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Germany

GOVT 122: Comparative Politics
Sweet Briar College
Instructor: Dr. Andrew Clem
For use of enrolled SBC students ONLY.

Years Leader(s)
1950- Adenauer
1955- Adenauer
1960- Erhard
1965- Kiesinger
1970- Brandt
1975- Schmidt
1980- Kohl
1985- Kohl
1990- Kohl
1995- Kohl, Schroeder
2000- Schroeder
2005- Merkel

Years indicated above are approximate. For more detail, see the Foreign Leaders page, with a year-by-year chronology.

Basic facts:
Political system:Parliamentary republic (!!!)
National leader:Chanc. Angela Merkel (2005-)
Structure:Federal
Regime founded:1949
Democracy:Established
Population:82 million
Per capita GDP:$28,260

Distinctive features:

  • Rich coal deposits in Ruhr, etc. fueled industrialization
  • Economic nationalism was promoted by Friedrich List
  • Low-key foreign policy, a legacy of Nazi aggression
  • Protestants in north, Catholics in south
  • Difficulty in assimilating East Germans after reunification
  • Difficulty in assimilating immigrants from Turkey, S.E. Europe
 Germany map

Compare to: 1871-1914 ~ 1919-1937 ~ 1949-1989 ~ 1990-
To see a continental-scale map, roll the mouse over the map above.
Click on it to see a key that explains the map symbols.

Political parties:

Name Left Party Social
Democratic Party		 Green Party Free Dem. P. Christian Democratic Party / Christian Social Union
Seats*: 53 222 51 61 225

NOTES: * Seats in lower house.
SOURCES: Mark Kessleman, et al., Introduction to Comparative Politics; CIA World Factbook, various newspapers.

Web links

Embassy of Germany in the U.S.

German CDU Chancellors (youtube.com)

Bundeskanzler Adenauer (1953) (youtube.com)

Vlogging with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (youtube.com)