Federal Returning Officer
The Federal Returning Officer and his or her deputy are appointed for an indefinite period of
time by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Since the elections to the German Reichstag, the
tasks of the Federal Returning Officer have traditionally been entrusted to the President of the
Federal Statistical Office.
Since 1 August 2008, the Federal Returning Officer for the election to the German Bundestag
and for the election of members of the European Parliament from the Federal Republic of Germany has
been the President of the Federal Statistical Office, Roderich Egeler; his deputy is the
Vice-President of the Federal Statistical Office, Dieter Sarreither. The address of the office of
the Federal Returning Officer is:
For more detailed information please refer to the paper "Die Aufgaben des
Bundeswahlleiters" (The responsibilities of the Federal Returning Officer) - only German version
available:
http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/de/ueber_uns/aufgaben/die_aufgaben_des_bwl.pdf
Legal bases
Bundestag election: Sections 8, 9 of the Federal Elections Act (BWG), Section 1 of the
Federal Electoral Regulations (BWO)
European election: Section 5 of the European Elections Act (EuWG), Section 1 of the European
Electoral Regulations (EuWO)
Last update: September 2011
©2012 The Federal Returning Officer