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[[File:Senatsglocke.jpg|thumb|The Senate Bell]]<br />
The '''Bavarian Senate''' (German ''Bayerischer Senat'') was the corporative [[upper house|upper chamber]] of [[Free State of Bavaria|Bavaria's]] parliamentary system from 1946 to 1999, when it was abolished by a [[Referendum|popular vote]] (referendum) changing the [[Constitution of Bavaria]].<br />
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== Composition ==<br />
The 60 members of the Senate had to be at least 40 years of age and could not be a member of the [[Landtag of Bavaria|Landtag]] (the other and more important chamber of the Bavarian parliament). Every other year, a third of the Senate's members would be elected by corporations representing social, economic, municipal or cultural groups or appointed by religious denominations for a term of six years. The number of seats representing each group was fixed by the constitution of Bavaria:<br />
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* 11 representatives of [[agriculture]] or [[forestry]]<br />
* 5 representatives of [[Industrial sector|industry]] and [[commerce]]<br />
* 5 representatives of [[craft|craftsmen]]<br />
* 11 representatives of [[trade union|unions]]<br />
* 4 representatives of [[profession]]s<br />
* 5 representatives of [[cooperatives]]<br />
* 5 representatives of [[religious denomination]]s<br />
* 5 representatives of [[social welfare]] organisations<br />
* 3 representatives of [[university|universities]] and [[college]]s<br />
* 6 representatives of [[municipality|municipal]]ities and municipal associations<br />
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Internationally, the Senate's composition was similar to the [[Vocational panel]]s in the [[Seanad Éireann|Irish senate]]. It also bore remnants of [[council democracy|council-democratic]] ideas.<br />
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== Role ==<br />
The Senate's main role was consulting other state institutions and delivering legal opinion. It also had the power to delay state [[legislation]] passed by the Landtag within a month (one week for urgent acts). However, the Landtag could overturn the veto by a [[Plurality (voting)|simple majority]], the same majority required to pass a law in the first place.<br />
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== Criticism and dissolution ==<br />
In the 1990s, public opinion in [[Germany]] turned towards [[lean Government|leaner government]]. The Senate, because it was essentially powerless, was regarded by many as an unnecessary expenditure.<br />
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In June 1997, a [[popular initiative]] petition sponsored by the [[Ecological Democratic Party]] gained 927,047 signatures (10.5% of those entitled to vote). In the following [[referendum]] on 8 February 1998, which yielded a turnout of 39.9%, a majority of 69.2% voted for the law amending the State Constitution to abolish the Senate. A counter-proposal by the ruling [[Christian Social Union of Bavaria|Christian Social Union]], which would have changed the composition of the Senate, only received 23.6%.<br />
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On 1 January 2000, the law abolishing the Senate came into effect.<br />
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==Presidents of the Senate of Bavaria==<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Name<br />
! Period<br />
|-<br />
|Josef Singer<br />
|1947–1967<br />
|-<br />
|[[Hippolyt Baron Poschinger of Frauenau]]<br />
|1968–1982<br />
|-<br />
|Hans Weiß<br />
|1982–1993<br />
|-<br />
|[[Walter Schmitt Glaeser]]<br />
|1994–1996<br />
|-<br />
|[[Heribert Thallmair]]<br />
|1996–1999<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
* [[House of Councillors (Bavaria)]]<br />
* [[Politics of Bavaria]]<br />
* [[History of Bavaria]]<br />
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== External links ==<br />
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927194800/http://www.bayern.landtag.de/ElanTextAblage_WP13/Drucksachen/0000009000/13_09097.pdf Gegenentwurf des Landtags zum Volksentscheid am 8. Februar 1998 (Senatsreformgesetz) (pdf)] (34&nbsp;kB) {{in lang|de}} The counter-proposal by the ''Christian Social Union''<br />
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091208112526/http://www.statistik.bayern.de/wahlen/VE/ve_l3-6d.html Amtliche Ergebnisse des Volksentscheids „Abschaffung des Senats“ am 8. Februar 1998] {{in lang|de}} Official voting results<br />
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120401025428/http://www.bayern.verfassungsgerichtshof.de/12VIII98.htm Urteil des Bayerischen Verfassungsgerichtshofes nach dem Volksentscheid zur Abschaffung des Bayerischen Senats] {{in lang|de}} Court ruling on the abolishment of the Senate<br />
[[Category:Politics of Bavaria]]<br />
[[Category:1946 establishments in Germany]]<br />
[[Category:1999 disestablishments in Germany]]<br />
[[Category:Defunct upper houses]]<br />
[[Category:20th century in Bavaria]]<br />
[[Category:Corporatism]]</div>Nileshkale230