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Further Reading

Politics

Every four years the electorate votes to determine the political composition of the Bundestag, the German parliament, which is normally made up of 598 members. The Bundestag stands at the center of the country's political life and is the Federal Republic of Germany's supreme democratic organ of state. Its central duties include law-making. New legislation is debated and passed in the Bundestag. During the 16th legislative period the parliament enacted some 600 laws. In addition to this important legislative role, the Bundestag is also responsible for electing the Federal Chancellor and scrutinizing the Federal Government.

Konrad Adenauer (1949-1963), CDU, was elected as the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. He served in this position for 14 years. Before becoming Chancellor, Adenauer was the President of the Parliamentary Council, which drafted the Basic Law in 1948. Adenauer's name is inextricably linked to the democratic and economic reconstruction of West Germany in the wake of the Second World War. He is also remembered for anchoring the country firmly in the community of the free countries of the West. From 1955 the Federal Republic of Germany was a sovereign state again. In the context of European unification Adenauer was particularly committed to bringing about reconciliation with France. Together with Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion he laid the foundations for German-Jewish reconciliation. During his tenure Adenauer was also successful in integrating refugeesand those who had been displaced during the war.

Ludwig Erhard (1963-1966), CDU, masterminded the currency reform in 1948. The economics professor advocated a liberal economic order from an early stage. As the Minister of Economics in Adenauer's government Erhard is regarded as the father of Germany's economic miracle and the social market economy. Following Adenauer's resignation in 1963, Ludwig Erhard became Chancellor. In the area of foreign policy Erhard concentrated on promoting relations with the United States and Israel. After the 1965 elections the CDU/CSU formed a coalition with the FDP (Free Democratic Party). Economic and foreign policy problems led to the break-up of this coalition in 1966.

Kurt Georg Kiesinger (1966-1969),CDU,was Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg from 1958 to 1966. He was elected Chancellor of a grand coalition government of CDU/CSU and SPD in 1966. His Government's economic and financial policies were particularly successful. In the area of foreign policy it shifted its focus to improve relations with its European neighbors. Under Kiesinger the first steps towards a new Ostpolitikwere taken. The most important domestic issue, the adoption of the Emergency Acts, provoked vehement student protests by the so-called extra-parliamentary opposition.

Willy Brandt (1969-1974), SPD, was already Vice-Chancellor in the grand coalition. In October 1969 the SPD and the FDP formed a government and elected Brandt as the first Social Democratic Chancellor. Socio-political liberalization, "daring more democracy" and a new Ostpolitik characterized his time in office. The recognitionof the permanence of the Oder-Neisse line encountered considerable political resistance even 30 years after the end of the war. In 1971 Willy Brandt was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for his commitment to reconciliation between the West and the East. Later on, domestic and economic problems coincided with the uncovering of an East German spy among Brandt's closest advisors, and he resigned in 1974.

Helmut Schmidt (1974-1982), SPD, was elected by the German Bundestag as Willy Brandt's successor. He continued to lead the socio-liberal coalition. Previously he had served as Minister ofDefence and subsequently as Minister of Economics and Finance in Brandt's cabinet. During histerm of office Schmidt was mainly concerned with resolving economic crises, dealing with the terrorism of the Red Army Faction and defending the controversial decision to station new American missiles in Germany (NATO two-track decision). He governed in a coalition with the FDP, which left the government in 1982 and entered into a coalition with the CDU/CSU. Schmidt was dismissed following a constructive vote of no-confidence in the German Bundestag.

Helmut Kohl (1982-1998), CDU, was elected Chancellor in 1982 following a constructive vote of no-confidence by the German Bundestag. The coalition of CDU/CSU and FDP was confirmed in the Bundestag elections in 1983. As Chancellor, Kohl adhered to the policy of détente and intensified transatlantic relations. After the peaceful revolution in the GDR, the historic opportunity of German reunification presented itself in 1990. Kohl saw this through at home and ensured that it was supported by appropriate foreign policy measures. In his eyes, German unity and European unification were inextricably linked. The widening and deepening of the European Union and the introduction of the euro dominated his government program during the 1990s.

Gerhard Schröder (1998-2005), SPD, was elected Chancellor for the first time on 27 October 1998 with a majority from the SPD and Alliance 90/the Greens. Key political measures included the reform of nationality law and the phasing out of nuclear power. The central foreign policy issue was the NATO operation in Kosovo, the first wartime mission for German soldiers since the Second World War. After Schröder's reelection in 2002, his second term of office was marked by the rejection of military involvement in Iraq and the Agenda 2010 reform program. After losing regional elections, Gerhard Schröder submitted a motion for a vote of confidence in the Bundestag pursuant to Article 68 of the Basic Law. This was followed by the dissolution of the Bundestag by the Federal President and early Bundestag elections on 18 September 2005.

The 2005 federal elections were held after Chancellor Schroeder asked for a Bundestag "vote of confidence" on the SPD-Greens coalition. The July 1, 2005, confidence motion failed, and President Koehler called for elections to be held on September 18, 2005, a year earlier than planned. In the German election in September 2005, six party groups were voted into the Bundestag, which sit in the historic Reichstag Building. A total of 77.7 percent of the electorate participated in the 2005 poll. The largest parliamentary group in the 16th German Bundestag was the CDU/CSU with 222 seats, followed by the SPD with 221 seats. The FDP has 61 seats, the Left 53 and Alliance 90/The Greens 51. In addition, there were three members who do not belong to any parliamentary group. After several weeks of negotiations, the CDU/CSU and SPD agreed to form a "grand coalition" under the leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Angela Merkel and the new cabinet were sworn in on November 22, 2005.

On 27 September 2009, over 62 million German voters were called upon to cast their votes and elect the members of the 17th German Bundestag. The parliamentarians then in turn elect the Federal Chancellor. The outcome of the election decided who would lead the government and move into the Federal Chancellery in Berlin. People were discussing whether there will be a repeat of the present CDU/CSU and SPD grand coalition that has governed for the last four years under the leadership of Germany's first female Federal Chancellor, Angela Merkel (CDU). According to the opinion polls, the votes might suffice for a Conservative-Liberal coalition made up of the CDU/CSU and FDP. However, other multiparty coalitions are also conceivable under which SPD leading candidate, Vice-Chancellor and Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier would become Federal Chancellor. The responsible Federal Electoral Committee had approved 29 parties for the Bundestag election.