In Germany, the President of the Bundesrat or President of the Federal Council (German: Bundesratspräsident) is the chairperson (speaker) of the Bundesrat (Federal Council). The president is elected by the Bundesrat for a term of one year (usually from November 1 to October 31 in the next year). Traditionally, the presidency of the Bundesrat rotates among the leaders of the sixteen state governments. This is however only an established practice; theoretically the Bundesrat is free to elect any member it chooses, and a president could also be re-elected (which has happened once, in 1957). As well as acting as a chairperson, the president of the Bundesrat is ex officio deputy of the Federal President. The President of the German Federal Council is 4th in the German order of precedence. In addition, the main celebration of German Unity Day is traditionally held in the state that holds the presidency. The president of the Bundesrat convenes and chairs plenary sessions of the body and is formally responsible for representing the Federal Republic in the Bundesrat. The president is aided by two vice presidents who play an advisory role and deputise in the president's absence. The three together constitute the presidium of the Bundesrat. The current president of the Bundesrat is Peter Tschentscher, the First Mayor of Hamburg, whose one-year term started on 1 November 2022. Election The Basic Law provides that "the Bundesrat elects its President for one year" (Art. 52.1). In order to be elected, a nominee needs a majority of votes in the Bundesrat (currently 35 of 69). In practice the position rotates among the states equally, following a constitutional convention known as the “Königstein agreement” (Königsteiner Vereinbarung). The position rotates from one state to another in an order determined by population, the presidency descending from the most populous state to the least. The order is updated based on the newest census-data everytime a rotation has been completed. The Königsstein agreement also states that, if the sitting President of the Bundesrat exits his office as Minister-President, by losing a state election, resignation, or death, the new Minister-President of that state is elected President of the Bundesrat subsequently, but only to complete their predecessors term. The last time this occurred was in April 1999, when Hans Eichel, President of the Bundesrat and Minister-President of Hesse, had lost the 1999 Hesse state election and his successor Roland Koch served the end of