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West Germany: Federal Republic
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West Germany was governed under a Basic Law (Grundgesetz) promulgated on May 23, 1949, and later amended several times. The Basic Law, which described the country as a “democratic federal state based on social justice,” resembled the constitution of the Weimar Republic (1919–33), but allowed a greater range of authority to the governments of the states. Under the Basic Law the head of state of West Germany was the federal president, who was elected to a 5-year term by a convention made up of members of the Bundestag (lower house of parliament) plus an equal number of persons chosen by the state legislatures. The president designated the chancellor, the country's chief executive official, who had to then be approved by an absolute majority of the Bundestag. The upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat (federal council), consisted of delegates chosen by the state governments, in a number varying from three to five according to state population.
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In 1955 West Germany was internationally recognized as an independent nation. Allowed to rearm, it joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which had been established in 1949 for the defense of Europe. West Germany ... cooperated with the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Atomic Energy Community, and the Council of Europe (see European Union). As partial reparation for war crimes and out of gratitude for postwar aid from the United States, West Germany assumed aid obligations to Israel and developing nations. Although not a member of the United Nations (UN) until 1973, the republic joined many UN agencies and made large contributions to UN projects. In 1963, in a move to reverse long-standing hostility between the French and Germans, Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulle agreed to hold regular conferences between the two nations.
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Konrad Adenauer became the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). He held power for the next fourteen years and during that time played an important role in restoring good relations with France and the United States. However, he refused to recognize the legal existence of the German Democratic Republic.
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"Admirably clear and well written from a new viewpoint, this is the best informed and most thoughtful analysis of the political system of West Germany. Anyone seriously interested in the German Federal Republic should read it."
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