Government

Germany is a federal republic whose 16 states have their own constitutions, legislatures, and governments, which can pass laws on all matters except those that are the exclusive right of the federal government such as defense, foreign affairs, and finance. Education, local law enforcement, culture, and environmental protection are controlled by the states. The 16 states (Länder) are Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg–West Pomerania, North Rhine–Westphalia, Saxony–Anhalt, Brandenburg, Berlin Hesse, Thuringia, Saxony Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Baden-Württemberg, and Bavaria.

Germany has a parliamentary democracy with a bicameral legislature. The Bundesrat, the upper house, has 68 seats, with each state seating three to six representatives depending on the state's population; the term is not fixed. The Bundestag, the lower house, is the country's main legislative body. It has 603 deputies who are elected for four years using a mixed system of proportional representation and direct voting. Executive authority lies with the federal government, whose leader, the federal chancellor, is elected by an absolute majority of the Bundestag for a four-year term. Cabinet members are appointed by the president, upon the proposal of the chancellor. The federal president is a constitutional head of state with little influence on government. The president is elected for a five-year term by a federal convention, which meets only for this purpose and consists of the Bundestag and an equal number of members elected by the state parliaments.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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