 Aside from the fact that the states of Austria lack an independent judiciary on the one hand and that their autonomy is largely notional on the other hand, Austria's government structure resembles that of larger federal republics such as Germany.Austria's head of state is the Federal President ("Bundespräsident"), elected by popular vote for a term of six years and limited to two consecutive terms of office.Former president Heinz Fischer was elected for a second term on 25 April 2010.