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Federal Government of Germany
The Federal Government (German: Bundesregierung, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁeˌɡiːʁʊŋ] ⓘ; abbr. BReg) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany and exercises executive power at the federal level. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. The fundamentals of the government's organisation, as well as the method of its election and appointment, along with the procedure for its dismissal, are set down in the sixth section (articles 62 to 69) of the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz).
The Chancellor and the other members of the government are allowed to be also members of the Bundestag (though they are not required to be).
An extended body is the Federal Cabinet (Bundeskabinett), which includes the Federal Government (consisting of the Federal Chancellor and Federal Ministers), the Head of the Federal Chancellery and its Parliamentary State Secretary, the Head of the Office of the Federal President, the Head of the Federal Press Office and the Personal Advisor to the Federal Chancellor. In addition, the word "cabinet" is commonly used to distinguish between previous and current Federal Governments. For example, the fourth federal government under Chancellor Angela Merkel was the Fourth Merkel cabinet (Kabinett Merkel IV).
The Chancellor is Germany's chief executive leader; accordingly, a government's tenure is linked to the Chancellor's tenure, which is in turn linked to parliamentary confidence: The Chancellor's term begins with his or her appointment and ends, if a newly elected Bundestag sits for the first time.
The Chancellor is elected by the federal parliament (Bundestag) on proposal of the President of Germany with a majority of all members of the Bundestag (Chancellor-majority). However, the Bundestag is free to disregard the President's proposal (which has, as of 2025,[update] never happened), in which case the parliament may within 14 days hold further ballots and try to elect another individual, which the parties in the Bundestag can now propose themselves, to the post with the same so called Chancellor-majority, whom the President is then obliged to appoint. If the Bundestag fails to do so, a last ballot will be held on the 15th day (again the parties in the Bundestag may field candidates): If an individual is elected with the Chancellor-majority, the President must appoint them as Chancellor. If not, the President is free to either appoint the individual, who received a plurality of votes on this last ballot, as Chancellor or to dissolve the Bundestag and call a snap election within 60 days.
Following their election in the Bundestag, the Chancellor-elect will visit Bellevue Palace, the residence of the President, to receive a certificate of appointment. This is the moment, the elected individual actually enters office. After this short appointment-ceremony, the Chancellor returns to the Bundestag, in order to take the oath of office. Having taken the oath, the Chancellor will once again visit Bellevue Palace, this time joined by the individuals he intends to propose as cabinet ministers. The President will officially appoint the new government members, again handing over certificates of appointment. After the ministers are appointed, they return to the Bundestag and take their oaths of office, completing the appointment-process.
The term of office of the Federal Government normally ends with the constitution of a newly elected Bundestag, as the Chancellor loses his parliamentary legitimacy at this moment. Traditionally, the members of the government receive their dismissal certificates from the President immediately after the constituent session of the new parliament. If a new Chancellor has not yet been elected in the constituent session, the President may, according to Article 69 (3) of the Basic Law, request the former Chancellor to remain in office as acting Chancellor until his successor is elected (the Chancellor is obliged to do so); the acting Chancellor may then, in turn, make a binding request to the former cabinet ministers to remain in office in an acting capacity, thus forming a caretaker government. A caretaker government in principle has all the rights of a regular government; the Chancellor merely loses the right to table a motion of confidence in the Bundestag and cannot propose new ministers for appointment. In practice, it is also customary that if a caretaker Chancellor does not intend to or cannot expect to be re-elected, they closely coordinate their governance with their probable successor as soon as such a person becomes apparent in the course of government formation.
The Chancellor may prematurely leave office through death or resignation, which also immediately ends the term of the entire cabinet. In these cases, the President, as in case of a regular term end, entrusts the former Chancellor with continuing to serve on an acting basis with an acting cabinet until a new Chancellor is elected. If the former Chancellor is no longer available for this purpose, the President can also appoint the (former) Vice Chancellor as acting Chancellor.
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Federal Government of Germany
The Federal Government (German: Bundesregierung, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁeˌɡiːʁʊŋ] ⓘ; abbr. BReg) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany and exercises executive power at the federal level. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. The fundamentals of the government's organisation, as well as the method of its election and appointment, along with the procedure for its dismissal, are set down in the sixth section (articles 62 to 69) of the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz).
The Chancellor and the other members of the government are allowed to be also members of the Bundestag (though they are not required to be).
An extended body is the Federal Cabinet (Bundeskabinett), which includes the Federal Government (consisting of the Federal Chancellor and Federal Ministers), the Head of the Federal Chancellery and its Parliamentary State Secretary, the Head of the Office of the Federal President, the Head of the Federal Press Office and the Personal Advisor to the Federal Chancellor. In addition, the word "cabinet" is commonly used to distinguish between previous and current Federal Governments. For example, the fourth federal government under Chancellor Angela Merkel was the Fourth Merkel cabinet (Kabinett Merkel IV).
The Chancellor is Germany's chief executive leader; accordingly, a government's tenure is linked to the Chancellor's tenure, which is in turn linked to parliamentary confidence: The Chancellor's term begins with his or her appointment and ends, if a newly elected Bundestag sits for the first time.
The Chancellor is elected by the federal parliament (Bundestag) on proposal of the President of Germany with a majority of all members of the Bundestag (Chancellor-majority). However, the Bundestag is free to disregard the President's proposal (which has, as of 2025,[update] never happened), in which case the parliament may within 14 days hold further ballots and try to elect another individual, which the parties in the Bundestag can now propose themselves, to the post with the same so called Chancellor-majority, whom the President is then obliged to appoint. If the Bundestag fails to do so, a last ballot will be held on the 15th day (again the parties in the Bundestag may field candidates): If an individual is elected with the Chancellor-majority, the President must appoint them as Chancellor. If not, the President is free to either appoint the individual, who received a plurality of votes on this last ballot, as Chancellor or to dissolve the Bundestag and call a snap election within 60 days.
Following their election in the Bundestag, the Chancellor-elect will visit Bellevue Palace, the residence of the President, to receive a certificate of appointment. This is the moment, the elected individual actually enters office. After this short appointment-ceremony, the Chancellor returns to the Bundestag, in order to take the oath of office. Having taken the oath, the Chancellor will once again visit Bellevue Palace, this time joined by the individuals he intends to propose as cabinet ministers. The President will officially appoint the new government members, again handing over certificates of appointment. After the ministers are appointed, they return to the Bundestag and take their oaths of office, completing the appointment-process.
The term of office of the Federal Government normally ends with the constitution of a newly elected Bundestag, as the Chancellor loses his parliamentary legitimacy at this moment. Traditionally, the members of the government receive their dismissal certificates from the President immediately after the constituent session of the new parliament. If a new Chancellor has not yet been elected in the constituent session, the President may, according to Article 69 (3) of the Basic Law, request the former Chancellor to remain in office as acting Chancellor until his successor is elected (the Chancellor is obliged to do so); the acting Chancellor may then, in turn, make a binding request to the former cabinet ministers to remain in office in an acting capacity, thus forming a caretaker government. A caretaker government in principle has all the rights of a regular government; the Chancellor merely loses the right to table a motion of confidence in the Bundestag and cannot propose new ministers for appointment. In practice, it is also customary that if a caretaker Chancellor does not intend to or cannot expect to be re-elected, they closely coordinate their governance with their probable successor as soon as such a person becomes apparent in the course of government formation.
The Chancellor may prematurely leave office through death or resignation, which also immediately ends the term of the entire cabinet. In these cases, the President, as in case of a regular term end, entrusts the former Chancellor with continuing to serve on an acting basis with an acting cabinet until a new Chancellor is elected. If the former Chancellor is no longer available for this purpose, the President can also appoint the (former) Vice Chancellor as acting Chancellor.
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