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Germany

Germany, formally the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in Central Europe, governed by a chancellor accountable to the Bundestag and a president who serves as head of state. The Federal Republic was founded on 23 May 1949 in the three Western occupation zones as the Basic Law came into force, while the Soviet zone became the separate German Democratic Republic that October. East Germany's constituent states acceded to the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990 under the Basic Law's own accession clause, extending the same state's institutions to the reunified country rather than creating a new one. The atlas dates Germany's founding to 1949, the government whose constitution and institutions still hold today; German unification in 1871 created a different state, the German Empire, which did not survive intact through the Weimar Republic and Nazi periods to the present, and the entity description narrates 1990 as the reunification of the continuous postwar state rather than its founding.

Facts
Founding Year
1949 2
1949 is the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, whose Basic Law and institutions are the government holding the country today. It is not offered as the founding of a German state generally: German unification in 1871 created the German Empire, a different state that did not survive intact through the Weimar Republic and Nazi periods, and 1990 reunification extended the Federal Republic's existing institutions to former East German territory under the Basic Law's own accession clause rather than founding a new state, which the entity description narrates rather than compressing into this one field.
Classification
Freedom Status
Liberal Democracy 1
Germany
Filter Results1 entry
Foreign relations and policy

Current government: Merz Government (since 2025)

Effective from 2025, ongoing.

Source First Government Statement by Chancellor Merz, 14 May 2025 (Bundesregierung)

Effective from 2026, ongoing.

Source Joint declaration of President Macron and Chancellor Merz, 2 March 2026 (Bundesregierung)

Effective from 2025, ongoing.

Source Germany and the Palestinian territories: Bilateral relations (Federal Foreign Office)

Effective from 2025, ongoing.

Source Government Statement by Chancellor Merz, 24 June 2025 (Bundesregierung)

Earlier governments

Scholz Government (2021 to 2025)

Effective from 2022 to 2025.

Source Zeitenwende: Policy Statement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, 27 February 2022 (Bundesregierung)

Effective from 2022 to 2025.

Source Zeitenwende: Policy Statement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, 27 February 2022 (Bundesregierung)

Party positions (proposed or ideological, not state policy)

Christian Democratic Union of Germany (proposed or ideological position, not state policy; governs as Merz Government)

NATO Membership, Policy subject
Source Bundestagswahl 2025: Wahlprogramme zu Verteidigung und NATO (Ohne Ruestung Leben)

Social Democratic Party of Germany (proposed or ideological position, not state policy; governs as Scholz Government)

Sanctions on Russia, Policy subject
Source Die Wahlprogramme zu Russlands Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine (PRIF Blog)
Connections

Associated With

Source Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (Wikipedia)
Source Christian Social Union in Bavaria (Wikipedia)

This source names Germany directly: "and the distribution of ministries. Germany, the Netherlands and most Nordic legislatures have governed through coalition for most of their postwar histories, while Israel has not had a single-party..."

Source Coalition Government (Britannica)
Confederation, Systems of Government

The Germanic Confederation (1815-1866), a loose association of German states after the Congress of Vienna, is a documented historical confederation.

Source Encyclopedia.com: Confederations

This source names Germany directly: "1920 constitution, and later spread to Germany, Italy, South Korea and many other countries as an alternative to judicial review by an ordinary supreme court."

Source Hans Kelsen (Britannica)

Germany is discussed as an "integrated" federal structure, contrasted with the US "dualistic" model.

Source Center for the Study of Federalism: What is Federalism?

This source names Germany directly: "country overview article for Germany, covering its formation, government and history."

Source Germany (Britannica)

This source names Germany directly: "1945, to try major officials of Nazi Germany for war crimes committed during the Second World War."

Source International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg (USHMM)
Source Germany: The Original Mixed Member Proportional System (ACE Project)
Source Vote of Confidence (Britannica)

This source names Germany directly: "ideology and rise to power in Germany."

Source Nazi Party (Britannica)

This source names Germany directly: "proceedings that began in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1945, in which the victorious Allied powers, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union, prosecuted surviving leaders and..."

Source Nuremberg Trials (National WWII Museum)

This source names Germany directly: "was the first chancellor of a unified Germany, serving from 1871 to 1890."

Source Otto von Bismarck (Britannica)

Germany's additional-member system, adopted after World War II, is a party-list hybrid.

Source Systems of Proportionality (Britannica)
Referendum, Political Mechanisms

Germany adopted some direct-democracy elements after World War I.

Source Referendum and Initiative (Britannica)

This source names Germany directly: "the revisionism of Eduard Bernstein in Germany."

Source Social Democracy (Britannica)

This source names Germany directly: "Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, and in force from 23 July 1952 until its fifty-year term expired on 23 July 2002, this treaty established the European Coal and Steel Community, the..."

Source Treaty of Paris (1951) (Wikipedia)

This source names Germany directly: "Its modern institutional cornerstone was laid in Germany under Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who enacted a sickness and maternity insurance law in 1883, a work-injury law in 1884, and an old-age..."

Source Welfare State (Britannica)

This source names Germany directly: "of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, a close collaborator of Marx and Engels in exile, who in 1896 coined the term state capitalism to distinguish mere state ownership of enterprise, such as..."

Source Our Recent Congress (Marxists Internet Archive)

Governed By

Source Adolf Hitler (Wikipedia)
Source Konrad Adenauer (Wikipedia)
Source Friedrich Merz (Wikipedia)
Source Olaf Scholz (Wikipedia)
Source Wilhelm II (Wikipedia)
Source Willy Brandt (Wikipedia)

Has Article

Practices

Source Confidence and supply (Wikipedia)
Source Federation (Britannica)
Source Motion of no confidence (Wikipedia)
Source Bill of Rights, British History (Britannica)
Source Motion of no confidence (Wikipedia)

Shaped By

Source Angela Merkel (Britannica)
Source Berlin Wall (Britannica)
Source German Reunification (Britannica)
Source Weimar Constitution (Britannica)
In the Other Atlases

Same As

Also in Geography Atlas: the same subject.

Has Member

Also in Economics Atlas: a member of this subject.

Also in Economics Atlas: a member of this subject.

Sources
1. Freedom House: Germany (Freedom in the World 2025)
Freedom HouseOverview, Global Freedom Score 95/100 (free)
Quote, Overview, Global Freedom Score 95/100 (free)
Germany is a representative democracy with a vibrant political culture and civil society.
View the Source
2. Germany (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaView the Source
Germany: The Original Mixed Member Proportional System (ACE Project)
ACE Electoral Knowledge NetworkAssociated With: Mixed-Member Proportional RepresentationView the Source
Vote of Confidence (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaAssociated With: Motion of No ConfidenceView the Source
Adolf Hitler (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationGoverned By: Adolf Hitler, Lead section
Quote, Governed By: Adolf Hitler, Lead section
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany in the Nazi era from 1933 until his suicide in 1945.
View the Source
Wilhelm II (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationGoverned By: Wilhelm II, Lead section
Quote, Governed By: Wilhelm II, Lead section
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 1859 - 4 June 1941) was the last German Emperor from 1888 until his abdication in 1918.
View the Source
Konrad Adenauer (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationGoverned By: Konrad Adenauer, Lead section
Quote, Governed By: Konrad Adenauer, Lead section
served as the first chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963
View the Source
Willy Brandt (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationGoverned By: Willy Brandt, Lead section
Quote, Governed By: Willy Brandt, Lead section
Chancellor of West Germany from 1969 to 1974
View the Source
Christian Social Union in Bavaria (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAssociated With: Christian Social Union in Bavaria, Lead section
Quote, Associated With: Christian Social Union in Bavaria, Lead section
The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany.
View the Source
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, Introduction
Quote, Associated With: Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, Introduction
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany.
View the Source
Motion of no confidence (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Practices: Motion of No Confidence, Article text
    In Germany, a vote of no confidence in the federal chancellor requires the opposition, on the same ballot, to propose a candidate of its own whom it wants the federal president to appoint as its successor.
  • Practices: Vote of Confidence, Article text
    In Germany, a vote of no confidence in the federal chancellor requires the opposition, on the same ballot, to propose a candidate of its own whom it wants the federal president to appoint as its successor.
View the Source
Confidence and supply (Wikipedia)
Practices: Confidence and Supply, Article text
Quote, Practices: Confidence and Supply, Article text
In New Zealand, confidence and supply arrangements are common due to the MMP system used in the country.
View the Source
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