Editing Bonn (section)

===After national reunification===
[[File:Villa Hammerschmidt Bonn Seite Adenauerallee 20080831.jpg|left|thumb|Between 1950 and 1994, [[Hammerschmidt Villa|Villa Hammerschmidt]] was the primary official residence of the [[President of Germany]]. Today it serves as the President's secondary residence.]]
[[German reunification]] in 1990 made Berlin the nominal capital of Germany again. This decision, however, did not mandate that the republic's political institutions would also move. While some argued for the seat of government to move to Berlin, others advocated leaving it in Bonn – a situation roughly analogous to that of the [[Netherlands]], where [[Amsterdam]] is the capital but [[The Hague]] is the seat of government. Berlin's previous history as united Germany's capital was strongly connected with the [[German Empire]], the [[Weimar Republic]] and more ominously with both [[Nazi Germany]] and [[Prussia]]. It was felt that a new peacefully united Germany should not be governed from a city connected to such overtones of war. Additionally, Bonn was closer to [[Brussels]], headquarters of the [[European Economic Community]]. Former West German chancellor and mayor of [[West Berlin]] [[Willy Brandt]] caused considerable offence to the Western Allies during the debate by stating that France would not have kept the seat of government at [[Vichy France|Vichy]] after Liberation.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o36GDAAAQBAJ&q=Willy+Brandt++France+Vichy+capital&pg=PA149 |title=Willy Brandt: a Political Biography |author=Barbara Marshall |date=18 December 1996 |publisher=Springer |page=149 |isbn=9780230390096 }}</ref>

The heated debate that [[Decision on the Capital of Germany|resulted]] was settled by the ''[[Bundestag]]'' (Germany's parliament) only on 20 June 1991. By a vote of 338–320,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thelocal.de/20110615/35655 |title=Bonn to Berlin move still controversial |work=[[The Local]]|date=15 June 2011 |access-date=1 December 2020 |language=en |archive-date=27 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527124908/https://www.thelocal.de/20110615/35655 |url-status=live }}</ref> the Bundestag voted to move the seat of government to Berlin. The vote broke largely along regional lines, with legislators from the south and west favouring Bonn and legislators from the north and east voting for Berlin.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hauptstadtbeschluss: 20 Jahre Pro-Berlin |trans-title=Capital-City Decision: 20 Years of Pro-Berlin |url=http://aktuell.nationalatlas.de/Hauptstadtbeschluss.6_06-2011.0.html |website=nationalatlas.de |first=Sebastian |last=Lentz |date=17 June 2011 |access-date=20 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331093254/http://aktuell.nationalatlas.de/Hauptstadtbeschluss.6_06-2011.0.html |archive-date=31 March 2013 |url-status=live |lang=de }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Laux |first=Hans-Dieter |title=Berlin oder Bonn? Geographische Aspekte einer Parlamentsentscheidung |trans-title=Berlin or Bonn? Geographical Aspects of a Parliamentary Decision |journal=Geographische Rundschau |volume=43 |issue=12 |pages=740–743 |year=1991 |language=de }}</ref> It also broke along generational lines as well; older legislators with memories of Berlin's past glory favoured Berlin, while younger legislators favoured Bonn. Ultimately, the votes of the [[New states of Germany#Culture|eastern German]] legislators tipped the balance in favour of Berlin.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Wayne C. |year=2008 |title=The World Today Series: Nordic, Central and Southeastern Europe 2008 |publisher=Stryker-Post Publications |location=Harpers Ferry, West Virginia |isbn=978-1-887985-95-6 }}</ref>

From 1990 to 1999, Bonn served as the seat of government of reunited Germany. In recognition of its former status as German capital, it holds the name of Federal City ({{langx|de|link=no|Bundesstadt}}). Bonn currently shares the status of Germany's seat of government with Berlin, with the [[President of Germany|President]], the [[Chancellor of Germany|Chancellor]] and many government ministries (such as [[Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Germany)|Food & Agriculture]] and [[Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany)|Defence]]) maintaining large presences in Bonn. Over 8,000 of the 18,000 federal officials remain in Bonn.<ref name="Cowell">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/world/europe/24berlin.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/world/europe/24berlin.html |archive-date=1 January 2022 |url-access=limited |title=In Germany's Capitals, Cold War Memories and Imperial Ghosts |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=Alan |last=Cowell |date=23 June 2011}}{{cbignore }}</ref> A total of 19 United Nations (UN) institutions operate from Bonn today.