87. Who is the head of state of the Federal Republic of Germany?

Answer options

1. the Federal Chancellor (male) / the Federal Chancellor (female)
2. the Federal President (male) / the Federal President (female)
3. the President of the Bundesrat (male) / the President of the Bundesrat (female)
4. the President of the Bundestag (male) / the President of the Bundestag (female)

Explanation

Under the Basic Law (Arts. 54–61), the Federal President is the head of state; he or she is elected by the Federal Convention for a five-year term and may be reelected once. The office is largely representative and integrative, yet it exercises key formal state acts: executing (signing) federal statutes (Art. 82), appointing the Federal Chancellor (Art. 63), appointing and dismissing federal ministers on the Chancellor’s proposal (Art. 64), and appointing federal judges, civil servants, and soldiers (Art. 60). In narrowly defined constitutional circumstances, the President may dissolve the Bundestag (Arts. 63(4), 68). In deliberate contrast to the Weimar Constitution, the presidency is institutionally weak to prevent a concentration of executive power; political leadership rests with the Federal Chancellor as head of government.