The Heads of Government of the 16 federal states meet four times a year at the Conference of Minister-Presidents with the purpose of coordinating their policies. The chair is held by the different federal states in rotation.
The Conference of Minister-Presidents was established in 1954 as a permanent institution and is a body designed to permit self-coordination among the federal states. Key political coordination processes which are necessary outside of the customary legislative procedure are reserved to the Conference of Minister-Presidents, which is not an organ of the constitution in the same way as, for instance, the Bundesrat.
The Conference of Minister-Presidents generally meets at least four times a year. Two of these conferences are terminated by a meeting with the German Chancellor.
Traditionally, typical areas of focus for the Conference of Minister-Presidents have been issues such as energy policy, education policy, European policy, federalism reform and financial relations between the states and the Federation. The Conference of Minister-Presidents is also responsible for the finalization of state treaties and other conventions – in particular on the subject of radio.
