Federal agency (Germany)

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Federal agencies in Germany are established to assist the administration of the federal government. Federal agencies are hierarchically organized on four levels:

• Top-level federal agencies include the Federal Ministries, the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the President of Germany, the Federal Auditing Office and the Representative of the Federal Government for Culture and Media. Top level agencies are distinguished from all other agencies because they are specifically mentioned in the Basic Law.
• Upper-level federal agencies include those that stand directly subordinate to a federal ministry but which do not have any agencies subordinate to them, such as the Federal Administrative Agency, the Federal Criminal Police Office, the Federal Insurance Agency, or the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (Technisches Hilfswerk).
• Middle-level federal agencies are situated between a federal ministry and the lowest administrative level. Their responsibilities are limited to specific regions, for example, the Higher Financial Directorates and the Defense Administrations.
• Low-level federal agencies are subordinate to middle-level agencies and are responsible for relatively small areas such as the District Defense Agencies or the Waterway Administrations.