#Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier

[underthewingsofthblackeagle]

Federal President Steinmeier has sent Her Royal Highness Catherine, Princess of Wales his best wishes for a full recovery: "Your courageous and encouraging words about your illness, which you face with such fortitude, touched my wife and me deeply yesterday. We sincerely wish you every strength and a full recovery." Foto: Bundesregierung/Guido Bergmann

#Bundespräsident Frank-Walter Steinmeier #royalfamily #kensingtonpalace #princeandprincessofwales #princesscatherine #princesskate #britishmonarchy #Germany #Britain #Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier #Bundesrepublik Deutschland #Instagram

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Die Zukunft der Demokratie hängt nicht von der Lautstärke ihrer Gegner ab, sondern von der Stärke derer, die sie verteidigen.

The future of democracy does not depend on the sound level of its opponents, but on the strength of those who defend it.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier (*1956), German politician, twelfth president of the Federal Republic of Germany

#quote #frank-walter steinmeier

[camillasgirl]

I took these photos of The King and Queen, our Federal President Frank Walter Steinmeier and Major Jonny today at Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany, 29.03.2023

I also had the honour of shaking the King’s and the president’s hand :)

#king charles iii #queen camilla #frank walter steinmeiner #elke büdenbender #personal #major johnny

[tempting-seduction]

Born 5 January 1956, Frank-Walter Steinmeier is a German politician serving as President of Germany since 19 March 2017. He was previously Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017, as well as Vice Chancellor of Germany from 2007 to 2009.

#Frank-Walter Steinmeier #President of Germany

[ifreakingloveroyals]

Through the Years → Queen Mathilde of Belgium (1,446/∞) 6 December 2023 | King Philippe Queen Mathilde are present at the Belgian Official Concert performed by Mr. Samuel Hasselhorn and Mrs. Sophie Junker in honour of HE Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany and the First Lady, in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Bert Van Den Broucke / Photonews via Getty Images)

#Queen Mathilde #Belgium #2023 #Bert Van Den Broucke #Photonews via Getty Images #through the years: Mathilde

[royal-things]

Wednesday, 29 March

Afternoon, Berlin, Brandenburg Gate Welcoming of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla with military honours by the Federal President and Elke Büdenbender

Thereafter Opportunity to meet members of the public

Information for those wishing to attend: access to Pariser Platz will be restricted and subject to a security check, gates open at 10.30 a.m. and will close at 1.30 p.m. at the latest. You will not be allowed to take bottles into the security area.

Thereafter, Schloss Bellevue Welcome at the main entrance, King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla sign the visitors’ book

Thereafter Address by the Federal President at a reception on energy transition and sustainability

Evening State banquet in honour of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla hosted by the Federal President and Elke Büdenbender, with speeches by the Heads of State

Thursday, 30 March

Lunchtime, Reichstag building Speech by King Charles III to the Members of the German Bundestag

Thereafter, Tegel Airport The Federal President and King Charles III visit the arrival centre for Ukrainian refugees and talk to refugees

Afternoon, Komische Oper Elke Büdenbender and Queen Consort Camilla visit (the) Komische Oper

Afternoon, Finowfurt The Federal President and King Charles III meet soldiers from the German-British Amphibious Engineer Battalion 130 as they build a bridge over the Havel Oder-Wasserstrasse

Thereafter, Brodowin The Federal President and King Charles III visit (the) Brodowin eco-village

Friday, 31 March

Morning, Berlin Central Station Transfer by train to Hamburg

Lunchtime, Hamburg Visit the memorial "Kindertransport – the final farewell"

Thereafter, St. Nikolai Memorial Wreath-laying ceremony

Thereafter, Rathausmarkt Meet members of the public at Hamburg City Hall. King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla sign the Golden Book in Hamburg City Hall.

Thereafter, Altona Cruise Center The Federal President and King Charles III take a boat trip

Afternoon, Rudolf Roß-Grundschule Elke Büdenbender and Queen Consort Camilla visit the school

Thereafter, Schuppen 52 Reception hosted by the British Embassy

#King Charles III #Queen Camilla #british royal family

[gwendolynlerman]

Deutschribing Germany

Government

Germany is a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic republic. The head of state is President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (right in the photo), and the head of government and chancellor is Olaf Scholz (left). Both are members of the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD, Social Democratic Party).

Branches

The government is divided into three branches. The executive power is wielded by the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the Council of Ministers.

The legislative branch consists of the Bundestag (Federal Diet), a lower house with 630 members, and the Bundesrat (Federal Council), an upper house with 69 senators.

Judicial power is wielded by courts, which follow civil law and the inquisitorial system, where the judges are actively involved in investigating the facts of the case.

Elections

The general minimum voting age in Germany is 18 years, but some states allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local and state elections. The minimum age for European elections is 16. The current coalition government, formed by the SPD, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (Grüne, The Greens), and the Freie Demokratische Partei (FDP, Free Democratic Party), promised to reduce the general voting age to 16 years. There are four types of elections: federal elections, state elections, municipal elections, and European Parliament elections.

General elections are held every four years, while state elections and elections to the European Parliament take place every five years. Municipal elections are held every five to eight years.

The map depicts the results of the 2021 federal election.

Political parties

Germany has a multi-party system with six main political parties: moderate SPD (center-left), conservative Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands (CDU, Christian Democatic Union of Germany) (center-right), social liberal The Greens (center-left), liberal FDP (center-right), far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD, Alternative for Germany) (right-wing), and progressive Die Linke (left-wing), in order of votes received. The CDU has a regional counterpart that only operates in Bavaria, the Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern (CSU, Christian Social Union in Bavaria). It is more conservative in social matters than the CDU.

#langblr #german

[howieabel]

"Moreover, postwar Germans have long tended to listen with sympathy to non-Germans attributing to them collective moral deficiencies and demanding humility in one form or another. It is hard to think how else to account for the extraordinary popularity enjoyed by the above-mentioned Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Melnyk, an unashamed fan of the terrorist, Nazi collaborator and war criminal Stepan Bandera and of his co-leader of the Ukrainian nationalists in the interwar years and under German occupation, also named Andrej Melnyk. Via Twitter, Melnyk has relentlessly lambasted German political figures, from the federal president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, downwards, for not standing sufficiently with Ukraine, in language that in all other countries would have led to his accreditation being revoked. There was hardly a week when Melnyk was not invited onto one of the weekly television talk shows to accuse German political leaders of genocidal conspiracy with Russia against the Ukrainian people. Named deputy foreign minister in the fall of 2022, Melnyk continued to figure prominently in the German debate on the country’s obligations toward Ukraine. For example, referring to an article in Süddeutsche Zeitung in which Jürgen Habermas advocated a cease-fire in Ukraine to enable peace negotiations, Melnyk tweeted: ‘That Jürgen Habermas is also so brazenly in Putin’s service leaves me speechless. A disgrace for German philosophy. Immanuel Kant and Georg Friedrich Hegel would turn in their graves out of shame.’ (To gauge the tone of much of the discussion, see a tweet from a young aspiring comedian, one Sebastian Bielendorfer: ‘Sahra Wagenknecht is simply the empty shell of a completely mentally and humanly depraved cell cluster. She shouldn’t be invited on talk shows, she should be treated.’ A day later: ‘Twitter has deleted the tweet. Regrettable. The truth remains.’)" - Wolfgang Streeck

[beardedmrbean]

In a signal of deepening cracks inside Germany's ruling coalition, Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Tuesday submitted a proposal for the government to block the sale of Dortmund-based microchip factory Elmos. 

The development follows apparent discord in the Cabinet over the degree of reliance that Germany has on Beijing. 

What do we know so far?

Sweden-based Silex, a unit of Chinese company Sai MicroElectronics, is seeking to take over the chip firm Elmos.

Silex is seeking to buy the Elmos site for some €85 million (just under $85 million). The move could see the German firm end production and simply sell Silex-made chips to its clients.

However, Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, headed by Green Party politician Habeck, is against the sale. A source at the ministry told the AFP news agency that the acquisition would "constitute a threat to public order and... security."

"The ministry has therefore suggested that the federal cabinet prohibits the acquisition of Elmos," the source was cited as saying.

Germany's domestic intelligence agency has also reportedly cited concerns, even though the German firm's technology is not reported to be state-of-the-art. 

Habeck is reportedly critical of takeovers in the field of semiconductor manufacturing and chip production. The sector is particularly sensitive, with German automakers badly hit last year by a global shortage of chips because of supply chain problems.

What's the background?

A split in the Cabinet about overreliance on China emerged notably over the sale of part of the port of Hamburg to Chinese state shipping company Cosco. 

Center-left Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz defied calls from six ministries — citing security concerns — to veto the sale, instead allowing Cosco to purchase a reduced stake. Both the Green Party and the neoliberal Free Democrats, junior coalition members, had expressed opposition to the sale in its original form.

Eventually, the sale to Cosco was approved in a compromise arrangement that saw the Chinese giant able to acquire a stake of just 24% compared with the planned 35%.

Habeck and other ministers from the two junior coalition parties have warned that it is unwise to make Germany more dependent on China at a time when it is weaning itself off energy imports from Russia.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a member of Scholz's Social Democrats, has said Germany must "learn lessons" from the stand-off with Moscow. Steinmeier has himself faced criticism for pursuing closer economic ties with Moscow during his time as Germany's foreign minister.

#nunyas news #let's see if they fuck this up #like they did by remaining reliant on russia #for all their gas

[bopinion]

2022 / 36

Aperçu of the Week:

"Beautiful memories are a second chance for happiness."

(Queen Elizabeth II)

Bad News of the Week:

Just as we thought it was over.... A thought that popped into my head several times this past week.

Example 1: Liz Truss was elected by the British Conservative party members as party leader - and thus also as the new prime minister. However, little is new about this. Truss is explicitly committed to the legacy of Boris Johnson, both in style and in substance. Brexit? A great idea, whose positive impact on the UK would only have to be unleashed. Immigrants, minorities, treaties with the EU, colonial responsibility, blah? All inferior and expendable. Remember, it was the previous Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, who engineered the fabulous deal to simply dump refugees stranded in the UK into Rwanda. No matter how often she poses as the legendary Margret Thatcher, she remains a tired imitation of Boris "the missing haircut" Johnson. Congratulations!

Example 2: Nuclear energy in Germany was supposed to be a chapter of the past, and the last three nuclear power plants were to be shut down at the end of the year. But now two of them are to remain on the grid - as a reserve for foreseeable bottlenecks in the power supply. Says Economics Minister Robert Habeck. Yes, he is a Green. And he knows about the unsolved problems for future generations that this form of energy will inevitably bring with it. But what can you do? This dirty energy source is available, you just have to push the button. As if it were so simple. Congratulations!

Example 3: Munich marked the bitter 50th anniversary when German security agencies failed miserably to protect the Israeli Olympic team from Palestinian terrorists. 16 deaths stand in the balance of the "Games of Peace". And an appropriate memorial ceremony could only take place because the families of the victims were paid for it. And because German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter apologized personally. Although they were still underage schoolchildren at the time and thus untrustworthy as contemporary witnesses, let alone responsible. Congratulations!

Example 4: Polio is back. Poliomyelitis is an incurable disease that paralyzes primarily children's limb muscles and, in the case of respiratory muscles, leads to death. And there is an effective vaccine against it, which is why polio was actually thought to have been eradicated since the 1960s - in Europe and North America. But after cases of the disease in Ukraine a few years ago and evidence of sewage in London in June, there has now been a specifically proven case in New York City, for which an official catastrophe alert was declared the day before yesterday. Vaccination refusers do not only exist for corona and measles. Congratulations!

Good News of the Week:

After graduating from high school and before she starts university in a few weeks, my daughter did a so-called "voluntary social year" in a kindergarten. To have a year break from learning, to gain personal experience and also to give something back to society. All three make sense. Not only for her, but actually for all young people. That's why I'm pleased that the Conservative party CDU (Christian Democratic Union of Germany) decided at its party conference this weekend to include the concept of a mandatory "society year" in its basic program.

Many young women and men were attracted by the idea of "temporarily and concretely committing themselves to our country and to our society." Where young people can complete their service should be as flexible as possible, "be it with social institutions, in hospitals, with the German armed forces, in civil defense with the Federal Agency for Technical Relief or with the fire department, through recognized aid organizations abroad or in sport and culture or with nature conservation and environmental protection associations". The service is to be remunerated by an "attractive service allowance".

Of course, the organizations mentioned above are the first to benefit from this. After all, the personnel situation in the social sector in particular is tight, and only a few people decide to take up the profession as a nurse in an old people's home, for example. A social year therefore not only strengthens cohesion in society, but also makes it possible for many social programs to be able to provide their services in sufficient form. After all, more and more old people will have to rely on help, more and more children from working single parents will have to be cared for, climate change will require more and more social commitment, and the steadily growing poverty will demand more and more support.

In the current election forecasts, the CDU is well ahead of the current governing traffic light parties consisting of the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Liberals. Their basic program therefore has a real chance of becoming a government program. The socially oriented Social Democrats and Greens are not expected to put up much resistance, and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has already expressed sympathy for the idea. So it may well be that my daughter will one day prove to be a trendsetter. That can only do us all good.

Personal happy moment of the week:

The last four days we had visitors from Québec: my French-Canadian host father Maurice, with whose family I lived in 1987/1988, and his wife Claudia visited us on a little trip to Europe. Which made me, who travels little and is anything but diligent in keeping in touch even on the easy-to-use social media, very happy. And also my wife was very pleased that the language in our house was "Québecois" for a few days and she could exchange with compatriots. Thank you so much for being with us!

I couldn't care less...

...that the new British King Charles III swore an ancient oath after his proclamation, namely to uphold "the true Protestant religion" in Scotland. The oath has been taken in this way by all kings and queens since 1714. This will make little impression on the Scots - after all, they did not choose to be part of the kingdom themselves. They wanted to remain part of the EU, for example, and the regional government is trying to prepare a referendum on independence. In principle, I sympathize with all peoples who try to preserve their own cultural identity as part of a more or less accepted confederation of states. And who (coincidence?) like Bavaria and Quebec have a white-blue national flag.

As I write this...

...it is rainy for the fourth day in a row. Which is good for nature, which didn't get nearly enough water this year. In return, I'm happy to take a tour of the city with an umbrella or discuss with a waiter whether a table outside can be used. Unfortunately, it is already too late for the harvest in this sunniest and rainiest summer ever, animal feed will be scarce in winter and food prices will continue to rise. But this is something we will probably have to adjust to in the long term, because we have been too lazy to take climate change seriously for too long. "Homo sapiens" is therefore not to be taken literally.

Post Scriptum:

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, better known as Queen Elizabeth II, is dead. I am far from being a royalist. Personally, it is more important to me that Bavarian King Max I Josef founded the Tegernsee Brewery than that Sissi's cousin King Ludwig II. built Neuschwanstein. Nevertheless, I must admit that the Queen set solid standards of her "profession" in terms of dignity - unlike some others of her family. In this respect, I can understand the grief of the British people. And will get used to the fact one day that the official head of state of Canada is now called Charles III.

#thoughts #aperçu #good news #bad news #news of the week #happy moments #politics #queen elizabeth #memories #happiness #liz truss #united kingdom #nuclear #munich #olympic games #polio #social #society #quebec #visit #charles iii #rain #homo sapiens #post script #climate change #scotland #bavaria #congratulations #frank walter steinmeier #the greens

[underthewingsofthblackeagle]

          50 years after the deadly terror attacks at the Munich Olympics, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has officially asked Israel forgiveness for Germany's handling of events. Fifty years ago, eleven Israeli team members died after Palestinian militants stormed their compound in the Olympic village. At a commemoration ceremony attended by family members of the vicitms, Steinmeier admitted Germany had failed to protect Israeli athletes.  

Finally somebody found the right words. It’s a shame that it took them so long.

#Germany #Israel #Munich Olypic Attacs #Rememberance of the Munich Olympic Attacs #Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier

[royal-hair]

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway at a memorial event in Berlin held to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall and later at a meeting with the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and the Federal Chancellor, Olaf Scholz - 09.11.23

#crown princess mette marit #norwegian royal family

[khulkulkhan]

Rangliste Bundespräsidenten Bundesrepublik Deutschland

The attempt to make a list of the presidents of the Federal Republic Germany. My ratings are made here by the criterias charisma, (historical) significance and empathie. The placements are in this order:

Walter Scheel

Richard von Weizsäcker

Theodor Heuss

Johannes Rau

Gustav Heinemann

Roman Herzog

Joachim Gauck

Christian Wulf

Heinrich Lübcke

Horst Köhler

Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Carl Carstens

#bundespräsident #rangliste #ranking #Bundesrepublik Deutschland #list #Präsident #president #Staatsoberhaupt #Head of country

[xtruss]

'Sacred' Ancient Masks Returned to South American Ethnic Group After Century-Long Absence

© AP Photo

The masks are used to "perform ceremonies” by the tribe, but while in Germany, were treated with a potentially dangerous disinfectant and it is unclear whether they can be worn safely on one's face anymore.

A pair of 15th Century wooden masks originating from a South American Kogi tribe in modern day Colombia have been returned after spending more than a century in German museums.

According to media reports, the masks were bought in 1915 from the son of a Kogi priest by German ethnologist Konrad Theodor Preuss.

This week, however, the masks were handed over by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to Colombian President Gustavo Petro during a ceremony in Berlin.

The transfer took place after the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, a German federal government body that oversees museums in Berlin, determined that the masks are sacred objects to their original owners and thus should not have been bought in the first place.

"They are not a historical artefact, they are alive," Kogi representative Arregoces Conchacala Zalabata said as quoted by a British newspaper. "With the masks we perform ceremonies to connect and work with the spirit of the Sun, the waters, the mountains and the world’s many species."

The media outlet pointed out, however, that the container holding the masks was repeatedly sprayed in the 1940s and 1950s with a disinfectant that got banned in the EU over a decade ago as it caused breathing difficulties and was potentially carcinogenic.

Left: Looted Benin Artifacts Back to Nigeria. Benin bronzes. Right: Artifacts Taken by Colonialists Yet to Be Returned to Africa. Bottom: Benin bronzes

Top: The Great Star of Africa! Bottom Left: The Ife Head! Bottom Right: The Luzira Head

The Queen Idia Head!

Hermann Parzinger, president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, reportedly told the newspaper that the masks were "detoxified" earlier this year and can be handled without wearing gloves or PPE masks, though there is "some doubt" over whether these objects "can be directly worn in front of the face."

[kazifatagar]

German President Have A Phone Call With PM Anwar

The German President gave a call to our Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last night and Frank-Walter Steinmeier discussed various bilateral issues between Malaysia and Germany. Among the topics discussed, the cooperation between Malaysia and Germany on anti-corruption and the green economy. Anti-Corruption “I received a phone call from the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter…

View On WordPress

#bilateral cooperation #foreign affairs #German President #latest Malaysia news

[ifreakingloveroyals]

Through the Years → Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (451/∞) 10 July 2023 | Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, his wife Elke Büdenbender and Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg stand together before the defilee at the banquet in honor of the Federal President and his wife, given by the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess at the Grand Ducal Palace. President Steinmeier and his wife are in Luxembourg for a two-day official visit. (Photo by Bernd von Jutrczenka/picture alliance via Getty Images)

#Grand Duchess Maria Teresa #Luxembourg #2023 #Bernd von Jutrczenka #picture alliance via Getty Images #through the years: Maria Teresa