Background: Women at the top of the federal government
Julia Klöckner as President of the Bundestag and possibly soon a Federal President would mean two women at the head of two of the five constitutional bodies
Quick Look
- The article takes stock of the female leadership of the five German constitutional bodies.
- Since 1949, three women have led the Bundestag, Angela Merkel was Chancellor for 16 years, and four SPD women headed the Bundesrat.
- With Julia Klöckner and a possible Federal President early next year, two women could once again hold top positions.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The article provides an overview of the female composition of the five German constitutional bodies since 1949. To date, there have been three female Presidents of the Bundestag, one female Chancellor and four female Presidents of the Federal Council. A short transition phase at the end of the Merkel era was the only time in which two women simultaneously held top positions in the three most important constitutional bodies.
Berlin. In addition to Julia Klöckner (CDU) as President of the Bundestag, another woman could soon conquer a top position in the federal government: the office of Federal President. To date, there have only been two women as heads of the three most important constitutional bodies during a short transition phase at the end of the Merkel era. Women at the top of the five constitutional bodies have so far been an exception - a summary:
President of the German Bundestag: Since 1949, 15 people have conducted the business of the parliament. The first woman among them was the SPD politician Annemarie Renger from 1972 to 1976. Then followed Rita Süssmuth (CDU) from 1988 to 1998 and Bärbel Bas (SPD) from 2021 to 2025. During a transition phase of six weeks, Bas already headed parliament, while Angela Merkel (CDU) continued to run government affairs until Olaf Scholz (SPD) was elected Chancellor. Julia Klöckner has been President of the Bundestag since 2025. When a female federal president is elected at the beginning of next year, two women would again hold top positions.
Federal Chancellor: Angela Merkel started as Germany's first female chancellor in 2005 - and remained so for 16 years. Only her foster father, Helmut Kohl (CDU), also ruled for as long (1982 to 1998). In total, there have been 9 Federal Chancellors and one female Chancellor in the Federal Republic.
Federal Council: It is also one of the five permanent constitutional bodies. The presidency changes annually; until 2010, only men held this office. Since then, four SPD women have been bosses: Hannelore Kraft, Malu Dreyer, Manuela Schwesig and Anke Rehlinger. There have been a total of 58 incumbents so far.
Open Questions
- Which of the five constitutional bodies is not discussed in detail in the article?
- Who could become the next Federal President?
- When exactly will the election of the Federal President take place?
