Federal Government (Germany)

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Federal Government
- BReg -
Seal of the federal government as a permanent constitutional body
State level Federation
position Constitutional body
founding September 15, 1949
Headquarters Berlin , Germany
Chair Olaf Scholz ( Federal Chancellor ),
Robert Habeck ( Vice Chancellor )
Website bundesregierung.de
Logo of the Federal Government of the Federal Republic of Germany

The Federal Government ( BReg ), also known as the Federal Cabinet , is a constitutional body of the Federal Republic of Germany and exercises executive power at the federal level . According to Art. 62 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (GG), it consists of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers .

The Federal Chancellor is elected by the German Bundestag on the proposal of the Federal President , appointed by the Federal President and sworn in by the President of the German Bundestag . The Federal Chancellor then proposes the Federal Ministers to the Federal President. These are also appointed by the Federal President and sworn in by the President of the Bundestag.

The seat of the constitutional body of the federal government is the federal capital Berlin ( Section 3 (1) Berlin / Bonn Act ). The government has influence on the legislature because it can introduce bills to the German Bundestag and comment on bills from the Bundesrat .

Regulations

In terms of constitutional law, the role of the federal government is regulated in Part VI in Articles 62 to 69 of the Basic Law (GG), which makes it one of the constitutional organs. Article 76 of the Basic Law allows the Federal Government to introduce bills into the Bundestag. Article 64 (2) of the Basic Law stipulates that the members of the Federal Government take the oath of office when taking office (according to Article 56 of the Basic Law). Their working method is regulated in the rules of procedure of the federal government (GOBReg) and in the joint rules of procedure of the federal ministries (GGO) .

The Federal Cabinet must, among other things, decide on every draft law and ordinance of the Federal Government, the appointment of senior civil servants and soldiers, as well as other matters "of particular political" or "significant financial importance", with the federal ministries involved in consultation taking place beforehand. Only disputed points are then debated in the federal cabinet itself. The Federal Cabinet has a quorum if more than half of its members are present and makes its decisions by majority vote, which are then represented externally as a single body ( collegial principle ). If the Federal Government decides on a question of financial importance against or without the vote of the Federal Minister of Finance, the Federal Minister of Finance can expressly object to the decision. The same applies if the Federal Minister of Justice or the Federal Minister of the Interior objects to a draft law or ordinance or a measure of the Federal Government because it is incompatible with applicable law.

The Federal Chancellor has the authority to issue guidelines within the Federal Government ( Chancellor principle ): He determines the basic principles of politics and is responsible for them. The federal ministers manage their respective areas of responsibility independently ( departmental principle ) within the framework of the Chancellor's guidelines (which are binding on them ), and they have to report to him regularly. The Federal Chancellor also determines the scope of their areas of responsibility. If two Federal Ministers disagree on one point, either the Federal Chancellor or the Federal Government decides. In everyday politics, however, the Federal Chancellor does not usually make official use of his authority to issue guidelines, but rather coordinates his policy with the Federal Ministers. Since these usually also consist of different parties ( coalition ), this is also politically necessary, as otherwise a "coalition break" threatens. Nowadays, most of the main features of government policy are laid down in a coalition agreement at the beginning of the legislative period and, if necessary, discussed in the coalition committee , whereby these are only informal agreements.

According to the Federal Ministerial Law , a resigned member of the federal government is entitled to a pension “if he has been a member of the federal government for at least four years; a time in the office of parliamentary state secretary with a member of the federal government is taken into account ”, as well as a“ previous membership in a state government which did not result in any entitlement to benefits under state law ”.

Official state secretaries and parliamentary state secretaries or state ministers as well as federal commissioners support the federal government in their tasks and can take part in cabinet meetings. The same applies to the head of the Federal President's Office , the head of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government , the personal adviser to the Federal Chancellor and the secretary .

The Federal Cabinet usually meets every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. in the Federal Chancellery . The official publication medium is the Joint Ministerial Gazette (GMBl). The Federal Chancellor, who delegates this to the head of the Federal Chancellery, is in charge of the federal government's administrative business.

composition

Members of the federal government in the German Bundestag in 2014

On December 8, 2021, the federal cabinet decided on the order of government members; this results in the following order of the individual federal ministries:

Composition of the federal government since December 8, 2021
No. logo Department / Office Seat Official Political party
- Federal Chancellor (Germany) Chancellor Berlin Olaf Scholz SPD
1 Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Deputy to the Federal Chancellor , Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWi) Berlin Robert Habeck Alliance 90 / The Greens
4th Federal Ministry of Finance Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) Berlin Christian Lindner FDP
2 Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Homeland Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Homeland (BMI) Berlin Nancy Faeser SPD
3 Ministry of Foreign Affairs Foreign Office (AA) Berlin Annalena Baerbock Alliance 90 / The Greens
5 federal Ministry of Justice Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ) Berlin Marco Buschmann FDP
6th Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) Berlin Hubertus Heil SPD
7th Federal ministry of defense Federal Ministry of Defense (BMVg) Bonn Christine Lambrecht SPD
8th Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) Bonn Cem Ozdemir Alliance 90 / The Greens
9 Federal Ministry of Family Affairs Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) Berlin Anne Spiegel Alliance 90 / The Greens
10 Federal Ministry of Health (Germany) Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) Bonn Karl Lauterbach SPD
11th Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMVI) Berlin Volker Wissing FDP
12th Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMU) Bonn Steffi Lemke Alliance 90 / The Greens
13th Federal Ministry of Education and Research Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Bonn Bettina Stark-Watzinger FDP
14th Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Bonn Svenja Schulze SPD
15th Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMBau) Bonn Klara Geywitz SPD
- Federal Minister for Special Tasks Federal Minister for Special Tasks , Head of the Federal Chancellery Berlin Wolfgang Schmidt SPD

Order of representation in the federal government

The order of representation at meetings of the Federal Government is regulated by Section 22 of the Federal Government's rules of procedure.

In the absence of the Federal Chancellor, the Deputy Federal Chancellor takes over the chairmanship of the Federal Government. If this is also prevented, the Federal Minister who has been a member of the Federal Government for the longest uninterrupted period takes over the chairmanship. If there are several federal ministers who have become federal ministers at the same time, the oldest in age takes the chair. These regulations do not apply if the Federal Chancellor determines a separate order. With the exception of Christian Lindner, who takes over the chairmanship in the absence of the Federal Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, no further special regulations are known at the moment.

This currently results in the following order of representation:

Order of representation in the federal government
No. Name (party) Beginning of the term of office birth date Ministry
Olaf Scholz (SPD) as a member of the Federal Government
March 14, 2018
as Federal Chancellor
December 8, 2021
June 14, 1958 Chancellor
1 Robert Habeck (Alliance 90 / The Greens) December 8, 2021 2nd September 1969 Deputy of the Federal Chancellor ,
Economy and Climate Protection
2 Christian Lindner (FDP) December 8, 2021 7th January 1979 Finances
3 Svenja Schulze (SPD) As a member of the Federal Government
March 14, 2018
in the current department
December 8, 2021
29th September 1968 economical co-operation and Development
4th Hubertus Heil (SPD) March 14, 2018 3rd November 1972 Work and social
5 Christine Lambrecht (SPD) As a member of the Federal Government
June 27, 2019
in the current department

December 8, 2021
June 19, 1965 defense
6th Karl Lauterbach (SPD) December 8, 2021 February 21, 1963 Bless you
7th Cem Özdemir (Alliance 90 / The Greens) December 8, 2021 December 21, 1965 Food and Agriculture
8th Steffi Lemke (Alliance 90 / The Greens) December 8, 2021 19th January 1968 Environment, nature conservation, nuclear safety and consumer protection
9 Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) December 8, 2021 May 12, 1968 Education and Research
10 Volker Wissing (FDP) December 8, 2021 April 22, 1970 Digital and traffic
11th Nancy Faeser (SPD) December 8, 2021 July 13, 1970 Inside and home
12th Wolfgang Schmidt (SPD) December 8, 2021 23rd September 1970 Special tasks
13th Klara Geywitz (SPD) December 8, 2021 February 18, 1976 Housing, urban development and construction
14th Marco Buschmann (FDP) December 8, 2021 August 1, 1977 Judiciary
15th Annalena Baerbock (Alliance 90 / The Greens) December 8, 2021 December 15, 1980 Foreign
16 Anne Spiegel (Alliance 90 / The Greens) December 8, 2021 December 15, 1980 Family, seniors, women and youth

Share of fully qualified lawyers

The preferred recruitment of persons with the qualification for judicial office (fully qualified lawyers ) in the career of the higher non-technical administrative service (so-called legal privilege ) can also be found in the federal government. The proportion of fully qualified lawyers was always at least 25 percent, with the exception of the period 1998 to 2002 ( Schröder I cabinet ).

Duration of government formation in Germany since 1980

On average, the Chancellor has been elected after 54 days since 1980.

This timeline shows the length of time between the federal election and the swearing-in of the cabinet in days. If the swearing-in of the federal cabinet is not explicitly stated, it took place on the same day as the election of the chancellor; this has been the case in the 1998 elections.


Duration of government formation in Germany since 1949

On average, the Chancellor was elected after 43 days between 1949 and 1976. In the 1976 Bundestag elections , regardless of the duration of coalition negotiations, the constitution in the Basic Law governing the length of the electoral term that was valid up to this year meant that a government could only be formed more than two months after the election; since then, it has always been possible no later than 30 days after the election.

This timeline shows the length of time between the federal election and the swearing-in of the cabinet in days.


Open-door day

Aerial view of the government district , 2016

An open day has been held every summer by the federal government since 1999 . The Federal Chancellery, Federal Press Office and 14 ministries can be visited on this day. A look into the offices of speakers and ministers should give an impression of the everyday work of politicians.

Other facilities

Meseberg Castle has been the federal government's guest house since 2007 . Cabinet retreats traditionally take place here, and it often provides a framework for informal discussions. Before that, from 1990 the federally owned guest house on the Petersberg in Koenigswinter near Bonn was used to a similar extent by the constitutional organs of the Federal Republic of Germany, after the government move in 1999 to a reduced extent.

See also

literature

  • Volker Busse , Hans Hofmann: Federal Chancellery and Federal Government. Tasks - organization - working method. Fifth, revised and updated edition. Müller, Heidelberg 2010, ISBN 978-3-8114-7734-6 .
  • Heinz Hoffmann (editor): The Federal Ministries 1949–1999. Designations, official abbreviations, responsibilities, organizational structure, management personnel (=  materials from the Federal Archives . Issue 8). Wirtschaftsverlag NW GmbH, Bremerhaven 2003, ISBN 3-86509-075-3 (including CD-ROM with the book content).

Web links

Further content in the
sister projects of Wikipedia:

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Individual evidence

  1. ↑ List of Abbreviations. (PDF; 49 kB) Abbreviations for the constitutional bodies, the highest federal authorities and the highest federal courts. In: bund.de. Federal Office of Administration (BVA), accessed on May 23, 2017 .
  2. List of federal ministers. In: Inland protocol of the federal government. Federal Ministry of the Interior and Home, accessed on December 9, 2021 .
  3. Peter Schindler: Data Handbook on the History of the German Bundestag: 1949 to 1999 . tape 1 . Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Baden-Baden 1999, ISBN 3-7890-5928-5 , chapters 1st to 13th legislative period , p. 1154 ( bundestag.de ).
  4. Scientific Services of the German Bundestag (ed.): Michael F. Feldkamp : Data Handbook on the History of the German Bundestag 1990 to 2010 Baden-Baden 2011, ISBN 978-3-8329-6237-1 (online) chap. 6.9, p. 553 (12th to 17th legislative period).
  5. https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/themen/tag-der-offenen-tuer
  6. ^ The guest house of the federal government. Retrieved January 13, 2021 .