Who rules Germany?
President of Germany
Germany has a parliamentary system of government in which the chancellor is the nation's leading political figure and "de facto" chief executive. The president has a mainly ceremonial role, but he can give direction to general political and societal debates and has some important "reserve powers" in case of political instability (such as those provided for by Article 81 of the Basic Law). The German presidents have wide discretion about how they exercise their official duties.
Politics of Berlin
Berlin is the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany. The President of Germany, whose functions are mainly ceremonial under the German constitution, has his official residence in Schloss Bellevue. Berlin is the seat of the German executive, housed in the Chancellery, the "Bundeskanzleramt".
Deutsche Flugsicherung
Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) is the company in charge of air traffic control for Germany. It is a company organized under private law and 100% owned by the Federal Republic of Germany. Since January 1993, DFS has been controlling air traffic in Germany. In Germany, military and civil air traffic controllers work side by side. Since 1994, DFS has been responsible for the handling of both civil and military air traffic in peacetime. Only military aerodromes are exempted from this integration.
Administrative law
Administrative law in Germany, called "Verwaltungsrecht" , generally rules the relationship between authorities and the citizens and therefore, it establishes citizens' rights and obligations against the
authorities. It is a part of the public law, which deals with the organization, the tasks and the acting of the public administration. It also contains rules, regulations, orders and decisions created by and related to administrative agencies, such as federal agencies, federal state authorities, urban administrations, but also admission offices and fiscal authorities etc. Administrative law in Germany follows three basic principles.Administrative law in Germany can be divided into general administrative law and special administrative law.
Cabinet of Germany
The Cabinet of Germany ( or ) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Chancellor and the cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's organization as well as the method of its election and appointment as well as the procedure for its dismissal are set down in articles 62 through 69 of the "" (the Basic Law).
List of Chancellors of Germany
The Chancellor of Germany is the political leader of Germany and the head of the Federal Government. The office holder is responsible for selecting all other members of the government and chairing cabinet meetings.
Constitution of the German Empire
The Chancellor of the Empire (Reichskanzler) was appointed by the Emperor, to whom he was solely responsible. He presided over the "Bundesrat" and supervised the conduct of its business. The Chancellor had the right to delegate the power to represent him to any member of the "Bundesrat." (Article 15)
Here Is Germany
Going even further back to identify the cause of this 150 years, the film informs us that while America, Britain, and France were forming their democratic traditions, Germany was a group of 300 medieval feudal states, not one of them with a constitution or parliament. The film traces the rise of Prussia from Frederick the Great through Otto von Bismarck, telling the audience that the Prussian state was organized as an instrument of aggressive conquest, dominated first by aristocratic landowners, militarists and state officials, later joined by those big industrialists with ties to the militarists and their Imperial Government (such as Krupp and Thyssen). The development of a military-industrial dominated state in the founding of the Prussian-dominated German Empire in 1870 climaxes in the catastrophe of World War I. When the nationalist militarists knew that they were beaten, according to the film, they allowed democratic parties to take the reins of power and immediately set about destabilising and discrediting the new republic. Once accomplished they found a stooge in Adolf Hitler, who would finally destroy the liberal Weimar Republic with the addition of a 5th pillar - party thugs.
Landesgericht (Germany)
In Germany, Landesgerichte or Gerichte der Länder are courts which are established and operated by one or several of the sixteen "Länder" of the Federal Republic of Germany. Their opposite are the Federal Courts. According to article 92 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, the judicial power is exercised by the Constitutional Court, by the Federal Courts enumerated in the Basic Law, and otherwise by the courts of the states.
Politics of Germany
Except in the periods 1969–1972 and 1976–1982, when the Social Democratic party of Chancellor Brandt and Schmidt came in second in the elections, the chancellor has always been the candidate of the largest party, usually supported by a coalition of two parties with a majority in the parliament. The chancellor appoints one of the federal ministers as their deputy, who has the unofficial title Vice Chancellor (). The office is currently held by Olaf Scholz (since March 2018).
Law enforcement in Germany
The German legal system is a civil law mostly based on a comprehensive compendium of statutes, as compared to the common law systems. The "Bundesverfassungsgericht" (Federal Constitutional Court, being located in the city of Karlsruhe) is the German supreme court responsible for constitutional matters, with power of judicial review. Germany's supreme court system, called "Oberste Gerichtshöfe des Bundes" ("Supreme Federal Courts of Justice"), is specialised: for civil and criminal cases, the highest court of appeal is the inquisitorial Federal Court of Justice ("Bundesgerichtshof" in Karlsruhe) and for other affairs the courts are the Federal Labour Court ("Bundesarbeitsgericht" in Erfurt), the Federal Social Court ("Bundessozialgericht" in Kassel), the Federal Finance Court ("Bundesfinanzhof" in Munich) and the Federal Administrative Court ("Bundesverwaltungsgericht" in Leipzig). The "Völkerstrafgesetzbuch" (International Penal Law Code) regulates the consequences of crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes, and gives German courts universal jurisdiction under specific circumstances.
Football in Germany
The German national football team represents Germany in international football competitions since 1908. It is controlled by the German Football Association DFB, the governing body of football in Germany.
Germany
Germany includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of , and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 83 million inhabitants, it is the second most populous state of Europe after Russia, the most populous state lying entirely in Europe, as well as the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is a very decentralized country. Its capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while Frankfurt serves as its financial capital and has the country's busiest airport. Germany's largest urban area is the Ruhr, with its main centres of Dortmund and Essen. The country's other major cities are Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Dresden, Bremen, Hannover, and Nuremberg.
Ich bin ein Berliner
Germany's capital, Berlin, was deep within the area controlled after World War II by the Soviet Union. Initially governed in four sectors controlled by the four Allied powers (United States, United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union), tensions of the Cold War escalated until the Soviet forces implemented the Berlin Blockade, which the Western allies relieved with the dramatic airlift. Afterward, the sectors controlled by the NATO Allies became an effective exclave of West Germany, completely surrounded by East Germany. From 1952, the border between East and West was closed everywhere but in Berlin. Hundreds of thousands of East Germans defected to the West via West Berlin, a labour drain that threatened East Germany with economic collapse.
Germany
Germany comprises sixteen federal states which are collectively referred to as "Bundesländer". Each state has its own state constitution, and is largely autonomous in regard to its internal organisation. Two of the states are city-states consisting of just one city: the national capital of Berlin, and Hamburg. The state of Bremen consists of two cities that are separated from each other by the state of Lower Saxony: Bremen and Bremerhaven.
German Football Association
The German Football Association ( ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of the men's and women's national teams. The DFB headquarters are in Frankfurt am Main. Sole members of the DFB are the German Football League (; DFL), organising the professional Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga, along with five regional and 21 state associations, organising the semi-professional and amateur levels. The 21 state associations of the DFB have a combined number of more than 25,000 clubs with more than 6.8 million members, making the DFB the single largest sports federation in the world.
Tannhäuser (board game)
Continuing the reign of the German Empire from the First World War, the Reich is ruled under what is now known as the "lich Kaiser" who rules an extreme and oppressive Monarch regime. The Reich has continued its rule through the channeling and use of other worldly dark powers through the occult. These occult practices are run by the Marguis General Herman Von Heïzinger who along with the Obscura Korps of the 13th Occult Division are attempting to locate the magical lost relics, particularly the Obscura Cardinal Cornerstones that can open dimensional portals to hell itself. Heïzinger himself can utilize psychic abilities while his personal bodyguard Karl Zerman is a demonic super soldier with phantasmal like weaponry and abilities. In addition to the Korp is Eva Kramer, a specialist assassin and investigator. The Reich utilizes its dark powers within his troops, with the Schocktruppen class who are also specialized with knowledge of other worldly powers and the Stosstruppen who are literally demon-human hybrids. While the historical basis for the Reich is the First World War, the art style and character design is closer to that of Nazi Germany.
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( "Kingdom of the Teutonics/Germans", "Teutonic Kingdom") developed out of Eastern Francia, the eastern division of the former Carolingian Empire, over the 9th to 11th centuries.
East Francia ("Ostfrankenreich") was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, and was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911, after which the kingship was elective. The initial electors were the rulers of the stem duchies, who generally chose one of their own. After 962, when Otto I was crowned emperor, the kingdom formed the bulk of the Holy Roman Empire, which also included Italy (after 951), Bohemia (after 1004) and Burgundy (after 1032).
Abdication of Wilhelm II
Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated as German Emperor and King of Prussia in November 1918. The abdication was announced on 9 November by Prince Maximilian of Baden and was formally enacted by Wilhelm's written statement on 28 November, made while in exile in Amerongen, the Netherlands. This ended the House of Hohenzollern's 400-year rule over Prussia. Wilhelm ruled Germany and Prussia from 15 June 1888 through 9 November 1918, when he went into exile. Following the abdication statement and German Revolution of 1918–19, the German nobility as a legally defined class was abolished. On promulgation of the Weimar Constitution on 11 August 1919, all Germans were declared equal before the law. Ruling princes of the constituent states of Germany also had to give up their monarchical titles and domains, of which there were 22. Of these princely heads of state, four held the title of king ("könig") (the kings of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemberg), six held the title of grand duke ("großherzog"), five held the title of duke (herzog), and seven held the title prince (i.e., sovereign prince, "Fürst").
Chancellor of Germany
The current, official title in German is "Bundeskanzler(in)", which means "federal chancellor", and is sometimes shortened to "Kanzler(in)". 
The 8th and current chancellor is Angela Merkel, who is serving her fourth term in office. 
She is the first female chancellor.
Judiciary of Germany
Germany's legal system is a civilian system whose highest source of law is the 1949 Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (which serves as the nation's constitution), which sets up the modern judiciary, but the law adjudicated in court comes from the German Codes; thus, German law is primarily codal in nature. The court system adjudicates (1) public law ('), that is, administrative law (civil-government litigation or litigation between two government bodies) and criminal law, and (2) private law ('). German law—especially private law—is mainly based on early Byzantine law, specifically Justinian's Code, and to a much lesser extent the Napoleonic Code.
Politics of Baden-Württemberg
The Politics of Baden-Württemberg takes place within a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, where the Federal Government of Germany exercises sovereign rights with certain powers reserved to the states of Germany including Baden-Württemberg. Since 1948 politics in the state has been dominated by the rightist Christian Democratic Union (CDU). However, in the 2011 election the CDU lost its majority in the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg and a green–red coalition government was established.
Law of Germany
The Law of Germany (), that being the modern German legal system (), is a system of civil law which is founded on the principles laid out by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, though many of the most important laws, for example most regulations of the civil code ("Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch", or BGB) were developed prior to the 1949 constitution. It is composed of public law ("öffentliches Recht"), which regulates the relations between a citizen/person and the state (including criminal law) or two bodies of the state and the private law ("Privatrecht") which regulates the relations between two people or companies. It has been subject to a wide array of influences from Roman law, such as the Corpus Juris Civilis, to Napoleonic law, such as the Napoleonic Code.
Politics of Germany
Federal legislative power is divided between the "Bundestag" and the "Bundesrat". The "Bundestag" is directly elected by the German people, while the "Bundesrat" represents the governments of the regional states ("Länder"). The federal legislature has powers of exclusive jurisdiction and concurrent jurisdiction with the states in areas specified in the constitution.
History of Germany
Germany was the dominant power on the continent. By 1900, its rapidly expanding industrial economy passed Britain's, allowing a naval race. Germany led the Central Powers in World War I (1914–1918) against France, Great Britain, Russia and (by 1917) the United States. Defeated and partly occupied, Germany was forced to pay war reparations by the Treaty of Versailles and was stripped of its colonies as well as areas given to re-established Poland and Alsace-Lorraine. The German Revolution of 1918–19 deposed the emperor and the various kings and princes, leading to the establishment of the Weimar Republic, an unstable parliamentary democracy.
Southern Victory
Kaiser Wilhelm II rules a strong Germany and his troops continue to occupy Belgium, the Ukraine, and the puppet Kingdom of Poland, but post-war relations with the U.S. sour to the point that many people on both sides of the Atlantic believe that Germany and the United States will someday be engaged in a full-fledged war. The Business Collapse puts an end to that, however, and the old alliance reassert itself once more. It is in connection to this that an unnamed German Army sergeant is mentioned, whose political views are compared to those of Featherston closely enough at length (one page) to strongly imply that this is actually Adolf Hitler.
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
The main body of the legislative branch is Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, which enacts federal legislation, including the budget. Each member of the Bundestag has the right to initiate legislation, as do the cabinet and the Bundesrat. The Bundestag also elects the Chancellor, the head of government, usually (but not necessarily) the leader of the majority party or the party with a plurality of seats in the Bundestag, and takes part in the election of the Federal President.
History of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
The foundation of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (, SPD) can be traced back to the 1860s, and for much of the 20th and 21st centuries it has represented the centre-left in German politics. The SPD has been the ruling party at several points, first under Friedrich Ebert in 1918. The party was outlawed in Nazi Germany but returned to government in 1969 with Willy Brandt. Meanwhile, the East German branch of the SPD was merged with the ruling KPD. In the modern Federal Republic of Germany, the SPD are the second largest party after the CDU and are currently (as of 2017) in government as a junior coalition partner to Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU. The SPD last held the chancellorship under Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005.
German Chancellery
The German Chancellery (, more faithfully translated as "Federal Chancellery") is an agency serving the executive office of the Chancellor of Germany, the head of the federal government, currently Angela Merkel. The Chancellery's primary function is to assist the Chancellor in coordinating the activities of the federal government. The Head of the Chancellery ("Chef des Bundeskanzleramtes") holds the rank of either a Secretary of State "(Staatssekretär)" or a Federal Minister "(Bundesminister)", currently held by Helge Braun. The headquarters of the German Chancellery is at the Federal Chancellery building in Berlin.
Politics of Germany
The multilateral system has, since 1949, been dominated by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The judiciary of Germany is independent of the executive and the legislature, while it is common for leading members of the executive to be member of the legislature, as well. The political system is laid out in the 1949 constitution, the "Grundgesetz" (Basic Law), which remained in effect with minor amendments after German reunification in 1990.
German Reich
When the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany between Germany and the wartime Allies was signed on 12 September 1990, there was no mention of the term "Deutsches Reich", however the Allies paraphrased the international legal personality of Germany as "Germany as a whole" in the English version of the text. Instead the states of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany, FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany, GDR) agreed to be bound by certain conditions which they had to ratify, one of which was the recognising the reunification of East Germany, West Germany and Berlin as constituting the full achievement of a united Germany. On meeting these conditions under Article 7.2 "The United Germany [has] accordingly full sovereignty over its internal and external affairs."
Germany
Criminal and private laws are codified on the national level in the "Strafgesetzbuch" and the "Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch" respectively. The German penal system seeks the rehabilitation of the criminal and the protection of the public. Except for petty crimes, which are tried before a single professional judge, and serious political crimes, all charges are tried before mixed tribunals on which lay judges ("") sit side by side with professional judges. Many of the fundamental matters of administrative law remain in the jurisdiction of the states.
President of Germany
Under Article 59 (1) of the Basic Law (German Constitution), the president represents the Federal Republic of Germany in matters of international law, concludes treaties with foreign states on its behalf and accredits diplomats. Furthermore, all federal laws must be signed by the president before they can come into effect, but usually they only veto a law if they believe it to violate the constitution.
History of Germany
In a heavily agrarian society, land ownership played a central role. Germany's nobles, especially those in the East – called Junkers – dominated not only the localities, but also the Prussian court, and especially the Prussian army. Increasingly after 1815, a centralized Prussian government based in Berlin took over the powers of the nobles, which in terms of control over the peasantry had been almost absolute. To help the nobility avoid indebtedness, Berlin set up a credit institution to provide capital loans in 1809, and extended the loan network to peasants in 1849. When the German Empire was established in 1871, the Junker nobility controlled the army and the Navy, the bureaucracy, and the royal court; they generally set governmental policies.
List of rulers named Henry
This refers to a much disputed line of kings that have in one way or another dominated Germany since the time of Charlemagne.
Cabinet of Germany
The Chancellor is Germany's chief executive leader. Therefore, the whole cabinet's tenure is linked to the Chancellor's tenure: The Chancellor's (and the cabinet's) term automatically ends, if a newly elected Bundestag sits for the first time, or if he or she is replaced by a "constructive vote of no confidence", resigns or dies. Nevertheless, apart from the case of a "constructive vote of no confidence", which by nature instantly invests a new Chancellor (and a new cabinet), the Chancellor and his or her ministers stay in office as an acting cabinet on the President's request, until the Bundestag has elected a new Chancellor. An acting cabinet and its members have (theoretically) the same powers as an ordinary cabinet, but the Chancellor may not ask the Bundestag for a motion of confidence or ask the President for the appointment of new ministers. If an acting minister eventually leaves the cabinet, another member of government has to take over his or her department.
States of Germany
The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, the federal constitution, stipulates that the structure of each Federated State's government must "conform to the principles of republican, democratic, and social government, based on the rule of law" (Article 28). Most of the states are governed by a cabinet led by a "Ministerpräsident" (minister-president), together with a unicameral legislative body known as the "Landtag" (State Diet). The states are parliamentary republics and the relationship between their legislative and executive branches mirrors that of the federal system: the legislatures are popularly elected for four or five years (depending on the state), and the minister-president is then chosen by a majority vote among the "Landtag"’s members. The minister-president appoints a cabinet to run the state's agencies and to carry out the executive duties of the state's government.
Politics of Bavaria
The Politics of Bavaria takes place within a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, where the Federal Government of Germany exercises sovereign rights with certain powers reserved to the states of Germany including Bavaria. The state has a multi-party system where the two main parties are the rightist Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) and the leftist Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
Coalition government
In Germany, for instance, coalition government is the norm, as it is rare for either the Christian Democratic Union of Germany together with their partners the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CDU/CSU), or the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), to win an unqualified majority in a national election. Thus, at the federal level, governments are formed with at least two parties. For example, Helmut Kohl's CDU governed for years in coalition with the Free Democratic Party (FDP); from 1998 to 2005 Gerhard Schröder's SPD was in power with the Greens; and from 2009 Angela Merkel, CDU/CSU was in power with the FDP.
German Reich
Following the "Anschluss" annexation of Austria in 1938, Nazi Germany informally named itself the Greater German Reich (). This name was made the official state name only during the last two years (1943–45) of Nazi rule under Adolf Hitler, although the change was never proclaimed. After World War II, the denotation "German "Reich"" quickly fell into disuse in Allied-occupied Germany, however, and the state's continued existence remained a matter of debate; the post-war Bonn Republic maintained the continued existence of the German "Reich" as an 'overall state", but dormant while East and West Germany continued to be divided. Nevertheless, when Germany was reunited in 1990 the term "German "Reich"" was not revived as a title for the Berlin Republic.
Bundesrat of Germany
The German Bundesrat (literally "Federal Council"; ) is a legislative body that represents the sixteen "Länder" (federated states) of Germany at the national level. The Bundesrat meets at the former Prussian House of Lords in Berlin. Its second seat is located in the former West German capital of Bonn.
Judiciary of Germany
The judicial system is established and governed by part IX of the "Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland" (the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany). Article 92 of the Basic Law establishes the courts, and that states that "the judicial power shall be vested in the judges; it shall be exercised by the Federal Constitutional Court, by the federal courts provided for in this Basic Law, and by the courts of the Länder."
Politics of Germany
The German Cabinet (Bundeskabinett or Bundesregierung) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the chancellor and the cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's organization are set down in articles 62–69 of the Basic Law. The current cabinet is Merkel IV (since 2018).
States of Germany
Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen states (, plural ; informally and very commonly , plural ). Since today's Germany was formed from an earlier collection of several states, it has a federal constitution, and the constituent states retain a measure of sovereignty.
With an emphasis on geographical conditions, Berlin and Hamburg are frequently called ' (city-states), as is the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, which in fact includes the cities of and . The remaining 13 states are called ' (literally: "area states").
Xavier Naidoo
Xavier Naidoo has blamed the Rothschild family for Germany's 20th century history and has spoken at a meeting of the Reichsbürgerbewegung, the right-wing movement that seeks to restore Germany's pre-1918 borders, denies the legal existence of the Federal Republic of Germany and claims Germany is a country occupied by enemy, foreign forces.
Law of Germany
Criminal law in the narrow sense of the word is a matter of Federal law in Germany. Main source of law here is the "Strafgesetzbuch" which originates in the Reichsstrafgesetzbuch. No one under 14 years old is held responsible for crimes at court, and for people under the age of 18 and in case of missing maturity under the age of 21 there are special courts and some adjustments to the criminal law as well. In court, a prosecutor ('‘Staatsanwalt’', a civil servant) enforces the prosecution, and the defendant can (in many cases has to) choose a lawyer to defend him. The office of the prosecutor "(Staatsanwaltschaft)", together with the police forces, handle the inquiries in the case at hand, yet they are no party of le. The Judgement is passed out by a judge or in higher courts a team of judges, of which in several cases two are ordinary citizens ("Schöffen"). German law does not provide for juries. Sentences stretch from fines to life imprisonment, which is usually open to appeal after 15 or more years because of constitutional reasons. The death penalty is explicitly forbidden by the constitution. Extremely dangerous persons can be turned over to psychiatric treatment or have to stay in prison as long as necessary (which can mean for the rest of their lives)"(Sicherungsverwahrung)" in addition to their punishment.
List of Presidents of Germany
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany created the office of President of the Federal Republic of Germany (). From German reunification in 1990, the President has been the head of state for all of Germany.
Chancellor of Germany
The 1949 German constitution, the Basic Law ("Grundgesetz"), invests the chancellor (German, "Bundeskanzler") with broad powers to initiate government policy. For that reason, some observers refer to the German political system as a "chancellor democracy". Whichever major party (CDU/CSU or SPD) does not hold the chancellorship usually calls its leading candidate for the federal election "chancellor-candidate" ("Kanzlerkandidat"). The federal government ("Bundesregierung") consists of the chancellor and his or her cabinet ministers.
Prisons in Germany
The prisons in Germany are run solely by the federal states, although governed by a federal law. The aim of prison confinement in Germany is twofold: emphasis is placed on enabling prisoners to lead a life of "social responsibility free of crime" upon release, but society is also to be protected from further acts of crime by the guilty.
Law of Germany
The democratic state of West Germany built on existing law. Most of the legal changes of the National socialism were reversed, especially those with ethical criminal content. A new feature was the treatment of the constitution. This constitution was intended to avoid the mistakes of the Weimar Constitution. With the reunification of the two states, West German law was set in force for the most part. A fairly recent development is the influence of European law which aims to harmonize laws in the various states of the European Union, so that many legal developments are taken out of the hand of the federal government and are decided in Brussels instead, where Germany has its own influence on the process along with the other members. German law is still strongly influenced by federalism, and the individual states "(Länder)" each have their own responsibilities and particular laws, which can be seen as inefficient, but allows for regional variation and promotes meaningful regional democratic responsibility.
German legal tradition has in turn influenced many other countries. Just to name a few, the legal systems of Japan, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), United States of America and the Republic of China (Taiwan) are to some extent based on German law.
Judiciary of Germany
The judiciary of Germany is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in Germany.
William I, German Emperor
William I, or in German Wilhelm I. (full name: "William Frederick Louis of Hohenzollern", , 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888), of the House of Hohenzollern, was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and the first German Emperor from 18 January 1871 to his death, the first head of state of a united Germany. Under the leadership of William and his Minister President Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the establishment of the German Empire. Despite his long support of Bismarck as Minister President, William held strong reservations about some of Bismarck's more reactionary policies, including his anti-Catholicism and tough handling of subordinates. In contrast to the domineering Bismarck, William was described as polite, gentlemanly and, while staunchly conservative, he was more open to certain classical liberal ideas than his grandson Wilhelm II.
Reichsrat (Germany)
The "Bundesrat" had been the central body of the German federal state founded in 1867 as the North German Confederation and in 1871 became the German Empire. As this federal state comprised the various German kingdoms, principalities and free cities under the leadership of the King of Prussia, the "Bundesrat" comprised the delegates of the various states. Prussia sent almost half the representatives, being the largest state by far and so could block almost any decision. Also, the meetings of the "Bundesrat" were headed by the German chancellor appointed by the Emperor, who usually was identical to the Prussian prime minister. The "Bundesrat" was a very powerful institution, as its consent was needed for any legislation. Also before the chancellor's secretaries gained prominence in the 1890s, the "Bundesrat" together with the chancellor effectively formed the federal government.
Chancellor of Germany
The 1949 constitution gave the chancellor much greater powers than during the Weimar Republic, while strongly diminishing the role of the president. Germany is today often referred to as a "chancellor democracy", reflecting the role of the chancellor as the country's chief executive.
States of Germany
Germany is a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic republic. The German political system operates under a framework laid out in the 1949 constitutional document known as the "Grundgesetz" (Basic Law). By calling the document the "Grundgesetz", rather than "Verfassung" (constitution), the authors expressed the intention that it would be replaced by a true constitution once Germany was reunited as one state.
German Reich
After the Unification of Germany, under the reign of the Prussian king Wilhelm I and his Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the historic German states ("e.g." Bavaria and Saxony) were united with Prussia under imperial rule, by the Hohenzollern dynasty. On 18 January 1871, Wilhelm I was proclaimed "German Emperor" at the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, the German Reich was officially declared "Deutsches Reich", or "German Empire", explicitly referring back to the extinct Holy Roman Empire. The title "German Emperor" was a compromise; Wilhelm I had wanted the title of "Emperor of Germany", but Bismarck refused this, so as to avoid implying a claim to extended monarchical authority over non-Prussian German kingdoms. On 14 April 1871, the Reichstag parliament passed the Constitution of the German Empire ("Verfassung des Deutschen Reiches"), which was published two days later.
List of airports in Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
German Emperor
Under the imperial constitution, the empire was a federation of states under the permanent presidency of the King of Prussia. Thus, the imperial crown was directly tied to the Prussian crown—something Wilhelm II discovered in the aftermath of World War I. He erroneously believed that he ruled the empire in personal union with Prussia. With the war's end, he conceded that he could not remain emperor, but initially thought he could at least retain his Prussian crown.
Federal agency (Germany)
Federal agencies in Germany are established to assist the country's executive branch on the federal level according to Article 86 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany ("Grundgesetz"). They are hierarchically organized on four levels:
According to Article 83 of the "Grundgesetz", federal laws are generally enforced by the executive branch of the German states, except for laws referring to those explicit items that are enumerated in the constitution itself. Therefore, the establishment of middle-level and low-level federal agencies is limited to the authority explicitly granted by constitutional law, such as foreign policy, public finance, waterways and shipping, border control, intelligence assessment, national security and criminal investigation as well as items concerning the Bundeswehr or aviation and railway issues.
Politics of Germany
The "Bundeskanzler" (federal chancellor) heads the "Bundesregierung" (federal government) and thus the executive branch of the federal government. They are elected by and responsible to the "Bundestag", Germany's parliament. The other members of the government are the Federal Ministers; they are chosen by the Chancellor. Germany, like the United Kingdom, can thus be classified as a parliamentary system. The office is currently held by Angela Merkel (since 2005).
Capital of Germany
The capital of Germany is the city state of Berlin. It is the seat of the President of Germany, whose official residence is Schloss Bellevue. The Bundesrat ("federal council") is the representation of the Federal States ("Bundesländer") of Germany and has its seat at the former Prussian Herrenhaus (House of Lords). Though most of the ministries are seated in Berlin, some of them, as well as some minor departments, are seated in Bonn, the former capital of West Germany.
Reichskommissariat
Reichskommissariat () is the German designation for a type of administrative entity headed by a government official known as a "Reichskommissar" (). Although many different such offices existed primarily throughout the Imperial German and Nazi periods in a number of different fields (ranging from public infrastructure and spatial planning to ethnic cleansing) it is most commonly used to refer to the quasi-colonial administrative territorial entity established by Nazi Germany in several occupied countries during World War II. While officially located outside the German Reich in a legal sense, these entities were directly controlled by their supreme civil authorities (the "Reichskommissars"), who ruled their assigned territories as German governors on behalf of and as direct representatives of Adolf Hitler.
List of rulers of Bavaria
The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic state in the Federal Republic of Germany.
States of Germany
Federalism is one of the entrenched constitutional principles of Germany. According to the German constitution (Basic Law, or '), some topics, such as foreign affairs and defence, are the exclusive responsibility of the federation (i.e., the federal level), while others fall under the shared authority of the states and the federation; the states retain residual legislative authority for all other areas, including "culture", which in Germany includes not only topics such as financial promotion of arts and sciences, but also most forms of education and job training. Though international relations including international treaties are primarily the responsibility of the federal level, the constituent states have certain limited powers in this area: in matters that affect them directly, the states defend their interests at the federal level through the ' ("Federal Council", the upper house of the German Federal Parliament) and in areas where they have legislative authority they have limited powers to conclude international treaties "with the consent of the federal government".
List of Chancellors of Germany
In 1949, two separate German states were established: the Federal Republic of Germany (known as West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (known as East Germany). The list below gives the Chancellors of West Germany; the government of East Germany was headed by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. In 1990, East Germany was dissolved as it merged with West Germany; Germany was reunified. It retained the name of the Federal Republic of Germany.
History of Germany
In 1949, the three western occupation zones (American, British, and French) were combined into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany). The government was formed under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and his conservative CDU/CSU coalition. The CDU/CSU was in power during most of the period since 1949. The capital was Bonn until it was moved to Berlin in 1990. In 1990 FRG absorbed East Germany and gained full sovereignty over Berlin. At all points West Germany was much larger and richer than East Germany, which became a dictatorship under the control of the Communist Party and was closely monitored by Moscow. Germany, especially Berlin, was a cockpit of the Cold War, with NATO and the Warsaw Pact assembling major military forces in west and east. However, there was never any combat.
Consumer protection
Germany, as a member state of the European Union, is bound by the consumer protection directives of the European Union; residents may be directly bound by EU regulations.
A minister of the federal cabinet is responsible for consumer rights and protection ("Verbraucherschutzminister"). In the current cabinet of Angela Merkel, this is Katarina Barley.
Parliamentary leader
In German politics, leaders of the major parties have often been heads of government of the various states rather than members of the national parliament. Hence, the position of parliamentary leader in the federal parliament (Germany also has 16 state parliaments) is often occupied by a different person. The parliamentary leader has the supreme responsibility for coordinating the work of the MPs representing his or her party. Even when the party leader is a member of the national parliament, the parliamentary leader can be a different person. For instance,
Friedrich Merz was parliamentary leader while Angela Merkel was party leader for some years while the CDU was in opposition. If the party leader is the Chancellor or a member of the government, another person always is the parliamentary leader.
Monarchy of Germany
By this ceremony, the North German Confederation was transformed into the German Empire. This empire was a federal monarchy; the emperor was head of state and president of the federated monarchs (the kings of Bavaria, Württemberg, Saxony, the grand dukes of Oldenburg, Baden, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hesse, as well as other principalities, duchies and of the free cities of Hamburg, Lübeck and Bremen).
Social Democratic Party of Germany
Led by Andrea Nahles since 2018, the party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Germany along with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The Social Democrats have governed at the federal level in Germany as part of a grand coalition with the CDU and the Christian Social Union (CSU) since December 2013 following the results of the 2013 and 2017 federal elections. The party participates in 14 state governments and 7 of them are governed by SPD Minister-Presidents.
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
The Chancellor is the head of government and the most influential figure in German day-to-day politics, as well as the head of the Federal Cabinet, consisting of ministers appointed by the Federal President on the Chancellor's suggestion. While every minister governs his or her department autonomously, the Chancellor may issue overriding policy guidelines. The Chancellor is elected for a full term of the Bundestag and can only be dismissed by parliament electing a successor in a "constructive vote of no confidence".
Die Deutschen
Die Deutschen (“The Germans”) is a German television documentary produced for ZDF that first aired from October to November 2008. Each episode recounts a selected epoch of German history, beginning (first season) with the reign of Otto the Great and ending with the collapse of the German Empire at the end of the First World War. In November 2010 the second season of "Die Deutschen" was published in German television (ZDF and ZDFneo), beginning with Charlemagne, the Frankish King, and ending with Gustav Stresemann, the Chancellor and Foreign Minister during the Weimar Republic.
Weimar Constitution
The Constitution of the German Reich (), usually known as the Weimar Constitution ("Weimarer Verfassung") was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era (1919–1933). The constitution declared Germany to be a democratic parliamentary republic with a legislature elected under proportional representation. Universal suffrage was established, with a minimum voting age of 20. The constitution technically remained in effect throughout the Nazi era from 1933 to 1945.
Federalism in Germany
Federalism in Germany is made of the states of Germany and the federal government. The central government, the states, and the German municipalities have different tasks and partially competing regions of responsibilities ruled by a complex system of checks and balances.
Jens Böhrnsen
As president of the Senate of Bremen, Böhrnsen was elected President of the German Bundesrat for the year 2009–2010, starting 1 November 2009. This office rotates between the heads of government of the states of Germany following a defined schedule. According to the German constitution, article 57, the head of the Bundresrat is the designated substitute for the President of Germany. When Horst Köhler resigned from the presidency on 31 May 2010, Böhrnsen assumed the functions of head of state of Germany until the election of a successor by a Federal Convention. The successor was Christian Wulff, who assumed office upon his election on 30 June 2010.
Germany
The president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier (19 March 2017–present), is the head of state and invested primarily with representative responsibilities and powers. He is elected by the "Bundesversammlung" (federal convention), an institution consisting of the members of the "Bundestag" and an equal number of state delegates. The second-highest official in the German order of precedence is the "Bundestagspräsident" (President of the "Bundestag"), who is elected by the "Bundestag" and responsible for overseeing the daily sessions of the body. The third-highest official and the head of government is the Chancellor, who is appointed by the "Bundespräsident" after being elected by the "Bundestag".
Kingdom of Germany
Like medieval England and medieval France, medieval Germany consolidated from a conglomerate of 
smaller tribes, nations or polities by the High Middle Ages. 
Unlike the Kingdom of England or the Kingdom of France of the Late Middle Ages to early modern period, however, the Kingdom of Germany never became a sovereign polity in its own right, due to the fact that it represented the core territory of the Holy Roman Empire, and was never held by a ruler distinct from the emperor or emperor-elect himself (or, after 1508, the emperor's heir-apparent).
Politics of Berlin
Berlin is a city-state and the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany. The President of Germany, whose functions are primarily ceremonial under the German constitution, has his official residence in Schloss Bellevue. Berlin is the seat of the German executive, housed in the Chancellery (the "Bundeskanzleramt"). Facing the Chancellery is the Bundestag, the German Parliament, housed in the renovated Reichstag building since the government's move to Berlin in 1998. The Bundesrat ("federal council", functioning as an upper house) represents the Federal States ("Bundesländer") of Germany and has its seat at the former Prussian House of Lords.
Monarchy of Germany
The Monarchy of Germany (the German Monarchy) was the system of government in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918.
2004 German presidential election
The President of Germany ("Bundespräsident") is the titular head of state of the Federal Republic of Germany. The president's tasks are mostly ceremonial, but for the signing of all new federal laws before they go into effect. In practice however, all presidents have had informal influence on politics and society but mostly in a non-partisan way.
History of Germany (1945–90)
The Western Allies turned over increasing authority to West German officials and moved to establish a nucleus for a future German government by creating a central Economic Council for their zones. The program later provided for a West German constituent assembly, an occupation statute governing relations between the Allies and the German authorities, and the political and economic merger of the French with the British and American zones. On 23 May 1949, the "Grundgesetz" (Basic Law), the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany, was promulgated. Following elections in August, the first federal government was formed on 20 September 1949, by Konrad Adenauer (CDU). Adenauer's government was a coalition of the CDU, the CSU and the Free Democrats. The next day, the occupation statute came into force, granting powers of self-government with certain exceptions.
History of Germany (1945–90)
The intended governing body of Germany was called the Allied Control Council, consisting of the commanders-in-chief in Germany of the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union; who exercised supreme authority in their respective zones, while supposedly acting in concert on questions affecting the whole country. In actuality however, the French consistently blocked any progress towards re-establishing all-German governing institutions; substantially in pursuit of French aspirations for a dismembered Germany, but also as a response to the exclusion of France from the Yalta and Potsdam conferences. Berlin, which lay in the Soviet (eastern) sector, was also divided into four sectors with the Western sectors later becoming West Berlin and the Soviet sector becoming East Berlin, capital of East Germany.
A key item in the occupiers' agenda was denazification. The swastika and other outward symbols of the Nazi regime were banned, and a Provisional Civil Ensign was established as a temporary German flag. It remained the official flag of the country (necessary for reasons of international law) until East Germany and West Germany (see below) were independently established in 1949.
Censorship in Germany
When the official government, the Federal Republic of Germany ("Bundesrepublik Deutschland") took over, these limits were relaxed. The new German constitution guaranteed freedom of press, speech, and opinion. Since Germany kept the West German constitution after East Germany joined its jurisdiction, the same protections and restrictions in West Germany apply to contemporary Germany. However, continued globalization and the advent of Internet marketing present a new host of complications to German censorship and information laws.
List of heads of state of Germany
From 1871 to 1918 the head of state was the Emperor, who was the same person as the King of Prussia according to the Constitution. Germany became a republic under the Constitution of 1919 and the monarch was replaced by a President with semi-presidential powers. In 1934 when President von Hindenburg died, Chancellor Adolf Hitler called for a referendum in 1934 which was to merge the offices of President and Chancellor, after the result he became Führer and Chancellor.
German Empire
With Bismarck's departure, Wilhelm II became the dominant ruler of Germany. Unlike his grandfather, Wilhelm I, who had been largely content to leave government affairs to the chancellor, Wilhelm II wanted to be fully informed and actively involved in running Germany, not an ornamental figurehead, although most Germans found his claims of divine right to rule amusing. Wilhelm allowed politician Walther Rathenau to tutor him in European economics and industrial and financial realities in Europe.
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
In Germany's parliamentary system of government the Federal Chancellor runs the government and the politics of the day. However, the German President has a role which is more than ceremonial. The Federal President, by his/her actions and public appearances, represents the state itself, its existence, its legitimacy, and unity. The President's office involves an integrative role and the control function of upholding the law and the constitution. It has also a "political reserve function" for times of crisis in the parliamentary system of government. The Federal President gives direction to general political and societal debates and has some important "reserve powers" in case of political instability (such as those provided for by Article 81 of the Basic Law). 
Under Article 59 (1) of the Basic Law (German Constitution), the Federal President represents the Federal Republic of Germany in matters of international law, concludes treaties with foreign states on its behalf and accredits diplomats. Furthermore, all federal laws must be signed by the President before they can come into effect; however, he/she can only veto a law that he believes to violate the constitution.
German Tennis Federation
The German Tennis Federation (German: Deutscher Tennis Bund, short form: DTB) is the governing body of tennis federations and clubs in Germany.
Minister president (Germany)
As the German constitution (Basic Law) defines the Federal Republic of Germany as a federation, each German state has its own constitution. The Basic Law gives the states a broad discretion to determine their respective state structure, only stating that each German state has to be a social and democratic republic under the rule of law (Article 28.1). In practice all German states have adopted some form of a mixed parliamentary republican system: Despite some differences between the individual state constitutions, the Ministers President have both typical powers of an executive leader (for example appointing and dismissing cabinet members or defining the political guidelines of the cabinet) and typical powers and functions of a head of state (for example the power to grant pardons on behalf of the state and to perform certain ceremonial duties). As such, their powers and functions resemble those of an executive president, but in contrast to a presidential system, they are not directly elected and depend on the confidence of the respective state parliament. Thus, the constitutional position of a minister president differs from that of the Chancellor of Germany at the federal level, who only holds the role of a chief executive leader, while the President of Germany performs the more ceremonial powers and functions of the federal head of state.
German Empire
The German Empire (, officially '), also known as Imperial Germany"', was the German nation state that existed from the unification of Germany in 1871 until the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918.
Germany
In peacetime, the Bundeswehr is commanded by the Minister of Defence. In state of defence, the Chancellor would become commander-in-chief of the "Bundeswehr".
Elections in Germany
German federal elections are for all members of the Bundestag, which in turn determines who is the Chancellor of Germany. Federal elections were held in 2009, 2013 and in 2017.
List of German monarchs in 1918
The term German Empire ("Deutsches Kaiserreich") commonly refers to Germany, from its foundation as a unified nation-state on 18 January 1871, until the abdication of its last Kaiser, Wilhelm II, on November 9, 1918. Germans, when referring to the Reich in this period under the Kaisers, 1871 to 1918, typically use the term "Kaiserreich".
Politics of Germany
The German head of state is the Federal President. As in Germany's parliamentary system of government, the Federal Chancellor runs the government and day-to-day politics, the role of the Federal President is mostly ceremonial. The Federal President, by their actions and public appearances, represents the state itself, its existence, its legitimacy, and unity. Their office involves an integrative role. Nearly all actions of the Federal President become valid only after a countersignature of a government member.
Kaiser
With the Unification of Germany (aside from Austria) in 1871, there was some debate about the exact title for the monarch of those German territories (such as free imperial cities, principalities, duchies, and kingdoms) that agreed to unify under the leadership of Prussia, thereby forming the new German Empire. The first Kaiser himself preferred either "Kaiser von Deutschland" ("Emperor of Germany") or "Kaiser der Deutschen" ("Emperor of the Germans"). In the end, his chancellor Bismarck's choice "Deutscher Kaiser" ("German Emperor") was adopted as it simply connoted that the new emperor, hearkening from Prussia, was a German, but did not imply that this new emperor had dominion over all German territories, especially since the "Austrian Kaiser" would have been offended as Austria, inhabited by Germans, was still considered part of the German lands. There were only three Kaisers of the (second) German Empire. All of them belonged to the Hohenzollern dynasty, which, as kings of Prussia, had been de facto leaders of lesser Germany (Germany excluding Austria).
German Empire
Legislation also required the consent of the "Bundesrat", the federal council of deputies from the 27 states. Executive power was vested in the emperor, or "Kaiser", who was assisted by a chancellor responsible only to him. The emperor was given extensive powers by the constitution. He alone appointed and dismissed the chancellor (so in practice the emperor ruled the empire through the chancellor), was supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and final arbiter of all foreign affairs, and could also disband the "Reichstag" to call for new elections. Officially, the chancellor was a one-man cabinet and was responsible for the conduct of all state affairs; in practice, the State Secretaries (bureaucratic top officials in charge of such fields as finance, war, foreign affairs, etc.) acted as unofficial portfolio ministers. The "Reichstag" had the power to pass, amend, or reject bills and to initiate legislation. However, as mentioned above, in practice the real power was vested in the emperor, who exercised it through his chancellor.
Chancellor of Germany (1949–present)
The Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (in German called ', meaning 'Federal Chancellor', or ' for short) is, under the German 1949 Constitution, the head of government of Germany. Historically, the office has evolved from the office of chancellor (, later "", meaning 'Chancellor of the Realm') that was originally established in the North German Confederation in 1867.
List of current pretenders
The German Empire was a federation of a score of smaller monarchies, all of which are now abolished under modern republican Germany although a handful never abdicated their titles. As a result, there are a large number of claimants to various German thrones. Since the dissolution of the empire, however, a number of former royal households have become extinct in the male line, and are therefore not represented in the list below. Mecklenburg–Schwerin became extinct in 2001, Saxe-Altenburg in 1991, and Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen in 1971.
Geography of Germany
Germany comprises sixteen states that are collectively referred to as "Länder". 
Each state has its own state constitution and is largely autonomous in regard to its internal organisation. Due to differences in size and population the subdivision of these states varies, especially between city states ("Stadtstaaten") and states with larger territories ("Flächenländer"). For regional administrative purposes five states, namely Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony, consist of a total of 22 Government Districts ("Regierungsbezirke"). As of 2009 Germany is divided into 403 districts ("Kreise") on municipal level, these consist of 301 rural districts and 102 urban districts.
Law enforcement in Germany
The German states are responsible for managing the bulk of Germany's police forces. Each state has its own police force known as the "Landespolizei" (State Police). Each state promulgates a law which lays down the organisation and duties of its police ("Landespolizeigesetz" or "Sicherheits- und Ordnungsgesetz").
Germany
In 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states (most notably excluding Switzerland and Austria) unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the revolution of 1918–19, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic. The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 led to the establishment of a dictatorship, the annexation of Austria, World War II, and the Holocaust. After the end of World War II in Europe and a period of Allied occupation, Austria was re-established as an independent country and two new German states were founded: West Germany, formed from the American, British, and French occupation zones, and East Germany, formed from the Soviet occupation zone. Following the Revolutions of 1989 that ended communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe, the country was reunified on 3 October 1990.
Monarchy of Germany
Despite the abolition of the monarchy in 1918, the House of Hohenzollern never relinquished their claims to the thrones of Prussia and the German Empire. These claims are linked by the Constitution of the German Empire: according to this, whoever was King of Prussia was also German Emperor. However, these claims are not recognised by the Federal Republic of Germany or anyone else, this included the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany and West or East Germany.