The city and politics

16.03.2010

Hamburg is one of the 16 federal states of the Federal Republic of Germany. The government and parliament have their common seat in the Rathaus or City Hall.

Bildergalerie: Ahlhaus zum Bürgermeister gewählt

Das Rathaus der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg. (picture: Andres Lehmann)

Like Bremen and Berlin, Hamburg is a city state, the other 13 federal states are area states and have a capital. The government and parliament have their common seat in the Rathaus or City Hall. The left wing of the building belongs to the parliament, the right one to the state government.

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The Hamburg state parliament is called the Bürgerschaft. It consists of 121 representatives, who are elected every four years under a system of proportional representation. The State Parliament elects the head of government, passes state laws and adopts the budget. Laws may be introduced by the Senate, the State Parliament, or by means of a petition for a referendum.

The state government is called the Senate. The First Mayor is the head of government. He determines the political guidelines. In Hamburg the ministers are called Senators. Today there are 10 departmental authorities, each headed by a Senator. The Senate represents the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in matters with the other federal states, the Federal Government and other countries.

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Bildergalerie: Spaziergang Außenalster / Andres Lehmann, www.andreslehmann.de

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The city is administered by the Senate. In order to ensure that the administration is responsive to citizens' interests, Hamburg is divided into seven districts. The districts are administered by a district authority and local authorities. Simultaneously with elections to the state parliament, district assemblies - each with 41 representatives - are elected as representatives of the citizens.

Overall, the Hamburg administration endeavours to consider itself to be a service institution for the citizens. Services and decisions are to be made locally. Only in exceptional cases does the Senate intervene in decisions taken by the districts. The voters may bring about political decisions by means of a people's initiative and a petition for a referendum.

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