The Deutsche Bundesbank (German for German Federal Bank) is the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany and as such part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). Due to its strength and former size, the Bundesbank is the most influential member of the ESCB. Both the Deutsche Bundesbank and the European Central Bank (ECB) are located in Frankfurt am Main. It is sometimes referred to as "Buba" for Bundesbank.

The Bundesbank was established in 1957 and succeeded the Bank deutscher Länder, which introduced the Deutsche Mark on 20 June 1948. Until the euro was physically introduced in 2002, the Deutsche Bundesbank was the central bank of the former Deutsche Mark ("German Mark", sometimes known in English as the "Deutschmark").

The Deutsche Bundesbank was the first central bank to be given full independence, leading this form of central bank to be referred to as the Bundesbank model, as opposed, for instance, to the New Zealand model, which has a goal (i.e. inflation target) set by the government.

Jens Weidmann (born 20 April 1968 in Solingen) is a German economist and president of the Deutsche Bundesbank. Before assuming the top Bundesbank position in 2011, from February 2006, he served as Head of Division IV (Economic and Financial Policy) in the Federal Chancellery. He was the chief negotiator of the Federal Republic of Germany for both the summits of the G8 and the G20.

In 1987 Weidmann graduated from gymnasium in Backnang, Baden-Württemberg after which he studied economics at Université Paul Cézanne Aix-Marseille III, the University of Paris, and University of Bonn. He received his doctoral degree under the auspices of monetary theorist Manfred J. M. Neumann. During his studies Weidmann had internships at the Banque de France and the National Bank of Rwanda. Due to the resulting knowledge of the French financing sector his later career in German financial politics was welcomed in France and seen as a support of the Franco-German twin engine.

From 1997 to 1999 Weidmann worked at the International Monetary Fund. Until 2004 he worked as Secretary of the German Council of Economic Experts. From there he moved to the Bundesbank, where he was until 2006 the head of the Monetary Policy and Monetary Analysis group. Since 2006 he was responsible for preparing the content and strategy of the G-20 round which was formed to counter the effects of the financial crisis. Chancellor Angela Merkel promoted him in December 2009 to the influential role of the Sherpa of the G8 summits as she considers the G8 round to be only a pre-summit of the G20 round in the field of the world-wide financial system as well as that most other subjects need a wider context than the G8 as well (compare Heiligendamm Process for G8+5).