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This chapter examines the executive branch of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) with a particular focus on the Federal Chancellor, the ministers who form the Federal Cabinet, including their ministries, and other federal administrative authorities which form the executive bodies of the federal government. There is only a brief discussion of the German parliament (Bundestag), which has a close relationship with the ruling government in Germany’s political system. Germany’s federal government is best viewed as a ‘Chancellor’s Democracy’ whose policies and decision-making are guided by cultivating consensus between the major and minor parties of a governing coalition. Over time, historical developments have diminished the role of certain bodies, such as the Cabinet, and empowered others, such as the Office of the Chancellery, which are not mentioned in the Federal Republic’s Basic Law, the Grundgesetz.

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