President of the German Bundestag
The President of the German Bundestag (German: Präsident des Deutschen Bundestages or Bundestagspräsident) is the person that is in charge of the meetings of the German Bundestag, the parliament of Germany, whos duties is similar to a speaker. In the German order of precedence, the office is ranked second after the President and before the Chancellor.
Elections and customs
[change | change source]The President of the Bundestag is elected by all members in the Bundestag, during a special time of the election period. The President has to be a member of the Bundestag. Until the election is over, the Father of the House is in charge of the Bundestag.
Usually, the President is part of the largest political party. The President can be reelected, but again he must be a member of the Bundestag again. The President also always has a Vice President[1] (German: Vizepräsident des Deutschen Bundestages or Bundestagsvizepräsident).
Duties
[change | change source]The Presidents most important duty is to take charge of the meetings of the Bundestag. He decides the order of speakers and opens and closes the debates, and makes sure the meetings take place properly. If a big disruption happens, he has the power to not allow a certain member from meetings for up to 30 days.
List of presidents
[change | change source]| Portrait | Name (Born–Died) |
Term of office | Political party/parliamentary group | Legislative periods | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Days | |||||
| 1 | Erich Köhler (1892–1958) (aged 66) |
7 September 1949 | 18 October 1950 | 1 year, 41 days | CDU/CSU | 1st | |
| 2 | Hermann Ehlers (1904–1954) (aged 50) |
19 October 1950 | 29 October 1954 | 4 years, 10 days | CDU/CSU | 1st, 2nd | |
| 3 | Eugen Gerstenmaier (1906–1986) (aged 79) |
16 November 1954 | 31 January 1969 | 14 years, 76 days | CDU/CSU | 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th | |
| 4 | Kai-Uwe von Hassel (1913–1997) (aged 84) |
5 February 1969 | 13 December 1972 | 3 years, 312 days | CDU/CSU | 6th | |
| 5 | Annemarie Renger (1919–2008) (aged 88) |
13 December 1972 | 14 December 1976 | 4 years, 1 day | SPD | 7th | |
| 6 | Karl Carstens (1914–1992) (aged 77) |
14 December 1976 | 31 May 1979 | 2 years, 168 days | CDU/CSU | 8th | |
| 7 | Richard Stücklen (1916–2002) (aged 85) |
31 May 1979 | 29 March 1983 | 3 years, 302 days | CDU/CSU | 8th, 9th | |
| 8 | Rainer Barzel (1924–2006) (aged 82) |
29 March 1983 | 25 October 1984 | 1 year, 210 days | CDU/CSU | 10th | |
| 9 | Philipp Jenninger (1932–2018) (aged 85) |
5 November 1984 | 11 November 1988 | 4 years, 6 days | CDU/CSU | 10th, 11th | |
| 10 | Rita Süssmuth (born 1937) |
25 November 1988 | 26 October 1998 | 9 years, 335 days | CDU/CSU | 11th, 12th, 13th | |
| 11 | Wolfgang Thierse (born 1943) |
26 October 1998 | 18 October 2005 | 6 years, 357 days | SPD | 14th, 15th | |
| 12 | Norbert Lammert (born 1948) |
18 October 2005 | 24 October 2017 | 12 years, 6 days | CDU/CSU | 16th, 17th, 18th | |
| 13 | Wolfgang Schäuble (1942–2023) (aged 81) |
24 October 2017 | 26 October 2021 | 4 years, 2 days | CDU/CSU | 19th | |
| 14 | Bärbel Bas (born 1968) |
26 October 2021 | Incumbent | 2 years, 364 days | SPD | 20th | |
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Presidents and Vice Presidents". Retrieved 20 March 2012.[dead link]