The Bavarian Government consists of the Minister-President, eleven Ministers and six State Secretaries. The Minister-President is elected for a five-year term by the Bavarian Parliament (Landtag).
The Bavarian coat of arms was introduced in 1950 with the ‘Law on the Coat of Arms of the Free State of Bavaria’. The symbols portrayed in the coat of arms have their roots in Bavaria’s history and represent the different regions of Bavaria.
The official Bavarian flag in the state colours: white and blue.
The lyrics of the Bavarian hymn were written by Michael Öchsner (1816-1893) and its music was composed by Max Kunz (1812-1875).
The Bavarian Landtag is Bavaria’s Parliament. Its 180 members are elected by the population for a period of five years. Its main tasks are legislation and the election and monitoring of the Bavarian government
In contrast to the Canadian federal system, in Germany the Länder, including Bavaria, participate directly in the federal legislative process. This takes places through the Bundesrat, Germany’s second house of Parliament after the Bundestag. The Bundesrat is composed of representatives of the governments of the Länder.
Today, Bavaria promotes its interests with confidence not only at the federal level, but also at the European level, without calling into question its membership in the Federal Republic of Germany or the European Union. There are Bavarian representations in both Berlin and Brussels; these offices are branches of the Bavarian State Chancellery, the main office of the Minister-President.