State funeral

An official ceremony is a solemn event in honor of a major for a State or a corresponding event. Accordingly, the hallmarks of a state ceremony are an elaborate ceremony, a representative frame and the presence of high officials.

In the Federal Republic of Germany level of the federal president is only authorized to cause acts of state. However, this is done in coordination with the other constitutional organs.

An act of state can be:

• A state funeral,
• A Trauerstaatsakt,
• Or any other state and ceremony.

According to the arrangement on state funerals and acts of state on June 2, 1966, a governmental act may be granted in particular people in public life who have performed exemplary service to the German people. 2006, this posthumous tribute was given to the former Federal President Johannes Rau and former President of the Bundestag, Rainer Barzel. But also to significant anniversaries, such as the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany or in memory of the victims of the tsunami on the coasts of the Indian Ocean, already such acts of state were conducted in the Federal Republic of Germany.