ederal Assembly for a
four-year term; election last held 27 September 1998 (next to be
held in the fall of 2002)

election results: Johannes RAU elected president; percent of
Federal Convention vote - 57.6%; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected
chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly - 52.7%

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of
the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (656 seats usually, but 669 for
the 1998 term; elected by popular vote under a system combining
direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the
national vote or three direct mandates to gain representation;
members serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat
(69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each
has 3 to 6 votes depending on population and are required to vote as
a block)

elections: Federal Assembly - last held 27 September 1998 (next to
be held by the fall of 2002); note - there are no elections for the
Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the
state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the
potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election

election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - SPD
40.9%, Alliance '90/Greens 6.7%, CDU/CSU 35.1%, FDP 6.2%, PDS 5.1%;
seats by party - SPD 298, Alliance '90/Greens 47, CDU/CSU 245, FDP
43, PDS 36; Federal Council - current composition - votes by party -
SPD-led states 26, CDU-led states 28, grand coalitions 15

Judicial branch: Federal Constitutional Court or
Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the
Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)

Political parties and leaders: Alliance '90/Greens [Renate KUENAST
and Fritz KUHN]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL];
Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free
Democratic Party or FDP [Wolfgang GERHARDT, chairman]; note -
Wolfgang GERHARDT will probably be replaced by Guido WESTERWELLE in
May 2001; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Gabi ZIMMER]; Social
Democratic Party or SPD [Gerhard SCHROEDER, chairman]

Political pressure groups and leaders: employers' organizations;
expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups

International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia
Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EAPC,
EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD,