Bundestag celebrates its 75th anniversary

Bonn (dpa) – Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, is celebrating the anniversary of its constituent meeting 75 years ago. The Bundestag and the Bundesrat (the lower and upper houses of parliament) had come together for the first time at the then seat of government in Bonn on 7 September 1949 - the Bundesrat just a few hours ahead of the Bundestag. The celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary had begun on Friday with a citizens’ festival in the area around the Reichstag, the seat of parliament in the capital Berlin. They are now ending with the official ceremony in parliament. Speeches will be given at the ceremony by Bundestag President Bärbel Bas, former interior minister Gerhart Baum and the historian Christina Morina. 

Around a week after the constituent meeting, Konrad Adenauer (CDU) was elected by a majority of one vote as the first federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. The mayor of Cologne at the time, he governed until 1963 and became the political architect of the Federal Republic.