The people
Directly elect the Bundestag in general, direct, free, equal, and secret elections.
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🇩🇪 Formal national power · source bounded
Who selects whom in Germany?
The Bundestag, Länder, Federal President, Government, and Constitutional Court divide and check federal power.
Dots are institutions · arrows are sourced powers
Federal parliamentary constitutional system
Germany's Basic Law connects direct Bundestag elections, Länder participation through the Bundesrat, parliamentary election and replacement of the Chancellor, limited presidential appointment and dissolution powers, legislative election of constitutional judges, and constitutional review of federal law.
Explore the whole systemHow offices are filled
Appointments4 paths
The dots
Institutions represented on this map.
Each institution below has an attached source. Being listed does not imply an unshown formal relationship.
Länder governments
Appoint and recall the members through whom the Länder participate in federal legislation and administration.
German Bundestag
The directly elected federal parliament legislates, scrutinizes Government, and elects the Chancellor.
Federal President
Proposes a Chancellor candidate, appoints the elected Chancellor, and has limited dissolution powers.
Bundesrat
The organ through which the Länder participate in federal legislation and administration.
Federal Government
Consists of the Federal Chancellor and Federal Ministers; the Chancellor is elected by the Bundestag.
Federal Constitutional Court
An autonomous federal court that adjudicates constitutional disputes and the compatibility of federal and Land law.
Evidence and limits
Every line has a source. Every missing layer stays visible.
The map describes formal national relationships only. It does not measure democratic quality, legitimacy, actual compliance, or informal influence.
Official or constitutional source
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
Federal Ministry of Justice and Federal Office of Justice
- Bundestag election
- Länder and Bundesrat
- Chancellor election and replacement
- presidential appointment and dissolution
- constitutional-judge election
- constitutional review
Function and role
German Bundestag
- division of powers
- Bundestag election
- Government scrutiny
- Chancellor election
- Bundesrat participation