chairs the Bundesversammlung
Bundesversammlung (Germany)
The Federal Convention is a special body in the institutional system of Germany, convened solely for the purpose of electing the German Federal President , either every five years or within 30 days of a president's resignation, death or removal from office.The Bundesversammlung includes the entire...
.
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
Search and seizure
Search and seizure is a legal procedure used in many civil law and common law legal systems whereby police or other authorities and their agents, who suspect that a crime has been committed, do a search of a person's property and confiscate any relevant evidence to the crime.Some countries have...
there to protect the independence of the parliament, and acts as the employer of the Bundestag's public servants.
Presidium of the BundestagPresidium of the BundestagPresidium of the BundestagThe presidium is responsible for the routine administration of the Bundestag, including its clerical and research activitities....
The Presidium of the German Bundestag consists of the President of the BundestagBundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
and a variable number (currently 4) of Vice-Presidents of the Bundestag.
The president is elected by all members the Bundestag during its first meeting; he almost always comes from the largest Fraktion in the Bundestag (tradition has made this a sort of unwritten law). His administration ends with the end of a legislature; he can, however, be re-elected, as long as he is also re-elected to the Bundestag.
In 1994 it was decided that every Fraktion in the Bundestag should be represented by a Vice Ppresident.
The most important role of the president is the direction of the Bundestag sittings. To demonstrate the importance of the parliament in Germany's democracy, the parliament's president receives a higher salary than the Chancellor and the Federal President
President of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
.
Books
Michael F. FeldkampMichael F. Feldkamp
Michael F. Feldkamp, is a German historian and journalist.-Career:Feldkamp was born in Kiel. After completing his high school studies at the Gymnasium Carolinum in Osnabrück, he studied history, Catholic theology, teaching, and philosophy at the Rhineland Friedrich-Wilhelms University in Bonn...
(ed.), Der Bundestagspräsident. Amt - Funktion - Person. 16. Wahlperiode, München 2007, ISBN 978-3-7892-8201-0