Development of the Institution of Presidency in Germany

The article is dedicated to the Presidentship as a part of the state authorities of Germany. The author retraced the development of the presidential authority at different stages of the statehood of Germany. Main attention is paid to the comparative study of the president’s authority by the constitution of the Weimar Republic and the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany.The constitution of the Weimar Republic functioned from the 1919 and - with some modernization - till 1945. Reichsprдsident of the Weimar Republic could have a strong influence on domestic politics. He formed the executive branch and had legislative authority during a state of emergency. In addition, Reichsprдsident of the Weimar Republic could abolish main rights and freedoms of citizens. Reichsprдsident Paul von Hindenburg had used such a wide powers to make the German state function during the years of Great Depression. Same powers were been used by Adolf Hitler to set his dictatorship after 1934.After the World War II the authority of the President of Germany were reduced according to the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany of 1949, which functions till today. Bundesprдsident keeps representational functions of the state in foreign affairs as well as status of commander in chief of armed forces. In compare with Reichsprдsident, Bundesprдsident is not able to form the executive branch or to abolish the rights and freedoms of citizens. Moreover, the election process has been changed and now Bundesprдsident is elected by the Federal Convention, while the Reichsprдsident had being elected by universal suffrage. As the author concludes, such measures were taken to avoid electing a populist or demagogue to the presidentship.