North Rhine-Westphalia
Nordrhein-Westfalen
After this guide, you will know where North Rhine-Westphalia is, which city is its capital, which colours its flag has, how the state is governed and where to find information about politics.
The state and its capital
North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen) is a federal state (Bundesland) in the west of Germany. Germany has 16 states, and each state has its own government.
The city that is the state capital (Landeshauptstadt) is where the state government has its seat. The capital of North Rhine-Westphalia is Düsseldorf.
Flag and coat of arms
North Rhine-Westphalia has its own state flag (Landesflagge) and its own coat of arms (Wappen). The coat of arms is the official sign of the state. The coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia shows a wavy band, a rearing horse and a rose.
The state flag has the colours green, white and red (grün-weiß-rot). Remember the order: green, white, red.
State parliament and government
Each state has a state parliament (Landtag). Its members are elected by the people, and the parliament makes the laws for the state. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the state parliament election (Landtagswahl) takes place every five years.
The head of the state government is called the minister-president (Ministerpräsident). A minister-president is not a mayor, because a mayor leads only one city or municipality.
The state has several ministries, for example:
- Minister of Finance (Finanzminister): responsible for the state budget.
- Minister of Justice (Justizminister): responsible for the courts and the state's legal system.
- Minister of the Interior (Innenminister): responsible for the police and public safety in the state.
Districts, municipalities and local elections
A state is divided into districts (Landkreis) and some independent cities. Each district contains several municipalities (Gemeinde). For example, the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis is a district in North Rhine-Westphalia.
In local elections (Kommunalwahl) in North Rhine-Westphalia, people aged 16 and over may vote. The state's law sets this age, so it can differ between states.
To learn about political topics in North Rhine-Westphalia, you can go to the State Agency for Civic Education (Landeszentrale für politische Bildung). It is an agency of the state that gives neutral information. It is not a municipal office or a church.