The president of the Bundestag ( or ; when the office is held by a man) presides over the sessions of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

, the federal parliament of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, with functions similar to that of a speaker in other countries. In the German order of precedence, the office is ranked second after the president and before the

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

. The current office-holder is Julia Klöckner ( CDU), who was elected during the first session of the 21st Bundestag on 25 March 2025.

Election and customs

The president of the Bundestag is elected during the constituent session of each election period after the federal 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 the father of the House, the so-called ''Alterspräsident''. 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.Deutscher Bundestag
The Bundestag's constituent sitting
Usually, the president of the Bundestag is a member of the largest parliamentary group. This constitutional convention had emerged already in times of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, 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 of Hermann Ehlers (CDU). Nominated by Hans 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).

Presidium of the Bundestag

The president of the Bundestag has several deputies, the vice presidents of the Bundestag ( or ), who are supplied by the other parliamentary groups. The number of vice presidents was not fixed in the Bundestag's ''Geschäftsordnung'' (

rules of order Parliamentary procedures are the accepted rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings of an assembly or organization. Their object is to allow orderly deliberation upon questions of interest to the organization and thus to arrive at the sense ...

) 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. Since then, also Greens and PDS/Left have a deputy. However, when the new AfD 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 the 20th Bundestag since 2021. There is some controversy over this cordon sanitaire imposed against the far-right AfD, but the

Federal Constitutional Court of Germany The Federal Constitutional Court ( ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme court, supreme constitutional court for the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, Basic Law ...

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 the

Presidium of the Bundestag The Presidium of the Bundestag is responsible for the routine administration of the Bundestag, including its clerical and research activities. The presidium consists of the President of the Bundestag and varying number of Vice Presidents, curren ...

. In the former 20th Bundestag, the vice presidents were: * Aydan Özoğuz (SPD) * Yvonne Magwas (CDU/CSU) * Katrin Göring-Eckardt ( Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) * Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP) * Petra Pau ( Die Linke)

Legal background

The legal foundation for the office i
Article 40
of the Basic Law which states that the Bundestag elects a president and vice presidents and is to give itself rules of order. Due to a 1952 Federal Constitutional Court decision, the ''Geschäftsordnung'' has to be enacted afresh in every election period, but usually the old rules are reenacted without change. Deutscher Bundestag
Erläuterungen zur Geschäftsordnung
/ref> The ''Geschäftsordnung'' specifies the duties of the president of the Bundestag and his vice presidents as well as their number.

Duties

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.Deutscher Bundestag

In the case of grave disruption, they may exclude a member of parliament for up to 30 session days.Deutscher Bundestag

All draft legislation initiated by the Federal Government, the Bundestag or the Bundesrat 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 the Council of Elders, which manages the internal affairs of the Bundestag.Deutscher Bundestag
Council of Elders
For the election of a new Federal president, the president of the Bundestag convenes and chairs the Bundesversammlung.Deutscher Bundestag
The Federal Convention
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 any

search and seizure Search and seizure is a procedure used in many Civil law (legal system), civil law and common law legal systems by which police or other authorities and their agents, who, suspecting that a crime has been committed, commence a search of a person ...

there to protect the independence of the parliament, Deutscher Bundestag
Gesetzliche Grundlage
für die Polizei beim Bundestag and acts as the employer of the Bundestag's public servants.

List of presidents

Political parties

Books

Michael F. Feldkamp (ed.), ''Der Bundestagspräsident. Amt - Funktion - Person.'' 16. Wahlperiode, München 2007,

References

{{Authority control Organisation of the Bundestag