Parliament, the state government, and the boroughs

From the fall of the Wall in 1989 to the new constitution in 1995

The division of the city ended with the fall of the Wall [Film] on 9 November 1989 and reunification; the last troops of the former occupying powers left the city by 1994. On 20 June 1991, the Bundestag decided that Berlin would be the new seat of Germany’s parliament and federal government. During that same year, the Governing Mayor of Berlin moved with the Senate Chancellery from the Schöneberg Town Hall to the Berlin Town Hall in the Mitte borough. The House of Representatives, Berlin’s state parliament, has convened its sessions in the building of the former Prussian state parliament since 1993.
In a referendum on 22 October 1995, Berlin’s constitution was approved with 75.1 percent of the votes cast. To a large extent, it represents a continuation of the Berlin constitution of 1950. Significant new elements include the strengthening of enforceable fundamental rights and additions to the state’s goals (such as the right to employment, education, and adequate housing). Environmental conservation and the protection of privacy are also new constitutional issues. Citizen participation was enhanced with instruments of direct democracy like popular initiatives, petitions, and referendums. Berlin’s constitutional court monitors compliance with the constitution.

The House of Representatives

In the legislative period from 2006 - 2011 the House of Representatives consists of 149 members. Political parties are subject to a “five percent clause,” which means that they need to poll at least five percent of the second votes cast in the electoral territory in question or win three constituency seats to be represented in the House of Representatives. A legislative term lasts five years but can be ended earlier by a two-thirds majority of representatives or by a referendum.

The state government

The state government, the Berlin Senate, consists of the Governing Mayor and no more than eight Senators. The House of Representatives elects the Governing Mayor, who appoints the other members of the Senate. The Governing Mayor determines the general guidelines of government policy, which must be approved by the House of Representatives, and monitors their observance by the members of the Senate.

Berlin is one of the 16 Länder (states) of the Federal Republic of Germany and is represented in the Bundestag with 12 constituency seats. It has four representatives in the Bundesrat.

The boroughs

For the first ten years after reunification of the two halves of the city, Berlin was divided into 23 boroughs. Borough reform, in effect since 1 January 2001, reduced this number to 12.