Bundestag
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German Bundestag (Federal Diet) Deutscher Bundestag |
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| 18th Bundestag | |
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| Structure | |
| Seats | 630 |
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Political groups
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Government (503) Opposition Parties (127)
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| Elections | |
| Personalised Proportional Representation (MMP) | |
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Last election
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22 September 2013 |
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Next election
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24 September 2017 |
| Meeting place | |
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Reichstag building Mitte, Berlin, Germany |
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| Website | |
| www |
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Government (503)
Opposition Parties (127)
The Bundestag (German pronunciation: [ˈbʊndəstaːk], "Federal Diet") is a constitutional and legislative body at the federal level in Germany. For its similar function, it is often described as a lower house of parliament along the lines of the US House of Representatives and the Canadian or the British House of Commons. The German constitution, however, does not define the Bundestag and the Bundesrat as the lower and upper houses of a bicameral legislature.
The Bundestag was established by chapter III of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (Constitution) in 1949 as one of the legislative bodies of Germany and thus the historical successor to the earlier Reichstag.
Since 1999 it has met in the Reichstag Building in Berlin. Norbert Lammert is the current President of the Bundestag. Members (Mitglieder des Bundestages) of the Bundestag are usually elected every four years by all adult German citizens in a mixed system of constituency voting and list voting. There are currently 631 seats, however one, belonging to the CDU, remains vacant. However, the election day can be earlier if the Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler) loses a vote of no confidence and asks the Federal President (Bundespräsident) to dissolve the Bundestag in order to hold new general elections.
In the 19th century the name Bundestag was the unofficial designation for the assembly of the sovereigns and mayors of the Monarchies and Free Cities which formed the German Confederation (1815–1866). Its seat was in the Free City of Frankfurt on the Main.
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Wikipedia