President of Germany
The term President of Germany refers to the leader of the proceedings of the Federal Assembly (Bundespräsidium) of the German Confederation (no head of state, without any powers whatsoever), the Reich Regent 1848/1849 (Johann Baptist Josef Fabian Sebastian Archduke of Austria), the leader of the proceedings of the Federal Assembly of the North German Confederation, the Reichspräsident of the German Empire (until 1918) as well as the German Reich (until 1945) and the Bundespräsident of the Federal Republic of Germany (as of 1949), the first being Theodor Heuss (1884–1963).
FRG
The Federal President (Bundespräsident; abbreviated BPr, also BPräs) is the head of state (Articles 54–61 of the Basic Law) of the Federal Republic of Germany and, in terms of protocol, its highest constitutional body. His role in the state's political system generally lies outside the realm of day-to-day politics (Article 55 of the Basic Law). Although there is no constitutional provision prohibiting the Federal President from making statements on current political issues, the head of state traditionally refrains from doing so. The work of government in Germany is carried out by the Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler) and the Federal Cabinet (Article 65 of the Basic Law). Nevertheless, the office of the Federal President includes the right and the duty to engage in political action and is not limited to purely representative tasks. The functions of the office are defined by the Basic Law (Articles 54–61 of the Basic Law). The Federal President generally decides autonomously how he performs these duties; he has considerable discretion in this regard, including with respect to his expression of opinion.
According to Article 54, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law, anyone who is a German citizen, has the right to vote in Bundestag elections, and is at least 40 years old can be elected Federal President. The youngest Federal President to date, Christian Wulff, was 51 years old at the time of his election. Any member of the Federal Convention is entitled to nominate a candidate; the nomination must be accompanied by a written declaration of consent from the nominee. The nomination must be submitted in writing to the President of the Bundestag.
According to Article 55 of the Basic Law, the Federal President may not be a member of the government or of any legislative body of the Federation or a state. Furthermore, he may not hold any other salaried office, engage in any trade or profession, or be a member of the management or supervisory board of any profit-oriented enterprise. This provision is intended to enhance the independence and integrity of the Federal President and thus reflects the separation of powers enshrined in Article 20 of the Basic Law. If the Federal President violates this duty, a sanction may be imposed pursuant to Article 61 of the Basic Law. However, according to prevailing opinion, such a violation does not automatically lead to the loss of office.
Orders and decorations may only be established and awarded by the Federal President or with his approval. The decree establishing the order and the approval must be published in the Federal Law Gazette.
