Politics

On this page, we will give you an overview of politics in Germany; parties, elections and politicians. Since the political system in Germany differs from the one in the UK, we might start with a quick introduction to the four main bodies of the German system: the Bundestag, the Bundesrat, the Chancellor and the President.

As you might know, Germany is divided into 16 federal states. These states each have individual governments and also individual politics, as for example in education or healthcare, and are represented in the Bundesrat. The Bundestag, on the other hand, is elected by the German people every four years.

The head of state in Germany is the president. He is responsible for signing all federal laws before they are passed. However, he primarily has representative and ceremonial functions and is elected every five years by the Bundesversammlung. Germany’s current president is Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who was appointed president in March 2017.

Germany’s chancellor is the head of the federal government and the cabinet. She/he is elected every four years by the Bundestag and defines the guidelines of all government policies. Germany’s current chancellor is Angela Merkel. She was first elected in 2005, reelected in 2009 and again in 2013. However, Angela Merkel recently decided to leave office as chairman of the CDU and will not seek reelection as chancellor in 2021.