The Council of Ministers (, ) was the cabinet and executive organ of the German Democratic Republic from November 1950 until the country was reunified on 3 October 1990. Initially called the Government of the Republic under the first East German constitution which nominally established the GDR as a liberal democratic republic, it was redefined by the fully-socialist constitution of 1968 as the executive and administrative organ of East Germany's parliament, the Volkskammer, which was itself redefined as a supreme organ of state power within a one-branch system. It existed from November 1950 until the country was reunified on 3 October 1990.Starcevi, Nesha (8 November 1989) East German Government Resigns, Pro-Reform Marches Continue in AP News. Retrieved 30 August 2019. 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.
Structure
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. 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 Ministers
Portrait Name Term of office Party Cabinet Took office Left office Time in office Minister-President of the German Democratic Republic 1 Otto Grotewohl 12 October 1949 8 December 1958 Socialist Unity Party Provisional Grotewohl I 1st Grotewohl II 2nd Grotewohl III Chairmen of the Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic 1 Otto Grotewohl 8 December 1958 21 September 1964 Socialist Unity Party 3rd Grotewohl IV 4th Grotewohl V 2 Willi Stoph 21 September 1964 3 October 1973 Socialist Unity Party Stoph I 5th 6th 3 Horst Sindermann 3 October 1973 29 October 1976 Socialist Unity Party (2) Willi Stoph 29 October 1976 13 November 1989 Socialist Unity Party 7th 8th 9th 4 Hans Modrow 13 November 1989 12 April 1990 Socialist Unity Party Modrow Minister-President of the German Democratic Republic 5 Lothar de Maizière 12 April 1990 2 October 1990 Christian Democratic Union de Maizière
Office of the Minister-President The Minister-President, from 1958 onward Chairman of the Council of Ministers, was supported by a dedicated agency. Initially, this was the Government Chancellery, which on November 26, 1954, was replaced by the Office of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers. In 1962, the Office's title was shortened to Office of the Council of Ministers. The Office always answered directly to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers.
Heads with the rank of State Secretary (all SED members): Fritz Geyer (1949–1956) Anton Plenikowski (1956–1963) Rudolf Rost (1963–1975)
In early 1974, most of the responsibilities of the Office of the Council of Ministers were incorporated into a newly created Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, which was not subordinate to the then-Chairman Horst Sindermann, but rather to Günter Mittag, the First Deputy Chairman responsible for economic affairs. Mittag's control over most of the Council of Ministers' administrative affairs meant that his power eclipsed that of nominal Chairman Sindermann. The stripped-down Office of the Council of Ministers continued to exist for another year under its head, Rudolf Rost, alongside the Secretariat, after which it was abolished and its remaining duties were transferred to the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers.
Heads with the rank of State Secretary (all SED members): Kurt Kleinert (1974–1989) Harry Möbis (1989–1990)
On April 13, 1990, the Office of the Minister-President was established as the legal successor to the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers. This office was modeled after the West German Federal Chancellery in preparation for German reunification.
Head: Klaus Reichenbach (1990), Minister in the Office of the Minister President
The State Secretaries were Günther Krause (Task Force for German Unity), Lothar Moritz (Political and Basic Policy Affairs), Gottfried Klepel (Domestic and Economic Policy), Matthias Gehler (Government Spokesperson), and Almuth Berger (Commissioner for Foreigners).
Ministries
Name of the ministry Minister (party) Term of office Cabinet Labor and Vocational Training (until 1954: Labor) Roman Chwalek (SED) 1950–19531st Council of Ministers Friedrich Macher (SED) 1953–19581st Council of Ministers2nd Council of MinistersGuidance and Control of Bezirk and District Councils (until 1964: Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers";
from 1971: Working Group "Organization and Inspection")Willi Stoph (SED)1960–19643rd Council of Ministers4th Council of MinistersKurt Seibt (SED)1964–19654th Council of MinistersFritz Scharfenstein (SED)1965–19714th Council of Ministers5th Council of Ministersdowngraded from minister to state secretary at the Chairman of the Council of MinistersHarry Möbis (SED)1971–19896th Council of Ministers7th Council of Ministers8th Council of Ministers9th Council of MinistersForeign Affairs Georg Dertinger (CDU) 1949–1953Provisional Government of the GDR1st Council of Ministers Lothar Bolz (NDPD) 1953–19651st Council of Ministers2nd Council of Ministers3rd Council of Ministers4th Council of Ministers Otto Winzer (SED) 1965–1975†4th Council of Ministers5th Council of Ministers6th Council of Ministers Oskar Fischer (SED) 1975–19906th Council of Ministers7th Council of Ministers8th Council of Ministers9th Council of MinistersModrow government Markus Meckel (SPD) 1990 de Maizière government Lothar de Maizière (CDU) 1990 de Maizière government Construction(until 1958: Reconstruction;1989–1990: Construction and Housing;from 1990: Construction, Urban Development, and Housing) Lothar Bolz (NDPD) 1949–1953Provisional Government of the GDR1st Council of Ministers Heinz Winkler (SED) 1953–19582nd Council of Ministers Ernst Scholz (SED) 1958–19633rd Council of Ministers Wolfgang Junker (SED) 1963–19894th Council of Ministers5th Council of Ministers6th Council of Ministers7th Council of Ministers8th Council of Ministers9th Council of Ministers Gerhard Baumgärtel (CDU) 1989–1990Modrow government Axel Viehweger (LDPD/FDP) 1990de Maizière governmentFinance (1989–1990: Finance and Prices) Hans Loch (LDPD) 1949–1955Provisional Government of the GDR1st Council of Ministers2nd Council of Ministers Willy Rumpf (SED) 1955–19662nd Council of Ministers3rd Council of Ministers4th Council of Ministers Siegfried Böhm (SED) 1966–1980†4th Council of Ministers5th Council of Ministers6th Council of Ministers7th Council of Ministers Werner Schmieder (SED) 1980–19817th Council of Ministers Ernst Höfner (SED) 1981–19898th Council of Ministers9th Council of Ministers Uta Nickel (SED-PDS) 1989–1990 Modrow government Walter Siegert (SED-PDS) 1990 Modrow government Walter Romberg (SPD) 1990 de Maizière government Werner Skowron (CDU) 1990 de Maizière governmentTransport Hans Reingruber (Cultural Association of the GDR) 1949–1953Provisional Government of the GDR1st Council of Ministers Erwin Kramer (SED) also General Director of the Deutsche Reichsbahn 1954–19702nd Council of Ministers3rd Council of Ministers4th Council of Ministers5th Council of Ministers Otto Arndt (SED) also General Director of the Deutsche Reichsbahn 1970–19895th Council of Ministers6th Council of Ministers7th Council of Ministers8th Council of Ministers9th Council of Ministers Heinrich Scholz (SED) also General Director of the Deutsche Reichsbahn 1989–1990Modrow government Herbert Keddi (SED-PDS) 1990 Modrow government Horst Gebenner (CDU) 1990 de Maizière government Posts and Telecommunications Friedrich Burmeister (CDU) 1949–1963Provisional Government of the GDR1st Council of Ministers2nd Council of Ministers3rd Council of Ministers Rudolph Schulze (CDU) 1963–19894th Council of Ministers5th Council of Ministers6th Council of Ministers7th Council of Ministers8th Council of Ministers9th Council of Ministers Klaus Wolf (CDU) 1989–1990 Modrow government Emil Schnell (SPD) 1990 de Maizière governmentHans-Jürgen Niehof (FDP) 1990de Maizière government Culture Johannes R. Becher (SED) 1954–1958†2nd Council of Ministers Alexander Abusch (SED) 1958–19613rd Council of Ministers Hans Bentzien (SED) 1961–19653rd Council of Ministers4th Council of Ministers Klaus Gysi (SED) 1966–19734th Council of Ministers5th Council of Ministers6th Council of Ministers Hans-Joachim Hoffmann (SED) 1973–19896th Council of Ministers7th Council of Ministers8th Council of Ministers9th Council of Ministers Dietmar Keller (SED-PDS) 1989–1990 Modrow government Herbert Schirmer (CDU) 1990 de Maizière governmentChurch Affairs