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From 1930 to 1933, a newly established Pädagogische Akademie was built in Bonn on the grounds of what is now known as the Bundeshaus (part of which is the former plenary hall of the German Bundestag) — a building constructed in the Bauhaus style, with a gymnasium projecting to the south. From 1948 to 1949, the academy's auditorium served as the meeting hall of the Parliamentary Council.

On May 10, 1949, two days after the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany was adopted, Bonn won a majority in a secret vote of the Parliamentary Council, 33 to 29, and was thereby named the 'provisional seat of the federal government.' On September 7, 1949, the German Bundestag held its first session in the plenary hall.

The first plans for a new plenary hall building date back to the early 1970s. The Stuttgart-based architecture firm Behnisch & Partner won the 'Bundestag and Bundesrat' competition, on the condition that they revise their design once more. Planning and discussions dragged on for years, until members of parliament initially decided in 1981 to renovate the old, heritage-protected meeting venue instead. After further preliminary studies and debate, the old hall was ultimately demolished in 1987. A new building, along with an adjoining presidium building and restaurant, was to be constructed on the same site.

Since fall 1999, the former plenary hall has been part of the World Conference Center Bonn. The Wasserwerk was added to the neighboring campus of the United Nations organizations based in Bonn and, following renovation, is intended for use in smaller UN events.

With the Bellevue Agreement, signed on February 27, 2002, planning began for an expansion of the Bonn congress center. Since 2015, the WCCB's Main Building has provided significantly expanded capacity for events of all kinds. Across its two buildings – the Plenary Building and the Main Building – the congress center offers space for events with up to 7,000 guests."

Until the 2000s, the site of the World Conference Center Bonn's (WCCB) Main Building was home to the Villa Dahm and the so-called Bundesbüdchen kiosk.

From 1955 onward, the Villa Dahm served as the seat of the Deutsche Parlamentarische Gesellschaft (German Parliamentary Society, DPG). When the DPG moved to Berlin, the federal government gifted the villa to the city of Bonn in 1999, and in May 2005, the decision was made to demolish the building — which had remained a listed heritage site until the end — to make way for the WCCB expansion on the site.

Just steps from the Villa Dahm, diagonally across from the entrance to the Bundesrat, stood the so-called "Bundesbüdchen" kiosk. From 1957 onward, the Rausch family ran this kiosk, where Bonn's political elite bought newspapers, comics, or bread rolls. Regular customers included numerous top politicians, members of parliament, and journalists from around the world. In 1981, after losing a bet on the TV show "Wetten, dass...?", Friedrich Nowottny sold sausages at the Bundesbüdchen for charity, serving one to Loki Schmidt, wife of then-Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Herbert Wehner and Franz Josef Strauß were also regulars at the kiosk, and Helmut Kohl regularly sent his driver to pick up bread rolls there. In October 2006, the Bundesbüdchen had to make way for the planned WCCB expansion. It was put into storage until May 2020, when it found its current home at the corner of Heussallee and Platz der Vereinten Nationen.

In 1996, United Nations secretariats and institutions began settling in Bonn. A city that hosts the United Nations needs suitable conference infrastructure, including for large conferences of states parties. Following the signing of the Bellevue Agreement on February 27, 2002, planning began for the corresponding expansion of the Bonn congress center around the former plenary hall. After delays and a construction scandal, the WCCB's Main Building has provided significantly expanded capacity for events of all kinds since 2015. Today, across its two buildings – the Plenary Building and the Main Building – the congress center offers space for events with up to 7,000 guests.

Theodor Heuss was an outstanding German politician and the first Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany. Born on January 31, 1884, in Brackenheim, Heuss dedicated his life to democratic ideals, championing freedom, tolerance, and social justice.

During the Weimar Republic, Heuss worked as a journalist and writer. His political career began in the 1920s, when he became active in the German Democratic Party (DDP). After the Nazis seized power, he was forced to emigrate because of his political convictions.

After World War II, Theodor Heuss was one of the founding fathers of the new German democracy. As a member of the Parliamentary Council, he had a major influence on the wording of the new Basic Law. In 1949, Heuss was elected Federal President and held the office until 1959. As head of state, he championed Germany's integration into the international community, coming to terms with the past, and democratic reconstruction.

After leaving the office of Federal President, he continued to devote himself to social and cultural causes. He died on December 12, 1963, in Stuttgart.