| rdfs:comment
| - Upon founding in 1871, the German Empire had 26 constituent states, of various government types, such as kingdoms, grand duchies, duchies, principalities, free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory. Alsace-Lorraine was reorganized as a self-ruling Reichsland in 1921, electing its own government the year prior. Saar and the Bavarian Palatinate were merged after World War I, and the former Provinces of Prussia established more state autonomy in Höhne's reforms, but it would not be until 1947, when after the French and Polish-Russian occupation of Germany, that the full extent of his reforms were realized. Each state reorganized along roughly similar lines, adopting the Regierungsbezirk/Bezirk/Kreis/Gemeinde division-scheme, a Postal Code, and gaining a bicameral legislature and an exe
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| abstract
| - Upon founding in 1871, the German Empire had 26 constituent states, of various government types, such as kingdoms, grand duchies, duchies, principalities, free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory. Alsace-Lorraine was reorganized as a self-ruling Reichsland in 1921, electing its own government the year prior. Saar and the Bavarian Palatinate were merged after World War I, and the former Provinces of Prussia established more state autonomy in Höhne's reforms, but it would not be until 1947, when after the French and Polish-Russian occupation of Germany, that the full extent of his reforms were realized. Each state reorganized along roughly similar lines, adopting the Regierungsbezirk/Bezirk/Kreis/Gemeinde division-scheme, a Postal Code, and gaining a bicameral legislature and an executive called the 'Landsgouverneur.' Reichsrat members were chosen by this Landsgouverneur upon the advice and consent of his legislature, and could not hold any other office while in the Reichsrat. While not a state on its own, Berlin is semi-autonomous city within Brandenburg, acting as the federal capital of the German Empire. The other city-states, Bremen, Lübeck, and Hamburg, are also states in their own right, and are represented as such in the Reichsrat. Until 1965, they received 2 members in the Rat, versus 4 for the land-states; after Kanzler Gunther Schultz and Kaiser Wilhelm III reformed it to 4 for all members of the Reichsrat. Unlike other federations, the German states retain the right to act on their own behalf at an international level. They retain the status of subjects of international law, independently from their status as members of a federation. This unique status is enshrined in Articles 23, 24, and 32 of the German Constitution. Today, the Kaiser maintains quite a powerful status as the monarch of the German nation, but his power is not as great as it once was in 1871, due to numerous constitutional reforms and laws over the years. The Kaiser is not an inherited position, but an elected position, much like in the old Holy Roman Empire. The Kaiser is chosen from a pool of candidates of royal blood by the Reichsrat, and serves until resignation or death. There is no campaigning as in the United States, but the Kaiser candidates do make known their positions on issues for several years prior to their consideration for the monarchy.
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