The historical roots of German parliamentarianism go back to the 19th century. It was a long journey from the first meeting of the National Assembly in May 1848 to the constituent sitting of the first German Bundestag elected in all-German elections in December 1990.

In contrast to other European countries, the German state has known little continuity. Following Imperial Germany, the Weimar Republic and National Socialism, the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany was promulgated in May 1949. When the Unification Treaty came into force on 3 October 1990, the Basic Law applied to the whole of Germany.