The federal city of Bonn is a city on the banks of the Rhine located in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About 24 km (15 mi) south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region, Germany's largest metropolitan area, with over 11 million inhabitants. It is a university city, was the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven and was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990. Bonn was the seat of government of reunited Germany from 1990 to 1999.
The Bundestag is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people, comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 as one of the legislative bodies of Germany and thus it is the historical successor to the earlier Reichstag.
The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the Rhein-Universität on 18 October 1818 by Frederick William III, as the linear successor of the Kurkölnische Akademie Bonn which was founded in 1777. The University of Bonn offers many undergraduate and graduate programs in a range of subjects and has 544 professors. The University of Bonn is a member of the German U15 association of major research-intensive universities in Germany and has the title of "University of Excellence" under the German Universities Excellence Initiative; it is consistently ranked amongst the best German universities in the world rankings and is one of the most research intensive universities in Germany.
The German Bundesrat is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder of Germany at the federal level. The Bundesrat meets at the former Prussian House of Lords in Berlin. Its second seat is located in the former West German capital of Bonn.
Deutsche Welle, commonly shortened to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service consists of channels in English, German, Spanish, Persian and Arabic. The work of DW is regulated by the Deutsche Welle Act, meaning that content is intended to be independent of government influence. DW is a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln, shortened to WDR, is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the consortium of German public-broadcasting institutions, ARD. As well as contributing to the output of the national television channel Das Erste, WDR produces the regional television service WDR Fernsehen and six regional radio networks.
Rainer Wieland is a German politician who has been serving as a member of the European Parliament for Germany since 1997. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union, part of the European People's Party. He has been a member of the European Parliament since 1997 and one of its vice-presidents since 2009. His area of responsibility as a member of the European Parliament includes the Stuttgart administrative district. Since 2011, Wieland has been president of the non-partisan Europa-Union Deutschland.
The Bundesrechnungshof is the supreme federal authority for audit matters in the Federal Republic of Germany. There are equivalent bodies at state level. The status of the Bundesrechnungshof, its members and its essential functions are guaranteed by the German Constitution, and regulated by other legislation. It is an independent judicial body, with around 600 employees. Its current President is Kay Scheller.
Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, commonly shortened to RBB, is an institution under public law for the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg, based in Berlin and Potsdam. RBB was established on 1 May 2003 through the merger of Sender Freies Berlin (SFB) and Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg (ORB), based in Potsdam, and is a member of the Association of PSBs in the Federal Republic of Germany (ARD).
Klaus Scharioth is a former German diplomat. From 2006 to 2011 he served as Germany's ambassador to the United States. Since 2011 he has been dean of the Mercator Fellowship on International Affairs. He is also a Professor of Practice at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a commentator on relations between Germany and the United States.
The German Hockey Federation is the national governing body for field hockey in Germany. It was founded in 1909 in Bonn. It is situated in Mönchengladbach and had 66,145 members on 1 January 2006. The body is built by the club which are organised in subdivisions on the level of the Bundesländer. The association itself is member of the DOSB, the EHF and the FIH. It is responsible for the German national hockey teams and is the administrator of the Men's Bundesliga and Women's Bundesliga
Jens Weidmann is a German economist who served as president of the Deutsche Bundesbank between 2011 and 2021. He also served as chairman of the Board of the Bank for International Settlements.
Sabine Verheyen is a German architect and politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2009. She is a member of the Christian Democratic Union, part of the European People's Party.
Wolfgang Stock is a German author, professor and former journalist and managing partner of Convincet, a business consultancy for corporate communications.
Fritz Ferdinand Pleitgen was a German television journalist and author. He was correspondent in Moscow, East Berlin and Washington. Pleitgen was a supporter of Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik. In 1988, Pleitgen became editor-in-chief of television of Germany's then-largest public broadcaster, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), and was director of WDR from 1995 to 2007. He is regarded as one of the most influential German journalists and media makers. In 2010, he was the manager of Ruhr.2010, a project of European Capital of Culture.
IU International University of Applied Sciences is a private, state-recognized University of Applied Sciences based in Erfurt, Germany.
Patrizia Nanz is a political scientist and an expert in public participation and democratic innovations. She has provided expertise to businesses, state agencies, and governments in various European countries.
Reinhard Dieter Grindel is a German journalist, politician (CDU) and football administrator.
Thomas Lengauer is a German computer scientist and computational biologist.
Patrick Ernst Hermann Sensburg is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and a professor at the University of Applied Sciences for Police and Public Administration in North Rhine-Westphalia in Cologne. He served as a member of the German Parliament from 2009 until 2021, representing the Hochsauerlandkreis constituency in North Rhine-Westphalia.
