| President of the Bundestag | |
|---|---|
| Präsidentin des Deutschen Bundestages | |
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| Presidium of the Bundestag | |
| Style | Ms. President (when addressed in the Bundestag) |
| Type | Presiding officer |
| Seat | Reichstag building,Berlin |
| Nominator | Political parties |
| Appointer | Bundestag traditionally appointing nominee of the largest party |
| Term length | Contemporaneous to legislative period |
| Constituting instrument | German Basic Law |
| Precursor | President of the Reichstag |
| Formation | 7 September 1949 |
| First holder | Erich Köhler |
| Deputy | Vice Presidents of the Bundestag |
| Website | www.bundestag.de |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Germany |
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Head of state |
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Thepresident of the Bundestag (German:Präsidentin des Deutschen Bundestages orBundestagspräsidentin;Präsidentwhen the office is held by a man) presides over the sessions of theBundestag, the federal parliament ofGermany, with functions similar to that of aspeaker in other countries. In theGerman order of precedence, the office is ranked second after thepresident and before thechancellor.
The current office-holder isJulia Klöckner (CDU), who was elected during the first session of the 21st Bundestag on 25 March 2025.
The president of the Bundestag is elected during the constituent session of each election period after thefederal elections or in a later session, if the office has fallen vacant, by all members of the Bundestag. The president has to be a member of the Bundestag. Until the election of the president, the session is chaired by thefather of the House, the so-calledAlterspräsident. Since 2017, this has been the longest serving member of the Bundestag; in 1949-2017, it was the oldest member of the Bundestag by age.[1]
Usually, the president of the Bundestag is a member of the largest parliamentary group. Thisconstitutional convention had emerged already in times of theWeimar Republic, but this is not required by law. The term ends with the election period, and there is no provision for an early removal. The term of the president can only end prematurely if they resign the position, leaves the Bundestag or dies. They can be reelected in the next election period provided they become a member of the Bundestag again.
Traditionally, the president of the Bundestag is proposed by the largest group, and elected uncontested. The only exception so far has been in 1954 after the unexpected death ofHermann Ehlers (CDU). Nominated byHans Reif (FDP),Ernst Lemmer (CDU) stood against the "official"CDU/CSU candidate,Eugen Gerstenmaier, and lost after three ballots with a difference of 14 votes (204 for Gerstenmaier, 190 for Lemmer, 15 abstentions).
The president of the Bundestag has several deputies, the vice presidents of the Bundestag (Vizepräsident des Deutschen Bundestages orBundestagsvizepräsident), who are supplied by the other parliamentary groups. The number of vice presidents was not fixed in the Bundestag'sGeschäftsordnung (rules of order) since 1949, when two were elected, representing opposition and minor party FDP. As the reigning Union of CDU/CSU comprises two independent but complementary parties, CDU in all states but Bavaria, CSU only in Bavaria, the CSU got a deputy in 1953. Since 1961, the other large party, the SPD, also got a second deputy. When the Green party joined in 1983, the number was not increased, and their candidates were not elected. Same for the former communist party PDS after reunification in 1990.
In 1994, things changed when it was decided that each parliamentary group should be represented by at least one vice president.[1] Since then, also Greens and PDS/Left have a deputy.
However, when the newAfD entered the parliament in 2017, as leaders of the opposition, none of their six candidates for vice president has ever been elected, and neither of the over 30 candidates in the20th Bundestag since 2021. There is some controversy over thiscordon sanitaire imposed against thefar-right AfD, but theFederal Constitutional Court of Germany has ruled that even though the rules of order of the Bundestag give the AfD the right to a Vice-Presidential post, there is no obligation for any given member of the Bundestag to vote for any given candidate for Vice-President of the Bundestag and the office requires election by a majority vote of the Bundestag. Together, the president and the vice presidents make up thePresidium of the Bundestag.
In the former 20th Bundestag, the vice presidents were:[2]
The legal foundation for the office isArticle 40 of theBasic Law which states that the Bundestag elects a president and vice presidents and is to give itself rules of order. Due to a 1952Federal Constitutional Court decision, theGeschäftsordnung has to be enacted afresh in every election period, but usually the old rules are reenacted without change.[3] TheGeschäftsordnung specifies the duties of the president of the Bundestag and his vice presidents as well as their number.
The president's most important duty is to chair the sessions of the Bundestag. The president determines the order of speakers and opens and closes the debates, and ensures that debates take place in an orderly fashion.[4] In the case of grave disruption, they may exclude a member of parliament for up to 30 session days.[5] All draft legislation initiated by the Federal Government, the Bundestag or theBundesrat is addressed to the president, as well as all submissions and petitions from within or addressed to the Bundestag. The president of the Bundestag also chairs theCouncil of Elders, which manages the internal affairs of the Bundestag.[6] For the election of a newFederal president, the president of the Bundestag convenes and chairs theBundesversammlung.[7]
Additionally, the president receives the statements of account of the political parties, monitors party financing and regulates campaign cost reimbursement. The president also has police power over the premises of the parliament and oversees its police force, can veto anysearch and seizure there to protect the independence of the parliament,[8] and acts as the employer of the Bundestag's public servants.
| Portrait | Name (Born–Died) | Term of office[a] | Faction | Legislative sessions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | .jpg) | 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 | .jpg) | 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 | .jpg) | Philipp Jenninger (1932–2018) (aged 85) | 5 November 1984 | 11 November 1988 | 4 years, 6 days | CDU/CSU | 10th,11th |
| 10 | .jpg) | Rita Süssmuth (born 1937) | 25 November 1988 | 26 October 1998 | 9 years, 335 days | CDU/CSU | 11th,12th,13th |
| 11 | .jpg) | 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 | _(cropped).jpg) | 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 | 25 March 2025 | 3 years, 150 days | SPD | 20th |
| 15 | | Julia Klöckner (born 1972) | 25 March 2025 | Incumbent | 243 days | CDU/CSU | 21st |
Michael F. Feldkamp (ed.),Der Bundestagspräsident. Amt - Funktion - Person. 16. Wahlperiode, München 2007,ISBN 978-3-7892-8201-0
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