The Council of Ministers (German: Ministerrat der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik) was the cabinet and executive branch of the German Democratic Republic from November 1950 until the country was reunified on 3 October 1990.[1] Originally formed as a body of 18 members, by 1989 the council consisted of 44 members.
Under the Constitution of East Germany, the Council of Ministers was formally defined as the government of East Germany. The same Constitution, however, officially confirmed the leading role of the Socialist Unity Party (SED). Hence, for most of the GDR's existence, the Council of Ministers was not the highest authority in the country, but was charged with implementing the SED's policies into practical administration. In particular, ministers were subordinate to the secretary of the Central Committee responsible for their portfolio, and, at least unofficially, to the General Secretary.
The Council was led by a chairman (Vorsitzender), who was usually called "prime minister" in non-German sources. There were two first deputy chairmen and nine other deputy chairmen. Together with some key ministers they formed the presidency (Präsidium) of the Council. The Präsidium prepared all decisions in consultation with the responsible departments of the Central Committee (Zentralkomitee) of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and especially the Politbüro of the SED Central Committee. The Präsidium managed the day-to-day affairs of the Council between its weekly meetings, which took place regularly on Wednesdays to execute the resolutions of the Politbüro’s weekly meetings (on Tuesdays). The secretaries and department managers in the Central Committee were authorized to give instructions to the ministers as necessary.
Officially, the prime minister held the highest state post in the GDR. Despite this, no SED first secretary/general secretary ever simultaneously served as prime minister.
Until the Wende in the fall of 1989, the two first deputy chairmen were Werner Krolikowski and Alfred Neumann, who were both members of the SED Politbüro. Other deputy chairmen included the leaders of the four allied parties (Blockparteien). Additional members included the chairman of the State Planning Commission, the president of the Staatsbank der DDR (State Bank of the GDR) and some state secretaries, who were usually office directors at the Council. All members of the Council were selected by the GDR Volkskammer (parliament) for a term of five years. Within the centralized state structure of the GDR, the city, county and district administrations were subordinated to the Council.
Willi Stoph and his entire cabinet resigned on 7 November 1989. Stoph was succeeded by Hans Modrow. The SED gave up its monopoly of power on 1 December. Modrow continued in office, leading a cabinet with both SED/PDS and non-communist members.[1] For much of the winter of 1989 and 1990, he was the de facto leader of East Germany. Modrow was succeeded by Lothar de Maizière after what turned out to be the only free election ever held in East Germany, in March 1990. The de Maizière cabinet presided over the transition period to the reunification of the two Germanies in October 1990.
The former Prussian state parliament (Preußischer Landtag) served as the seat of the Council from 1950 to 1953. From 1961 to 1990 the Council's offices were located in the former Old City Hall of Berlin at No. 47 Klosterstraße. The Law Gazette of the GDR (Gesetzblatt der DDR) was also published by the Council. In addition, the Council’s Press Office made official government announcements and was responsible for the accreditation of foreign journalists in the GDR.
The individual ministries had their own headquarters buildings in East Berlin, although the former Reich Air Ministry building on Leipziger Straße housed the industrially-oriented ministries.
Chairmen of the Council of Ministersedit
No.
Portrait
Chairman
Took office
Left office
Time in office
Party
Election
Cabinet
Minister-President of the German Democratic Republic
Director of the Press Office: Kurt Blecha, Wolfgang Meyer
Ministries of the industries (1961-1965 in the course New Economic System were summarized the Ministries in national economy advice under his chairman Alfred Neumann):
Ministry of Ore mining industry, metallurgy and potash: Kurt Fichtner, Kurt Singhuber (1967–89)
Ministry of Electro-technology and electronics: Otfried Steger, Felix Meier
Ministry of Coal and energy: Wolfgang Mitzinger
Ministry of Chemical industry: Siegbert Löschau, Günther Wyschofsky *Structure building industry: Lothar Bolz (1949–53), Heinz Winkler (1953–58), Ernst Scholz, Wolfgang Junker (1963–89); Gerhard Baumgärtel, Axel Viehweger (1990)
Ministry of Basic industry
Ministry of Glass and ceramic(s) industry: Werner Greiner Petter, Karl Grünheid (1983–89)
Ministry of Stock management: Alfred Neumann (1965–68), Manfred Flegel, Wolfgang Rauchfuß
Ministry of Tool and building of processing machines: Rudi Georgi (1973–89)
Ministry of General construction of vehicles, machine and agricultural machinery (since 1990: Mechanical engineering): Günther Kleiber, Gerhard Tautenhahn, Karl Grünheid
Ministry of Heavy machine and equipment construction (since 1990: Heavy industry): Fritz Selbmann, Rolf Kersten, Hans Joachim Lauck, Kurt Singhuber
Ministry of Land, forest and food processing industry: Ernst Goldenbaum, Paul Scholz, Georg Ewald, Heinz Kuhrig, Bruno Lietz; Hans Watzek, Peter Pollack (1990)
Ministry of Light Industry: Karl Bettin, Werner Buschmann, Gunter Halm (NDPD)
Ministry of District-led and foodstuffs industry: Erhard Krack, Udo Dieter Wange
Ministry of Tourism (new since 1989): Bruno Benthien (LDPD)
Ministry of Work and Wages (new since 1989)/work and social (since 1990): Hannelore Mensch, Jürgen Kleditzsch * Family and women (new 1990): Christa Schmidt (CDU)
*Renamed in 1990 as the Ministry for Disarmament and Defense.
**Renamed on 17 November 1989 as the Office for National Security (Amt für Nationale Sicherheit - AfNS); abolished on 13 January 1990.
***Renamed in 1989 as the Ministry for Education and Youth.
^ abStarcevi, Nesha (8 November 1989) East German Government Resigns, Pro-Reform Marches Continue in AP News. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
February 15, 2024
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Council of Ministers of East Germany news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Council of Ministers German Ministerrat der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik was the cabinet and executive branch of the German Democratic Republic from November 1950 until the country was reunified on 3 October 1990 1 Originally formed as a body of 18 members by 1989 the council consisted of 44 members Government of the RepublicRegierung der Republik German EmblemOverviewEstablished8 November 1950Dissolved2 October 1990StateGerman Democratic RepublicLeaderChairman styled Minister President in 1949 Constitution Appointed byVolkskammerMain organCouncil of MinistersMinistriessee belowHeadquartersAltes Stadthaus BerlinUnder the Constitution of East Germany the Council of Ministers was formally defined as the government of East Germany The same Constitution however officially confirmed the leading role of the Socialist Unity Party SED Hence for most of the GDR s existence the Council of Ministers was not the highest authority in the country but was charged with implementing the SED s policies into practical administration In particular ministers were subordinate to the secretary of the Central Committee responsible for their portfolio and at least unofficially to the General Secretary Contents 1 Structure 2 Chairmen of the Council of Ministers 3 Ministries 4 See also 5 ReferencesStructure edit nbsp Group photo of Council of Ministers in 1981The Council was led by a chairman Vorsitzender who was usually called prime minister in non German sources There were two first deputy chairmen and nine other deputy chairmen Together with some key ministers they formed the presidency Prasidium of the Council The Prasidium prepared all decisions in consultation with the responsible departments of the Central Committee Zentralkomitee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany SED and especially the Politburo of the SED Central Committee The Prasidium managed the day to day affairs of the Council between its weekly meetings which took place regularly on Wednesdays to execute the resolutions of the Politburo s weekly meetings on Tuesdays The secretaries and department managers in the Central Committee were authorized to give instructions to the ministers as necessary Officially the prime minister held the highest state post in the GDR Despite this no SED first secretary general secretary ever simultaneously served as prime minister nbsp The Altes Stadthaus in Berlin seat of the Ministerrat der DDR from 1961 until 1990Until the Wende in the fall of 1989 the two first deputy chairmen were Werner Krolikowski and Alfred Neumann who were both members of the SED Politburo Other deputy chairmen included the leaders of the four allied parties Blockparteien Additional members included the chairman of the State Planning Commission the president of the Staatsbank der DDR State Bank of the GDR and some state secretaries who were usually office directors at the Council All members of the Council were selected by the GDR Volkskammer parliament for a term of five years Within the centralized state structure of the GDR the city county and district administrations were subordinated to the Council Willi Stoph and his entire cabinet resigned on 7 November 1989 Stoph was succeeded by Hans Modrow The SED gave up its monopoly of power on 1 December Modrow continued in office leading a cabinet with both SED PDS and non communist members 1 For much of the winter of 1989 and 1990 he was the de facto leader of East Germany Modrow was succeeded by Lothar de Maiziere after what turned out to be the only free election ever held in East Germany in March 1990 The de Maiziere cabinet presided over the transition period to the reunification of the two Germanies in October 1990 The former Prussian state parliament Preussischer Landtag served as the seat of the Council from 1950 to 1953 From 1961 to 1990 the Council s offices were located in the former Old City Hall of Berlin at No 47 Klosterstrasse The Law Gazette of the GDR Gesetzblatt der DDR was also published by the Council In addition the Council s Press Office made official government announcements and was responsible for the accreditation of foreign journalists in the GDR The individual ministries had their own headquarters buildings in East Berlin although the former Reich Air Ministry building on Leipziger Strasse housed the industrially oriented ministries Chairmen of the Council of Ministers editNo Portrait Chairman Took office Left office Time in office Party Election CabinetMinister President of the German Democratic Republic1 nbsp Grotewohl Otto Otto Grotewohl 1894 1964 12 October 194921 September 1964 14 years 345 daysSEDList of Provisional Volkskammer members 1949 List of Volkskammer members 1st election period 1950 List of Volkskammer members 2nd election period 1954 List of Volkskammer members 3rd election period 1958 List of Volkskammer members 4th election period 1963 Grotewohl IGrotewohl IIGrotewohl IIIGrotewohl IVGrotewohl VChairmen of the Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic2 nbsp Stoph Willi Willi Stoph 1914 1999 21 September 19643 October 19739 years 12 daysSEDList of Volkskammer members 4th election period 1963 List of Volkskammer members 5th election period 1967 List of Volkskammer members 6th election period 1971 First Stoph cabinetSecond Stoph cabinetThird Stoph cabinet3 nbsp Sindermann Horst Horst Sindermann 1915 1990 3 October 197329 October 19763 years 26 daysSEDList of Volkskammer members 6th election period 1971 First Sindermann cabinet4 2 nbsp Stoph Willi Willi Stoph 1914 1999 29 October 197613 November 198913 years 15 daysSEDList of Volkskammer members 7th election period 1976 List of Volkskammer members 8th election period 1981 List of Volkskammer members 9th election period 1986 Fourth Stoph cabinetFifth Stoph cabinetSixth Stoph cabinet5 nbsp Modrow Hans Hans Modrow 1928 2023 13 November 198912 April 1990150 daysSEDPDSList of Volkskammer members 9th election period 1986 ModrowMinister President of the German Democratic Republic6 nbsp Maiziere Lothar Lothar de Maiziere born 1940 12 April 19902 October 1990173 daysCDUList of Volkskammer members 10th election period de 1990 de MaiziereMinistries editMinistry of National Defense Willi Stoph Heinz Hoffmann Heinz Kessler Theodor Hoffmann Rainer Eppelmann 1990 Ministry of Foreign Affairs Georg Dertinger 1949 1953 Lothar Bolz 1953 1965 Otto Winzer 1965 1975 Oskar Fischer 1975 1990 Markus Meckel 1990 Lothar de Maiziere 1990 Ministry of State Security Stasi Wilhelm Zaisser Ernst Wollweber Erich Mielke Wolfgang Schwanitz Ministry of the Interior Karl Steinhoff Karl Maron Friedrich Dickel Lothar Ahrendt Peter Michael Diestel 1990 Ministry of Finance Hans Loch Willy Rumpf Siegfried Bohm 1966 80 Werner Schmieder Ernst Hofner 1981 90 Uta Nickel 1989 90 Walter Romberg Werner Skowron 1990 Ministry of Transport Hans Reingruber Erwin Kramer Otto Arndt Heinrich Scholz Herbert Keddi Horst Gibtner 1990 Ministry for Posts and Telecommunications Friedrich Burmeister Rudolph Schulze CDU Klaus Wolf CDU Emil Schnell 1990 Ministry of Culture Johannes R Becher Alexander Abusch Hans Bentzien Klaus Gysi Hans Joachim Hoffmann Dietmar Keller Herbert Schirmer 1990 Ministry of National Education Elisabeth Zaisser Fritz Lange Alfred Lemmnitz Margot Honecker 1963 1989 Helga Labs Hans Heinz Emons Ministry of Higher and Technical Education Ernst Joachim Giessmann Hans Joachim Bohme Ministry of Science and Technology Herbert Weiz 1974 89 at the same time 1967 89 one of the Deputy Chairmen of the MR Peter Klaus Budig LDPD Ministry of Health Luitpold Steidle 1949 58 Max Sefrin 1958 71 Ludwig Mecklinger Klaus Thielmann Jurgen Kleditzsch 1990 Ministry of Environmental Protection and Water Management Werner Titel 1971 Hans Reichelt DBD Karl H Steinberg 1990 Ministry of Justice Max Fechner Hilde Benjamin Kurt Wunsche also 1990 Hans Joachim Heusinger of both latter members of the LDPD Minister and Chairman of the Workers and Farmers Inspection Arbeiter und Bauerninspektion Heinz Matthes Chairman of the State Planning Commission Heinrich Rau Bruno Leuschner Karl Mewis Erich Apel Gerhard Schurer Director of the Press Office Kurt Blecha Wolfgang MeyerMinistries of the industries 1961 1965 in the course New Economic System were summarized the Ministries in national economy advice under his chairman Alfred Neumann Ministry of Ore mining industry metallurgy and potash Kurt Fichtner Kurt Singhuber 1967 89 Ministry of Electro technology and electronics Otfried Steger Felix Meier Ministry of Coal and energy Wolfgang Mitzinger Ministry of Chemical industry Siegbert Loschau Gunther Wyschofsky Structure building industry Lothar Bolz 1949 53 Heinz Winkler 1953 58 Ernst Scholz Wolfgang Junker 1963 89 Gerhard Baumgartel Axel Viehweger 1990 Ministry of Basic industry Ministry of Glass and ceramic s industry Werner Greiner Petter Karl Grunheid 1983 89 Ministry of Stock management Alfred Neumann 1965 68 Manfred Flegel Wolfgang Rauchfuss Ministry of Tool and building of processing machines Rudi Georgi 1973 89 Ministry of General construction of vehicles machine and agricultural machinery since 1990 Mechanical engineering Gunther Kleiber Gerhard Tautenhahn Karl Grunheid Ministry of Heavy machine and equipment construction since 1990 Heavy industry Fritz Selbmann Rolf Kersten Hans Joachim Lauck Kurt Singhuber Ministry of Land forest and food processing industry Ernst Goldenbaum Paul Scholz Georg Ewald Heinz Kuhrig Bruno Lietz Hans Watzek Peter Pollack 1990 Ministry of Light Industry Karl Bettin Werner Buschmann Gunter Halm NDPD Ministry of District led and foodstuffs industry Erhard Krack Udo Dieter Wange Ministry of Trade and supply Curt Heinz Merkel Karl Hamann Gerhard Lucht Gunter Sieber 1965 72 Manfred Flegel Foreign trade Georg Ulrich Handke Heinrich Rau 1955 61 Julius Balkow Horst Solle Gerhard Beil 1989 and or 1990 again imported Ministry of Economics new since 1989 Christa Luft 1989 90 Gerhard Pohl 1990 Ministry of Tourism new since 1989 Bruno Benthien LDPD Ministry of Work and Wages new since 1989 work and social since 1990 Hannelore Mensch Jurgen Kleditzsch Family and women new 1990 Christa Schmidt CDU Renamed in 1990 as the Ministry for Disarmament and Defense Renamed on 17 November 1989 as the Office for National Security Amt fur Nationale Sicherheit AfNS abolished on 13 January 1990 Renamed in 1989 as the Ministry for Education and Youth See also editState Council of the German Democratic RepublicReferences edit a b Starcevi Nesha 8 November 1989 East German Government Resigns Pro Reform Marches Continue in AP News Retrieved 30 August 2019 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Council of Ministers of East Germany amp oldid 1189069212, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
