Who are the Bundestag members?

The Baden State Theater in the southern German city of Karlsruhe will soon be hiring a new actor for the titular role in its stage version of Goethe's novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther." The current Werther is now undergoing quite a a career change: he is abandoning his role at the theater for one as a deputy in Germany's Bundestag. Michel Brandt, a twenty-seven-year-old member of the left-wing party Die Linke, will enter parliament for the upcoming legislative period. Before his Bundestag debut, he will play Goethe's young Werther two more times and then take a final bow for at least the next four years. His current employer proudly stated, "Everyone who works for the theater congratulates him and is pleased that an artist been chosen to serve in Berlin."

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Percentage of female Bundestag deputies hits 19-year low

The long road to building a government

Not all deputies will be missed as much as Brandt. Many of them have been working in Berlin for years, one legislative period after the next. The Bundestag's directory of deputies states "member of parliament" as the profession of many long-serving members. This now applies to over 300 of the 709 members of the Bundestag. The only deputy whose occupation is listed as "politician" is Green Party member Corinna Rüffer, a university dropout who has learned about politics by serving her party on municipal and state levels.

AfD may pose a challenge to historians

Ever since it became clear that the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) would enter the Bundestag for this, its 19th legislative session, politicians have been comparing the current situation to the time of the Weimar Republic.

Civil rights activist Friedrich Schorlemmer demands a clear position on history, stating, "We now need historically informed democrats in the Bundestag." Four members of parliament may feel that they in particular are being addressed, as they hold degrees in history. The other 705 will have to rely on their educational background.

Read more: The role of the Bundestag's parliamentary opposition

There are no historians to be found in the ranks of the AfD. A pilot, two of parliament's six policemen and three of the Bundstag's fifteen university professors represent the AfD. The professors have worked in the fields of physics, business administration and consumer policy.

Professors from other party factions have conducted research in economics, engineering or medicine. Probably one of the most prominent academics in the Bundestag, bow-tie wearer and health expert Karl Lauterbach, has held a seat in parliament for the Social Democrats (SPD) since 2005.

Lawyers make up the body's largest professional group by far. Parliament, defined as a legislative body by the constitution, will be able to rely on the expert knowledge of over 100 law experts, mostly lawyers but also six judges among them. The number of farmers in the Bundestag has continued to drop: there were 13 farmers in the last parliament and only nine in this one. Alois Rainer, a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) from Straubing, Bavaria, is the only butcher in parliament.

Fewer teachers in the legislative ranks

Traditionally, the Bundestag has never lacked for teachers, but now only 19 members are teachers, four of which at the university level. Even fewer members list their profession as self-employed. Theologians are even more scarce (four) as are veterinarians (two). Lastly, one trained diplomat will join parliament, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff. He is the nephew of former West German Economic Affairs Minister Otto Graf Lambsdorff.