Wales is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, whose government is based in the English capital, London.
The Parliament of Great Britain has its seat in England’s capital London. It consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Parliament, along with the Queen, represents the sovereign power of the United Kingdom. The “House of Lords” is the highest English court and processes the bills of the lower house. The House of Lords is not determined by general elections but consists of bishops, nobles and lords. Issues of domestic and foreign policy in the country are dealt with here. The House of Lords now has fewer powers than the “House of Commons”, which represents the British people and is now the most important part of Parliament. The “House of Commons” is elected democratically. The deputies are elected within a constituency and represent it in parliament until it is dissolved after five years at the latest. The House of Commons decides on legislation and the state budget and the respective government must always be accountable to this political body. The Prime Minister is only entitled to govern as long as the House of Commons supports him with a majority. The prime minister is appointed by the monarch and is the majority leader of the lower house. He has the authority to appoint the heads of department of the ministries to the cabinet. The members of the government are appointed by the ruling monarch on his proposal. The prime minister sets the guidelines for politics. It is up to him to dissolve the House of Commons and thus to call new elections. The monarch himself opens parliament once a year. In practice, within today’s constitutional monarchy, he has little power and acts according to the advice of the prime minister, mainly representative tasks. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II.
Wales is part of the United Kingdom, whose official name is:
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
Wales has had an elected Parliament (National Assembly for Wales (NAW)) since May 1999, but it has only limited powers.
National anthem
The national anthem of Great Britain is entitled “God Save the Queen”. The Anthem of Wales in Welsh: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. The text is sung exclusively in Valais. Translated into German, the text reads: Old land of my fathers. The text of the hymn was created by Evan James in 1856, and the music goes back to his son James.
| O land of my fathers, O land of my love, Dear mother of minstrels who kindle and move, And hero on hero, who at honor’s proud call, For freedom their lifeblood let fall.Wales! Wales! O but my heart is with thee! And long as the sea your bulwark shall be, To Cymru my heart shall be true. O land of the mountains, the bard’s paradise, Whose precipice, valleys lone as the skies, Green murmuring forest, far echoing flood Fire the fancy and quicken the blood.For tho ‘the fierce foeman has ravaged thy realm, The old speech of Cymru he cannot o’erwhelm, Our passionate poets to silence command Or banish the harp from thy strand. |
The German translation of the English version
| Oh, land of my fathers; Oh land of my love, you mother of the minstrels who awaken and move, and hero after hero, who on the honor of proud reputation, have given their lives for freedom.Wales! Wales! Oh my heart stay with you! And wide as the sea Your bulwark should be, Against Cymru my heart will remain true. Oh land of mountains, the bard’s heavenly kingdom, whose gorges and valleys, the sky like solitude, green forests and rushing rivers arouse the imagination and refresh the blood.Because of them, bitter enemies have devastated your empire, But they cannot subjugate the old language of Cymru, Our fervent poets are called zur quiet, Or play the harp from your beach. Until the trees burn. |
National flag
The Union Jack is the traditional name of the national flag of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; it is called the “Union Flag” in official usage. The name “Jack” was previously used to designate bow flags on (war) ships. The first Union Jack was created back in 1606 and has been changed many times since then. The Union Jack in common use today is a combination of the English, Scottish and Irish flags.
The national flag of Wales is the famous red kite on a green and white background. The red dragon became the national flag of Wales as early as 1807 and in its present form from 1959. But he’s been the symbol of Wales for centuries. Probably the flags of Wales and Scotland are the oldest national flags in the world. The Romans probably brought the dragon to Wales as a symbol of their power. The green and white stripe goes back to the Welsh royal family, the Tudor, who ruled England from 1485 to 1603.
