Council of Elders of the Bundestag (Germany)
Encyclopedia
The Council of Elders of the German parliament Bundestag
is a joint deliberative body which includes the following members:
As one of six Organs of the Bundestag, the Council of Elders (under the Rules of Procedure) is tasked with managing the internal affairs of the Bundestag. It is the entity which determines daily legislative agenda items and assigning committee chairpersons based on party representation. The council also serves as an important forum for interparty negotiations on specific legislation and procedural issues.
At the beginning of each electoral term, the Council is to reach agreement on the distribution of committee (and deputy) chairs among parliamentary groups. The number, size of committees, as well as the system used to determine their composition, which is proportional to the relative strengths of the parliamentary groups, are decided ultimately by the Bundestag. As a rule, the Council's decisions are based on agreements reached among all the parliamentary groups in the House (cross-party agreements).
While the parliament is in session, the Council of Elders convene weekly at meetings chaired by the President of the Bundestag. A minister of state
at the Federal Chancellery or some other representative of the Federal Government is usually in attendance at these meetings.
, was also used to calculate the outcome of federal elections until the Bundestag's tenth term in 1983.
Since then, a system that aims to ensure parity for minority parties has been adopted. In the ninth electoral term (1980), this system was refined by applying the Sainte-Laguë method
(or Schepers method.) Using this method, the total number of Members of the Bundestag is divided by the number of members of each parliamentary group; the resulting number is then multiplied progressively by 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 and so on.
These newer calculations produce rank order numbers according to which the seats are then distributed: the first seat is allocated to the parliamentary group with the lowest rank order number, the second seat to the one with the next lowest rank order number, and so on.
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
is a joint deliberative body which includes the following members:
- PresidentPresident of the BundestagThe President of the Bundestag presides over the sessions of the Bundestag, the parliament of Germany, with functions similar to that of a speaker in other countries. In the German order of precedence, his office is ranked second after the President and before the Chancellor...
; - Vice presidents;
- BundestagBundestagThe Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
members appointed by parliamentary groups in proportion to their size. There are twenty-three appointees in all, including parliamentary secretaries (known as whipsWhip (politics)A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
) of each parliamentary group.
As one of six Organs of the Bundestag, the Council of Elders (under the Rules of Procedure) is tasked with managing the internal affairs of the Bundestag. It is the entity which determines daily legislative agenda items and assigning committee chairpersons based on party representation. The council also serves as an important forum for interparty negotiations on specific legislation and procedural issues.
Mechanics
The Council of Elders performs two functions:- Assist the President in the conduct of business and ensure the parliamentary groups reach an agreement;
- Making decisions on the internal affairs of the Bundestag, provides such activities are without the exclusive competence of the President.
At the beginning of each electoral term, the Council is to reach agreement on the distribution of committee (and deputy) chairs among parliamentary groups. The number, size of committees, as well as the system used to determine their composition, which is proportional to the relative strengths of the parliamentary groups, are decided ultimately by the Bundestag. As a rule, the Council's decisions are based on agreements reached among all the parliamentary groups in the House (cross-party agreements).
While the parliament is in session, the Council of Elders convene weekly at meetings chaired by the President of the Bundestag. A minister of state
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
at the Federal Chancellery or some other representative of the Federal Government is usually in attendance at these meetings.
Chair distribution
Until 1970, the relative strengths of the parliamentary groups were calculated using a process that favoured larger parties. This process, known as the d'Hondt methodD'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
, was also used to calculate the outcome of federal elections until the Bundestag's tenth term in 1983.
Since then, a system that aims to ensure parity for minority parties has been adopted. In the ninth electoral term (1980), this system was refined by applying the Sainte-Laguë method
Sainte-Laguë method
The Sainte-Laguë method is one way of allocating seats approximately proportional to the number of votes of a party to a party list used in many voting systems. It is named after the French mathematician André Sainte-Laguë. The Sainte-Laguë method is quite similar to the D'Hondt method, but uses...
(or Schepers method.) Using this method, the total number of Members of the Bundestag is divided by the number of members of each parliamentary group; the resulting number is then multiplied progressively by 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 and so on.
These newer calculations produce rank order numbers according to which the seats are then distributed: the first seat is allocated to the parliamentary group with the lowest rank order number, the second seat to the one with the next lowest rank order number, and so on.