# President of the German Bundesrat

In Germany, the president of the Bundesrat or president of the Federal Council (German: Bundesratspräsident) is the chairperson (speaker) of the Bundesrat (Federal Council). The president is elected by the Bundesrat for a term of one year (usually from November 1 to October 31 in the next year). Traditionally, the presidency of the Bundesrat rotates among the leaders of the sixteen state governments. This is however only an established practice; theoretically the Bundesrat is free to elect any member it chooses, and a president could also be re-elected (which has happened once, in 1957). As well as acting as a chairperson, the president of the Bundesrat is ex officio deputy of the federal president. The president of the German Federal Council is 4th in the German order of precedence. In addition, the main celebration of German Unity Day is traditionally held in the state that holds the presidency.
The president of the Bundesrat convenes and chairs plenary sessions of the body and is formally responsible for representing the Federal Republic in the Bundesrat. The president is aided by two vice presidents who play an advisory role and deputise in the president's absence. The three together constitute the presidium of the Bundesrat.
The current president of the Bundesrat is Anke Rehlinger, the minister-president of Saarland, whose one-year term started on 1 November 2024.

## Election

The Basic Law provides that "the Bundesrat elects its President for one year" (Art. 52.1). In order to be elected, a nominee needs a majority of votes in the Bundesrat (currently 35 of 69).
In practice the position rotates among the states equally, following a constitutional convention known as the “Königstein agreement” (Königsteiner Vereinbarung). The position rotates from one state to another in an order determined by population, the presidency descending from the most populous state to the least. The order is updated based on the newest census-data everytime a rotation has been completed.
The Königsstein agreement also states that, if the sitting President of the Bundesrat exits his office as Minister-President, by losing a state election, resignation, or death, the new Minister-President of that state is elected President of the Bundesrat subsequently, but only to complete their predecessors term. The last time this occurred was in April 1999, when Hans Eichel, President of the Bundesrat and Minister-President of Hesse, had lost the 1999 Hesse state election and his successor Roland Koch served the end of his term until October 1999. The current order of rotation of the presidency of the Bundesrat is as follows:
* North Rhine-Westphalia
* Bavaria
* Baden-Württemberg
* Lower Saxony
* Hesse
* Saxony
* Rhineland-Palatinate
* Berlin
* Schleswig-Holstein
* Brandenburg
* Saxony-Anhalt
* Thuringia
* Hamburg
* Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
* Saarland
* Bremen

## Deputy to the Federal President

Article 57 of the Basic Law provides that:
    If the Federal President is unable to perform his duties, or if his office falls prematurely vacant, the President of the Bundesrat shall exercise his powers.
If the office of the Federal President falls vacant, the President of the Bundesrat fills in as acting President. While doing so, they do not continue to exercise the role of chair of the Bundesrat. If the president resigns, dies, or is removed from office, a successor is elected within thirty days.
Three Presidents of the Bundesrat have served as acting Presidents:
* Karl Arnold (from 7 September 1949 to 12 September 1949 after he was elected as President of the Bundesrat and before Theodor Heuss was elected as the first President of Germany. With a tenure of only six days he is yet the shortest serving head of state in German history)
* Jens Böhrnsen (from 31 May 2010 to 30 June 2010 after the resignation of Horst Köhler and before the election of Christian Wulff)
* Horst Seehofer (from 17 February 2012 to 18 March 2012 after the resignation of Christian Wulff and before the election of Joachim Gauck)
If the Federal President is abroad on a state visit the President of the Bundesrat does not assume all of the Federal President's responsibilities but may "deputise" for him or her, performing on the Federal President's behalf merely those tasks that require his or her physical presence, such as the signing of documents.

## List of presidents
### Political Party

CDU  SPD  CSU  FDP  Green  Left
| No. | President of the Bundesrat | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Party | State |
| 1 | Arnold, KarlKarl Arnold (1901–1958) | 7 September 1949 | 8 September 1950 | 1 year, 1 day | CDU | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| 2 | Ehard, HansHans Ehard (1887–1980) | 8 September 1950 | 7 September 1951 | 364 days | CSU | Bavaria |
| 3 | Kopf, HinrichHinrich Wilhelm Kopf (1893–1961) | 7 September 1951 | 6 September 1952 | 365 days | SPD | Lower Saxony |
| 4 | Maier, ReinholdReinhold Maier (1889–1971) | 7 September 1952 | 6 September 1953 | 364 days | FDP | Baden-Württemberg |
| 5 | Zinn, GeorgGeorg August Zinn (1901–1976) | 7 September 1953 | 6 September 1954 | 364 days | SPD | Hesse |
| 6 | Altmeier, PeterPeter Altmeier (1899–1977) | 7 September 1954 | 6 September 1955 | 364 days | CDU | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| 7 | Hassel, KaiKai-Uwe von Hassel (1913–1997) | 7 September 1955 | 6 September 1956 | 365 days | CDU | Schleswig-Holstein |
| 8 | Sieveking, KurtKurt Sieveking (1897–1986) | 7 September 1956 | 31 October 1957 | 1 year, 54 days | CDU | Hamburg |
| 9 | Brandt, WillyWilly Brandt (1913–1992) | 1 November 1957 | 31 October 1958 | 364 days | SPD | West Berlin |
| 10 | Kaisen, WilhelmWilhelm Kaisen (1887–1979) | 1 November 1958 | 31 October 1959 | 364 days | SPD | Bremen |
| 11 | Röder, FranzFranz Josef Röder (1909–1979) | 1 November 1959 | 31 October 1960 | 365 days | CDU | Saarland |
| 12 | Meyers, FranzFranz Meyers (1908–2002) | 1 November 1960 | 31 October 1961 | 365 days | CDU | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| 13 (2) | Ehard, HansHans Ehard (1887–1980) | 1 November 1961 | 31 October 1962 | 364 days | CSU | Bavaria |
| 14 | Kiesinger, KurtKurt Georg Kiesinger (1904–1988) | 1 November 1962 | 31 October 1963 | 364 days | CDU | Baden-Württemberg |
| 15 | Diederichs, GeorgGeorg Diederichs (1900–1983) | 1 November 1963 | 31 October 1964 | 364 days | SPD | Lower Saxony |
| 16 (5) | Zinn, GeorgGeorg August Zinn (1901–1976) | 1 November 1964 | 31 October 1965 | 364 days | SPD | Hesse |
| 17 (6) | Altmeier, PeterPeter Altmeier (1899–1977) | 1 November 1965 | 31 October 1966 | 364 days | CDU | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| 18 | Lemke, HelmutHelmut Lemke (1907–1990) | 1 November 1966 | 31 October 1967 | 364 days | CDU | Schleswig-Holstein |
| 19 | Schütz, KlausKlaus Schütz (1926–2012) | 1 November 1967 | 31 October 1968 | 365 days | SPD | West Berlin |
| 20 | Weichmann, HerbertHerbert Weichmann (1896–1983) | 1 November 1968 | 31 October 1969 | 364 days | SPD | Hamburg |
| 21 (11) | Röder, FranzFranz Josef Röder (1909–1979) | 1 November 1969 | 31 October 1970 | 364 days | CDU | Saarland |
| 22 | Koschnick, HansHans Koschnick (1929–2016) | 1 November 1970 | 31 October 1971 | 364 days | SPD | Bremen |
| 23 | Kühn, HeinzHeinz Kühn (1912–1992) | 1 November 1971 | 31 October 1972 | 365 days | SPD | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| 24 | Goppel, AlfonsAlfons Goppel (1905–1991) | 1 November 1972 | 31 October 1973 | 364 days | CSU | Bavaria |
| 25 | Filbinger, HansHans Filbinger (1913–2007) | 1 November 1973 | 31 October 1974 | 364 days | CDU | Baden-Württemberg |
| 26 | Kubel, AlfredAlfred Kubel (1909–1999) | 1 November 1974 | 31 October 1975 | 364 days | SPD | Lower Saxony |
| 27 | Osswald, AlbertAlbert Osswald (1919–1996) | 1 November 1975 | 20 October 1976 (membership ended) | 354 days | SPD | Hesse |
| The office was vacant from 20 October to 3 December 1976. ||||||||
| 28 | Vogel, BernhardBernhard Vogel (1932–2025) | 3 December 1976 | 31 October 1977 | 321 days | CDU | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| 29 | Stoltenberg, GerhardGerhard Stoltenberg (1928–2001) | 1 November 1977 | 31 October 1978 | 364 days | CDU | Schleswig-Holstein |
| 30 | Stobbe, DietrichDietrich Stobbe (1938–2011) | 1 November 1978 | 31 October 1979 | 364 days | SPD | West Berlin |
| 31 | Klose, HansHans-Ulrich Klose (1937–2023) | 1 November 1979 | 31 October 1980 | 365 days | SPD | Hamburg |
| 32 | Zeyer, WernerWerner Zeyer (1929–2000) | 1 November 1980 | 31 October 1981 | 364 days | CDU | Saarland |
| 33 (22) | Koschnick, HansHans Koschnick (1929–2016) | 1 November 1981 | 31 October 1982 | 364 days | SPD | Bremen |
| 34 | Rau, JohannesJohannes Rau (1931–2006) | 1 November 1982 | 31 October 1983 | 364 days | SPD | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| 35 | Strauß, FranzFranz Josef Strauss (1915–1988) | 1 November 1983 | 31 October 1984 | 365 days | CSU | Bavaria |
| 36 | Späth, LotharLothar Späth (1937–2016) | 1 November 1984 | 31 October 1985 | 364 days | CDU | Baden-Württemberg |
| 37 | Albrecht, ErnstErnst Albrecht (1930–2014) | 1 November 1985 | 31 October 1986 | 364 days | CDU | Lower Saxony |
| 38 | Börner, HolgerHolger Börner (1931–2006) | 1 November 1986 | 24 April 1987 (membership ended) | 174 days | SPD | Hesse |
| The office was vacant from 24 April to 15 May 1987. ||||||||
| 39 | Wallmann, WalterWalter Wallmann (1932–2013) | 15 May 1987 | 31 October 1987 | 169 days | CDU | Hesse |
| 40 (28) | Vogel, BernhardBernhard Vogel (1932–2025) | 1 November 1987 | 31 October 1988 | 365 days | CDU | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| 41 | Engholm, BjörnBjörn Engholm (born 1939) | 1 November 1988 | 31 October 1989 | 364 days | SPD | Schleswig-Holstein |
| 42 | Momper, WalterWalter Momper (born 1945) | 1 November 1989 | 31 October 1990 | 364 days | SPD | West Berlin (until 2 October 1990) Berlin (3–31 October 1990) |
| 43 | Voscherau, HenningHenning Voscherau (1941–2016) | 1 November 1990 | 31 October 1991 | 364 days | SPD | Hamburg |
| 44 | Gomolka, AlfredAlfred Gomolka (1942–2020) | 1 November 1991 | 19 March 1992 (membership ended) | 139 days | CDU | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |
| The office was vacant from 19 March to 15 May 1992. ||||||||
| 45 | Seite, BerndtBerndt Seite (born 1940) | 15 May 1992 | 31 October 1992 | 169 days | CDU | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |
| 46 | Lafontaine, OskarOskar Lafontaine (born 1943) | 1 November 1992 | 31 October 1993 | 364 days | SPD | Saarland |
| 47 | Wedemeier, KlausKlaus Wedemeier (born 1944) | 1 November 1993 | 31 October 1994 | 364 days | SPD | Bremen |
| 48 (34) | Rau, JohannesJohannes Rau (1931–2006) | 1 November 1994 | 31 October 1995 | 364 days | SPD | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| 49 | Stoiber, EdmundEdmund Stoiber (born 1941) | 1 November 1995 | 31 October 1996 | 365 days | CSU | Bavaria |
| 50 | Teufel, ErwinErwin Teufel (born 1939) | 1 November 1996 | 31 October 1997 | 364 days | CDU | Baden-Württemberg |
| 51 | Schröder, GerhardGerhard Schröder (born 1944) | 1 November 1997 | 27 October 1998 (resigned to become Chancellor) | 360 days | SPD | Lower Saxony |
| The office was vacant from 27 October to 1 November 1998. ||||||||
| 52 | Eichel, HansHans Eichel (born 1941) | 1 November 1998 | 7 April 1999 (membership ended) | 157 days | SPD | Hesse |
| The office was vacant from 7 April to 30 April 1999. ||||||||
| 53 | Koch, RolandRoland Koch (born 1958) | 30 April 1999 | 31 October 1999 | 184 days | CDU | Hesse |
| 54 | Biedenkopf, KurtKurt Biedenkopf (1930–2021) | 1 November 1999 | 31 October 2000 | 365 days | CDU | Saxony |
| 55 | Beck, KurtKurt Beck (born 1949) | 1 November 2000 | 31 October 2001 | 364 days | SPD | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| 56 | Wowereit, KlausKlaus Wowereit (born 1953) | 1 November 2001 | 31 October 2002 | 364 days | SPD | Berlin |
| 57 | Böhmer, WolfgangWolfgang Böhmer (born 1936) | 1 November 2002 | 31 October 2003 | 364 days | CDU | Saxony-Anhalt |
| 58 | Althaus, DieterDieter Althaus (born 1958) | 1 November 2003 | 31 October 2004 | 365 days | CDU | Thuringia |
| 59 | Platzeck, MatthiasMatthias Platzeck (born 1953) | 1 November 2004 | 31 October 2005 | 364 days | SPD | Brandenburg |
| 60 | Carstensen, PeterPeter Harry Carstensen (born 1947) | 1 November 2005 | 31 October 2006 | 364 days | CDU | Schleswig-Holstein |
| 61 | Ringstorff, HaraldHarald Ringstorff (1939–2020) | 1 November 2006 | 31 October 2007 | 364 days | SPD | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |
| 62 | Beust, OleOle von Beust (born 1955) | 1 November 2007 | 31 October 2008 | 365 days | CDU | Hamburg |
| 63 | Müller, PeterPeter Müller (born 1955) | 1 November 2008 | 31 October 2009 | 364 days | CDU | Saarland |
| 64 | Böhrnsen, JensJens Böhrnsen (born 1949) | 1 November 2009 | 31 October 2010 | 364 days | SPD | Bremen |
| 65 | Kraft, HanneloreHannelore Kraft (born 1961) | 1 November 2010 | 31 October 2011 | 364 days | SPD | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| 66 | Seehofer, HorstHorst Seehofer (born 1949) | 1 November 2011 | 31 October 2012 | 365 days | CSU | Bavaria |
| 67 | Kretschmann, WinfriedWinfried Kretschmann (born 1948) | 1 November 2012 | 31 October 2013 | 364 days | Greens | Baden-Württemberg |
| 68 | Weil, StephanStephan Weil (born 1958) | 1 November 2013 | 31 October 2014 | 364 days | SPD | Lower Saxony |
| 69 | Bouffier, VolkerVolker Bouffier (born 1951) | 1 November 2014 | 31 October 2015 | 364 days | CDU | Hesse |
| 70 | Tillich, StanislawStanislaw Tillich (born 1959) | 1 November 2015 | 31 October 2016 | 365 days | CDU | Saxony |
| 71 | Dreyer, MaluMalu Dreyer (born 1961) | 1 November 2016 | 31 October 2017 | 364 days | SPD | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| 72 | Müller, MichaelMichael Müller (born 1964) | 1 November 2017 | 31 October 2018 | 364 days | SPD | Berlin |
| 73 | Günther, DanielDaniel Günther (born 1973) | 1 November 2018 | 31 October 2019 | 364 days | CDU | Schleswig-Holstein |
| 74 | Woidke, DietmarDietmar Woidke (born 1961) | 1 November 2019 | 31 October 2020 | 365 days | SPD | Brandenburg |
| 75 | Haseloff, ReinerReiner Haseloff (born 1954) | 1 November 2020 | 31 October 2021 | 364 days | CDU | Saxony-Anhalt |
| 76 | Ramelow, BodoBodo Ramelow (born 1956) | 1 November 2021 | 31 October 2022 | 364 days | Left | Thuringia |
| 77 | Tschentscher, PeterPeter Tschentscher (born 1966) | 1 November 2022 | 31 October 2023 | 364 days | SPD | Hamburg |
| 78 | Schwesig, ManuelaManuela Schwesig (born 1974) | 1 November 2023 | 31 October 2024 | 365 days | SPD | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |
| 79 | Rehlinger, AnkeAnke Rehlinger (born 1976) | 1 November 2024 | Incumbent | 122 days | SPD | Saarland |