Kew facts about the Weimar Constitution

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The Weimar Constitution These are 5 key facts about the Weimar Constitution: The President The newly created constitution stated that the people would vote for a president. The term of the presidency was set at 7 years. The President had a range of powers which included: The President was the head of the armed forces; The President chose the Chancellor and had the legal right to dismiss him; It was the President who decided when to call elections, therefore allowing him to dismiss governments and The President had the right to call referendums. The Reichstag The Reichstag was the main body under the Weimar constitution. Germany was divided into electoral regions. Within each of these regions a political party would put forward a number of candidates. The number of these who became deputies within the Reichstag was based on the total number of votes the party received within that region.. The elected deputies then sat in the Reichstag. The leader of the most powerful elected party would usually then be appointed Chancellor by the President. The Chancellor could then choose his own Cabinet from the elected deputies. The Chancellor and the Cabinet answered to the Reichstag, so they were reliant upon the support of the majority of deputies. The President could dismiss the Chancellor and either call new elections or appoint an alternative Chancellor. The Reichstag debated issues and voted on proposed laws. Once passed by the Reichstag the law would then be debated in the Reichsrat, this was the second German house of Parliament where it would be accepted or rejected. The Reichsrat The Reichsrat was the second German house of Parliament. Each of the Regional governments could appoint members to this house. The Reichsrat had limited authority, it could not propose laws and it could not change them. Its function was to offer advice and it had the right to
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