TestZen · Einbürgerungstest · Practice

359. What is the official title of the head of government of the city-state of Hamburg?

Official German wording

Wie nennt man den Regierungschef / die Regierungschefin des Stadtstaates Hamburg?

  1. Ministerpräsident / Ministerpräsidentin
  2. Erster Bürgermeister / Erste Bürgermeisterin
  3. Regierender Senator / Regierende Senatorin
  4. Oberbürgermeister / Oberbürgermeisterin

Answer options

  1. Minister-President (male) / Minister-President (female)
  2. First Mayor (male) / First Mayor (female)
  3. Governing Senator (male) / Governing Senator (female)
  4. Lord Mayor (male) / Lord Mayor (female)

Correct answer

First Mayor (male) / First Mayor (female)

Explanation

In the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the constitutional title of the head of government is “First Mayor”; since the 1997 reform, he or she is elected by the Bürgerschaft and chairs the Senate. Functionally, this office corresponds to a Minister-President in the territorial Länder: it leads the Land’s government (the Senate) and represents the Land. The other titles belong to different jurisdictions: Berlin has the Governing Mayor, Bremen the President of the Senate; “Lord Mayor” is a municipal office. This variation in titles accords with Article 28(1) of the Basic Law, which grants the Länder autonomy in institutional design within republican, democratic, social, and rule-of-law principles.

Official sources

The German questions come from the original BAMF catalog for the Einbürgerungstest and Leben in Deutschland. Translations and explanations are study aids; verify legal details in the official sources.