Section 4
The State Government
Art. 43
(1) The State Government shall be the supreme leading and executive authority of the state
(2) It shall consist of the Minister-President and up to 17 state ministers and state secretaries
Art. 44
(1) The Minster-President shall be elected by the newly elected Bavarian State Parliament, at the latest within one week after its assembly, for a term of five years
(2) Any citizen who is entitled to vote and has attained the age of 40 shall be eligible for election
(3) 1 The Minster-President may resign from his/her office at any time 2 The Minister-President must resign if the political situation renders a trustful cooperation between him/her and the Bavarian State Parliament impossible 3 The resignation of the Minster-President shall result in the resignation of the State Government 4 Until the election of a new Minister-President, the external representation of Bavaria shall become the responsibility of the President of the Bavarian State Parliament 5 During this period, the President of the Bavarian State Parliament cannot be dismissed
(4) In the event of the resignation or the death of the Minister-President during his/her term of office, a new Minster-President shall be elected during the next sitting of the Bavarian State Parliament for the remainder of the current term of office
(5) If a new election does not take place within four weeks, the President of the Bavarian State Parliament must dissolve the Bavarian State Parliament
Art. 45
The Minister-President shall appoint and dismiss the state ministers and state secretaries with the consent of the Bavarian State Parliament
Art. 46
The Minster-President shall appoint his/her deputy from among the ranks of the state minsters with the consent of the Bavarian State Parliament
Art. 47
(1) The Minster-President shall chair the State Government and conduct its business
(2) The Minster-President shall determine the political guidelines and shall be answerable in this respect to the Bavarian State Parliament
(3) The Minster-President shall represent Bavaria externally
(4) In individual cases, the Minster-President shall exercise the right of pardon
–10–