President of Germany

The Federal President (German: Bundespräsident, formerly Reichspräsident) is Germany's head of state. The president is elected by a specially convened body called the Federal Convention (Bundesversammlung) to serve a five year term. In accordance with Germany's parliamentary system of government the presidency is limited by a mixture of law and convention to being a ceremonial position. The office of Federal President was first established 1919, as Germany prior to that year was a monarchy. The official title was changed from Reichspräsident to Bundespräsident with the new constitution of 1949.

Related Topics:
Germany - Head of state - Federal Convention - Parliamentary system - Convention - 1919 - Monarchy - 1949

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The role of Federal President is similar in some ways to that of a constitutional monarch found in other European states, with the important difference being that the Federal President is elected, and selected based on his distinguished reputation. Other apt comparisons would be to a court philosopher, or even a national conscience. The Federal President is called on to develop, interpret and communicate a long term view of trends affecting Germany and its role in the world. Formulating such vision calls for reflection about Germany's past. Recent Federal Presidents have been instrumental in getting Germans to constructively confront their history during the Nazi period, for instance.

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The Federal President is, by tradition, a unifying presence and usually takes great care to steer clear of day to day politics. For that very reason, on rare occasions when the Federal President does take a stand on a contemporary issue, he can expect to generate great attention and, if carefully crafted, his expressed viewpoint can carry great moral weight.

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The first official residence of the Federal President is the Bellevue Palace in Berlin. The president's second official residence is the Hammerschmidt Villa, in Bonn. The current office-holder is Horst Köhler, elected in 2004.

Related Topics:
Bellevue Palace - Berlin - Hammerschmidt Villa - Bonn - Horst Köhler - 2004

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