Council of Elders of the Bundestag

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The Council of Elders (German: Ältestenrat, pronounced [ˈɛltəstn̩ˌʁaːt] ^ⓘ) of the German parliament Bundestag is a joint deliberative body which includes the following members:

• President;
• Vice presidents;
• Bundestag members appointed by parliamentary groups in proportion to their size. There are twenty-three appointees in all, including parliamentary secretaries of each parliamentary group.

As one of six Organs of the Bundestag, the Council of Elders (under the Rules of Procedure) is tasked with managing the internal affairs of the Bundestag. It is the entity which determines daily legislative agenda items and assigning committee chairpersons based on party representation. The council also serves as an important forum for interparty negotiations on specific legislation and procedural issues.^[1]