Minister-President

As head of government, the Minister-President presides over the Bavarian State Government. He shall determine the policy guidelines and shall be accountable for them to the Landtag (Bavarian State Parliament). His guidelines shall be binding on all members of the State Government. He shall moreover strive to ensure a consistent administration of proceedings in all departments and resolve conflicts of competence between ministers of state in line with the allocation of responsibilities established by the Bavarian State Government. In addition, he shall be responsible for reviewing the laws adopted by the Landtag for conformity with the constitution, and for their drafting and publication. He may conclude state treaties, subject to the prior consent of the Landtag.
As Head of State and first representative of the State of Bavaria he represents Bavaria externally, especially to the Federal Government, the other federal states and international partners.

The Minister-President’s official seat of office is the Bavarian State Chancellery next to Munich’s Hofgarten. This is where cabinet meetings are held on a regular basis.

The Minister-President is elected by the Bavarian Landtag for a five-year term.  Any citizen who is entitled to vote in the Bavarian parliamentary elections and has attained the age of 40 is eligible for election.

In Bavaria, the office of Minister-President was established by the Constitution of 14 August 1919 and renewed by the Constitution of 2 December 1946. The introduction of the office of premier had already been considered as early as the time of Elector Max Emanuel (1662-1726).

Since the end of the Nazi regime and the reintroduction of democracy in Bavaria in 1945, eleven men have held the office of Minister-President and governed the Free State of Bavaria:

• Fritz Schäffer,
• Dr. Wilhelm Hoegner,
• Dr. Hanns Seidel,
• Dr. Hans Ehard, 
• Dr. h. c. Alfons Goppel,
• Dr. h. c. Franz Josef Strauß,
• Dr. h. c. Max Streibl,
• Dr. Edmund Stoiber,
• Dr. Günther Beckstein,
• Horst Seehofer.

The current Minister-President is Dr. Markus Söder, MdL.

Requirements for an honorary sponsorship of multiple births

At the request of the parents/legal guardians, the Bavarian Minister-President shall assume honorary sponsorship for multiple births of triplets or more

• who were born on or after 1 January 2018,
• who have German citizenship or citizenship of another member state of the European Union,
• who have their principal residence in Bavaria.

The sponsorship is granted with the presentation of a certificate signed by the Minister-President.

Type and amount of financial support

The grant is a non-recurring amount of 1,000 euro for each child of the multiple birth. It is a voluntary benefit and is provided independent of income within the scope of the appropriated budget funds. There is no legal entitlement to the grant.

Procedure: Acceptance of honorary sponsorship

The municipality in which the family resides shall inform the parents/legal guardians that in the event of multiple births the Bavarian Minister-President will assume an honorary sponsorship upon submission of an application.

The application for honorary sponsorship shall be submitted using the Application form (PDF) within one year of the multiple birth. The municipality of residence confirms on the form that the application requirements have been met. For this purpose, it is necessary to present copies of the birth certificates or certified printouts from the birth register with the completed application. The application is then submitted to the State Chancellery which decides on the application and pays out the grant. The grant is paid out by way of bank transfer to an account of the parents/legal guardians, which shall be specified in the application.

The certificates of honorary sponsorship signed by the Minister-President are handed over by the mayor of the respective municipality of residence. The Minister-President reserves the right to present the certificates himself in individual cases.