Reichsrat (Germany)

The Reichsrat was one of the two legislative bodies in Germany under the Weimar constitution, the other one being the Reichstag. After the end of German monarchy and the founding of the Weimar Republic in 1919, the Reichsrat replaced the "Bundesrat" as the representation of the various German states.

The "Bundesrat" had been the central body of the German federal state, which had been founded in 1867 as the North German Confederation and in 1871 became the German Empire. As this federal state comprised the various German kingdoms, principalities and free cities under the leadership of the King of Prussia, the "Bundesrat" comprised the delegates of the various states. Prussia sent almost half the representatives, being the largest state by far and so could block almost any decision. Also, the meetings of the "Bundesrat" were headed by the German chancellor appointed by the Kaiser, who usually was identical to the Prussian prime minister. The "Bundesrat" was a very powerful institution, as its consent was needed for any legislation. Also before the chancellor's secretaries gained prominence in the 1890s, the "Bundesrat" together with the chancellor effectively formed the federal government.

The Weimar constitution at least "de jure" curbed the rights of the various states and the powers of their representation. The Reichsrat had no influence on the federal government. It could veto the Reichstag's bills, and the Reichstag could overrule the veto. In contrast to the "Bundesrat", it comprised not only representatives from the state governments, since half of the Prussian delegation was appointed by this state's various provincial parliaments. But "de facto" the Reichsrat remained very powerful, because overruling it needed a majority of two-thirds in the Reichstag, which was splintered into many parties and was frequently dissolved. So in effect, bills vetoed by the Reichstag very frequently died.

After Hitler came to power in 1933, the policy of "Gleichschaltung" first deprived the Reichsrat of its powers and later formally abolished it altogether, turning Germany into a centralized state.

After World War II, when the Federal Republic of Germany was founded the state's representation again was called Bundesrat and again became more powerful than the Reichsrat though not as powerful as the "Bundesrat" of the German Empire.