Legislative branch: bicameral chamber (no official name for the
two chambers as a whole)
Federal Assembly (Bundestag): election last held 16 October 1994
(next to be held by NA 1998); results - CDU 34.2%, SPD 36.4%,
Alliance 90/Greens 7.3%, CSU 7.3%, FDP 6.9%, PDS 4.4%, Republicans
1.9%; seats - (usually 656 total, but 672 for the 1994 term) CDU
244, SPD 252, Alliance 90/Greens 49, CSU 50, FDP 47, PDS 30; elected
by direct 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
Federal Council (Bundesrat): State governments are directly
represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on size and
are required to vote as a block; current composition: votes - (68
total) SPD-led states 41, CDU-led states 27
Judicial branch: Federal Constitutional Court
(Bundesverfassungsgericht), half the judges are elected by the
Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat
Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Union (CDU),
Helmut KOHL, chairman; Christian Social Union (CSU), Theo WAIGEL,
chairman; Free Democratic Party (FDP), Wolfgang GERHARDT, chairman;
Social Democratic Party (SPD), Oskar LA FONTAINE, chairman; Alliance
'90/Greens, Krista SAGER, Juergen TRITTIN, cochairpersons; Party of
Democratic Socialism (PDS), Lothar BISKY, chairman; Republikaner,
Rolf SCHLIERER, chairman; National Democratic Party (NPD),
Ellen-Doris SCHERER; Communist Party (DKP), Rolf PRIEMER and Heinz
STEHR, cochairpersons
Other political or pressure groups: expellee, refugee, and
veterans groups
International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional),
CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, 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, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMIR, UNCRO, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNOMIG, UNPROFOR, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Juergen CHROBOG chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Charles E. REDMAN embassy: Deichmanns Aue 29, 53170 Bonn mailing address: APO AE 09080, PSC 117, Bonn telephone: [49] (228) 3391 FAX: [49] (228) 339-2663 branch office: Berlin consulate(s) general: Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and yellow
Economy ———-
Economic overview: Germany, the world's third-most powerful economy, faces its own unique problem of bringing its eastern area up to scratch after 45 years of communist rule. Despite substantial progress toward economic integration, the eastern states will continue to rely on subsidies from the federal government into the next century. Assistance to the east of about $100 billion annually has helped the region average nearly 8% annual economic growth since 1991, even though the overall German economy has averaged less than 2% growth. The economic recovery in the east has been led by the construction industries, with growth increasingly supported by the service sectors and light manufacturing industries. Western Germany, which accounts for 90% of overall German GDP and has three times the per capita income of eastern Germany, is perennially the first- or second-largest exporter, after the US, in the world. Nonetheless, business and political leaders have in recent years become increasingly concerned about Germany's apparent decline in attractiveness as a business location. They cite the increasing preference of German companies to locate manufacturing facilities - long the strength of the postwar economy - to foreign countries, including the US, rather than in Germany, so they can be closer to their markets and avoid Germany's high production costs. The conditions under which European economic integration - especially movement toward a single European currency - will proceed will be another key issue facing Germany in the next few years.