The Bundestag is directly elected by the German people, whilst the Bundesrat represents the regional states ( Länder ).

The German Bundesrat ( literally " Federal Council "; ) is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder ( federal states ) of Germany at the federal level.

The national bicameral Parliament comprises the directly elected Bundestag and Bundesrat which represents the constitutive states but which has limited competence.

The parliament has one chamber — the Bundestag ( or Federal Diet ); the Bundesrat, or Federal Council, represents the regions and is not considered a chamber as its members are not elected.

Executive power is vested in the Federal Cabinet ( Bundesregierung ), and federal legislative power is vested in the Bundestag ( the parliament of Germany ) and the Bundesrat ( the representative body of the Länder, Germany's regional states ).

As a federal country, Germany is divided into a number of states ( Länder in German ), which used to have wide powers, but whose main remaining power today ( 2004 ) is their ability to veto federal laws through their Bundesrat representation.

The legislative branch is represented by the Bundestag, elected directly through a mixture of proportional representation and direct mandates, with the German Länder participating in legislation through the Bundesrat, reflecting Germany's federal structure.

The 16 federal States of Germany ( Länder ) are represented by the Bundesrat at the former Prussian House of Lords, whose members are representatives of the respective Länder's governments and not directly elected by the people.

In the German Bundesrat, the various Länder have between three and seven votes ; thus, while the less populated states have a lower weight, they still have a stronger voting power than would be the case in a system based purely on population, as the most populous Land currently has about 27 times the population of the least populous.

Further, the Bundesrat must approve all legislation affecting policy areas for which the Basic Law grants the Länder concurrent powers and for which the Länder must administer federal regulations.

In 1949, only 10 percent of all federal laws, namely, those directly affecting the Länder, required Bundesrat approval.

The presidency of the Bundesrat rotates among the heads of government ( most of them holding the title minister-president ) of each of the states ( in German, Länder ) on an annual basis.

The Bundesrat (" federal council ", performing the function of an upper house ) is the representation of the Federal States ( Bundesländer ) of Germany and has its seat at the former Prussian House of Lords.

The members of the Bundesrat, elected by the provincial diets ( Landtage ) of the nine federal States of Austria, are known as Mitglieder des Bundesrats.

The Bundesrat (" federal council ") is the representation of the Federal States ( Bundesländer ) of Germany and has its seat at the former Prussian Herrenhaus ( House of Lords ).

The Bundesrat participates in legislation, alongside of the Bundestag, the directly elected representation of the people of Germany, with laws affecting state competences and all constitutional changes requiring the consent of the body.

Bundesrat means federal council and may refer to:

The Bundestag is more powerful than the Bundesrat and only needs the latter's consent for proposed legislation related to revenue shared by the federal and state governments, and the imposition of responsibilities on the states.

In practice, this means that the agreement of the Bundesrat in the legislative process is very often required, as federal legislation often has to be executed by state or local agencies.

Legislation also required the consent of the Bundesrat, the federal council of deputies from the states.

In the German, Indian, and Pakistani systems, the upper houses ( the Bundesrat, the Rajya Sabha, and the Pakistani Senate respectively ) are even more closely linked with the federal system, being appointed or elected directly by the governments or legislatures of each German Bundesland, Indian State, or Pakistani Province.

Schaumburg-Lippe sent one member to the Bundesrat ( federal council ) and one deputy to the Reichstag.

The federal government must present all its legislative initiatives first to the Bundesrat ; only thereafter can a proposal be passed to the Bundestag.

The formal representation of the states in the federal government through the Bundesrat provides an obvious forum for the coordination of policy between the states and the federal government.

Another important organ was the Bundesrat, the ' federal council ' of the representatives of the allied governments.

On September 7, 1949 he was elected as the first president of the federal Bundesrat of Germany.

He was also the head of the " Vermittlungsausschuss " ( negotiations-committee ) which resolves conflicts concerning legislation between " Bundesrat " and " Bundestag ", the two houses of the German parliament at the federal level.

Articles 20 to 146 GG regulate the organization of Germany and legitimize and rule its bodies such as German Bundestag, Bundesrat of Germany or the government and the legislation based on the constitution.

Each member of the Bundestag has the right to initiate legislation, as do the cabinet and the Bundesrat.

The Bundesrat typically schedules plenary sessions once a month for the purpose of voting on legislation prepared in committee.

The Bundesrat has increased its legislative responsibilities over time by successfully arguing for a broad, rather than a narrow, interpretation of what constitutes the range of legislation affecting Land interests.

The Basic Law also provides the Bundesrat with an absolute veto of such legislation.

Against all other legislation the Bundesrat has a suspensive veto ( Einspruch ), which can be overridden by passing the law again, but this time with 50 % plus one vote of all Bundestag members, not just by majority of votes cast, which is frequent in daily parliamentary business.

The Bundesrat was a very powerful institution, as its consent was needed for any legislation.

In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house.

Together with the Bundesrat, the Bundestag is the legislative branch of the German political system.

As such he served as President of the Bundesrat in 1995 / 96.

Since in 2008, the CSU lost its absolute majority in Bavaria and formed a coalition with the FDP, the grand coalition had no majority in the Bundesrat and depended on FDP votes on important issues.

Federal legislative power is divided between the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.

In the event of disagreement between the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, a conciliation committee is formed to find a compromise.

With 17 out of 58 votes in the Bundesrat, Berlin needed only a few votes from the small states to exercise effective control.

Rau twice served as President of the Bundesrat in 1982 / 83 and 1994 / 95, and thus deputised for the Federal President.

Hans-Joachim von Merkatz ( DP ) succeeds Hellwege as Minister of Bundesrat Affairs.

Alois Niederalt ( CSU ) succeeds Merkatz as Minister of Bundesrat and State Affairs.

The SPD was however able to win a majority in the Bundesrat, which significantly limited Kohl's power.

In Brandt's first year as Mayor, he also served as the President of the Bundesrat in Bonn.

If the Bundestag rejects a motion of confidence, but neither a new chancellor is elected nor the Bundestag is dissolved, the president may, by request of the cabinet, declare a " legislative state of emergency ", which is quite different from a conventional state of emergency: If it is declared, during a limited period of time, bills proposed by the cabinet and designated as " urgent ", but rejected by the Bundestag, become law nonetheless, if the Bundesrat does pass them.

The most recent case of such an occurrence was the controversial passing of an immigration law in the Bundesrat in 2002, when the delegates of Brandenburg failed to come up with the unanimous vote that the Basic Law requires of each Land's delegation in the Bundesrat.

If the president is outside of the country, or the position is vacant, the President of the Bundesrat ( a position that is rotated among the state premiers on an annual basis ) temporarily assumes the powers of the president until a successor is elected without assuming the office of president as such.

While doing so, he or she does not continue to exercise the role of chair of the Bundesrat.

Jens Böhrnsen, Mayor of Bremen and at the time President of the Bundesrat, assumed the powers and duties of head of state.

While the president is abroad on a state visit the President of the Bundesrat does not assume all of his responsibilities but may deputise for the president, performing on the president's behalf merely those tasks that require his or her physical presence, such as the signing of documents.