First German Bundestag Explained

The First German Bundestag was the first German parliament after the Second World War. It existed between September 7, 1949 and September 7, 1953. The senior president was Paul Löbe from the SPD. On September 15, 1949, the first Bundestag elected Konrad Adenauer (CDU) Chancellor with 202 yes votes, 142 no votes, 44 abstentions and one invalid vote in the first ballot. The first bundestag held a total of 282 sessions, with the last session taking place on July 29, 1953. It was succeeded by the Second German Bundestag.

Dates of Session

1949-1953

• Election for the first Bundestag occurred on 14 August 1949.
• The Bundestag convened for the first time in Bonn on 7 September 1949.
• The session ended on September 7, 1953.

Members

See main article: List of members of the 1st Bundestag.

Coalitions

• CDU/CSU, FDP and DP form coalition (208 seats, 51.7%) to elect Konrad Adenauer as the first Chancellor of Germany

Major political events

• Bundestag meets with quorum of members to elect Erich Köhler first President of the Bundestag, 7 September 1949.
• Federal Convention elects Theodor Heuss first President of Germany. The President takes the oath of office before a joint session of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat on the same date, Friday, 12 September 1949.
• Bundestag elects Konrad Adenauer first Chancellor of Germany, Monday 15 September 1949.
• Köhler loses support within his own party, Hermann Ehlers elected second President of the Bundestag.
• Kurt Schumacher is temporarily removed from the Bundestag after calling Adenauer "the Allied Forces' Chancellor"
• Bundestag passes laws concerning restitution and recovery of damages due to World War II (Lastenausgleichsgesetz), corporate governance, and antitrust regulation
• Bundestag ratifies treaty for the European Coal and Steel Community

Officers

• President of the Bundestag - Erich Köhler, Hermann Ehlers

Seats by party

-- 139 seats CDU -->
+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	<					-- 131 seats SPD -->
+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	<													-- 52 seats FDP -->
+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
+	+	+	+	<																																												-- 15 seats KPD -->
+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	<																																	-- 17 seats BP -->
+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	<																															-- 17 seats DP -->
+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	<																															-- 10 seats Zentrum -->
+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	<																																						-- 12 seats WAV -->
+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	<																																				-- 5 seats DRP -->
+	+	+	+	+	<																																											-- 4 seats others -->
+	+	+	+

+	CDU/CSU 139 (31.0%)
+	SPD 131 (29.2%)
+	FDP 52 (11.9%)
+	KPD 15 (5.7%)
+	BP 17 (4.2%)
+	DP 17 (4.0%)
+	Zentrum 10 (3.1%)
+	WAV 12 (2.9%)
+	DRP 5 (1.8%)
+	Others: 4 (6.2%)
/		Total: 402 Seats

References

• Bundestag Election Results (German)