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Names:

conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany

conventional short form: Germany

local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland

local short form: Deutschland

 

Digraph:

GM

 

Type:

federal republic

 

Capital:

Berlin

Note: the shift from Bonn to Berlin will take place over a period of years with Bonn retaining many administrative functions and several ministries

 

Administrative divisions:

16 states ( Bundesländer, singular: Bundesland):

Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thüringen.

 

Independence:

18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four power rights formally relinquished 15 March 1991.

 

Constitution:

23 May 1949, known as Basic Law (Grundgesetz); became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990

 

Legal system:

civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

 

National holiday:

German Unity Day, 3 October (1990)

 

Political parties:

• Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
• Christian Social Union (CSU)
• Free Democratic Party (FDP)
• Social Democratic Party (SPD)
• Alliance '90/Greens
• Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)
• Republikaner
• National Democratic Party (NPD)
• Communist Party (DKP)

Other political or pressure groups:

expellee, refugee, and veterans groups

 

Suffrage:

universal at 18 years of age

 

Legislative branch:

bicameral parliament (no official name for the two chambers as a whole) consists of an upper chamber or Federal Council (Bundesrat) and a lower chamber or Federal Assembly (Bundestag).

 

Judicial branch:

Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht).

 

Member of:

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australian Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNOMIG, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

 

Diplomatic representation in US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Jürgen Chrobog

chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007, USA

telephone: +1 (202) 298-4000

consulates general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle

consulates: Manila (Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands) and Wellington (America Samoa)

 

US diplomatic representation:

chief of mission: Ambassador Charles E. Redman

embassy:

Deichmanns Avenue, 5300 Bonn 2, Unit 21701

mailing address:

APO AE 09080

telephone:

+49 (228) 3391

FAX:

+49 (228) 339-2663

branch office:

Berlin

consulates general:

Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart

 

Other Links: Country Info - Germany

Fantastic links to the political system, business and economy of Germany.

 

Flag:

three equal horizontal bands of
black (top), red, and gold (schwarz, rot, gold).

Between Bonn and Berlin	Germany in Autumn (1978) - English subtitles
Germany's Search for a New Architecture of Democracy	Test the West! Metamorphosis in East Germany, Part II: 1993 "The Rebuilding of a Country"