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State Council of the German Democratic Republic
Staatsrat der DDR
Emblem
Flag of the chairman of the State Council
State Council Building,East Berlin
Type	Collective head of state
Status	Dissolved
Appointer	Volkskammer
Term length	5 years
Constituting instrument	Constitution of East Germany
Precursor	President of the German Democratic Republic
Formation	12 September 1960
Abolished	5 April 1990

TheState Council of the German Democratic Republic (German:Staatsrat der DDR) was thestanding organ of thePeople's Chamber and functioned as the collectivehead of state of theGerman Democratic Republic, most commonly referred to as East Germany, from 1960 to 1990.^[1]

When the German Democratic Republic was founded in October 1949, itsconstitution specified the form of aparliamentary democracy, though the government was actually highly authoritarian in terms of control. One of the "bourgeois" features of the constitution (in Article 66) was the office ofPresident, which was filled byWilhelm Pieck, formerly the leader of the eastern branch of theCommunist Party of Germany and now one of the two chairmen of theSocialist Unity Party of Germany (SED).

However, from the start, the East German government was completely controlled by the SED, and over time its actual power structure grew closer to the model of theSoviet Union. When Pieck died on 7 September 1960, the SED opted against electing a successor, instead opting for a Soviet-style collective head of state. The constitution was amended on 12 September 1960 by theLaw concerning the formation of the State Council, which created a collective body in place of the presidency. The same constitutional amendment also acknowledged the role of the recently formedNational Defense Council (Nationaler Verteidigungsrat) in GDR defense policy. The State Council remained virtually unchanged in the1968 constitution, which formally defined the GDR as a socialist state under the leadership of the SED. Its official role was later downplayed in the1974 constitutional amendments.

The State Council was elected by thePeople's Chamber, the East German parliament. Its term was originally four years, but was later changed to five years.

The body consisted of a chairman, several deputy chairmen (usually six), further members (usually sixteen) and a secretary. Members were taken from the political parties and mass organizations affiliated to the SED-controlledNational Front. Occasionally an otherwise prominent citizen was also included. Outside of East Germany, the chairman's post was reckoned as being equivalent to that of president.

On paper, the Chairman of the State Council was the second highest ranking state official in East Germany, following theChairman of the Council of Ministers. In practice, however, the chairmanship was occupied by the leader of the SED for all but a few years of its existence. The sole exceptions were the period of transition from the leadership ofWalter Ulbricht toErich Honecker from 1971 to 1976 and the immediate aftermath of the SED's collapse in 1989. The leaders of the smaller parties in the National Front served as deputy chairmen on the council.

Politics of East Germany
Constitution 1949 1968
Leadership Socialist Unity Party General Secretary President(1949–1960) State Council(1960–1990) Head of State Council of Ministers Head of Government
Legislature President Chamber of States
Elections Referendums Constitutional Assembly 1949 General elections 1950 1954 1958 1963 1967 1971 1976 1981 1986 1990 Referendums 1951 1954 1968
Political parties Christian Democratic Union Democratic Farmers' Party Liberal Democratic Party National Democratic Party
Administrative divisions East Berlin(independent) Cottbus Dresden Erfurt Frankfurt Gera Halle Karl-Marx-Stadt Leipzig Magdeburg Neubrandenburg Potsdam Rostock Schwerin Suhl Leaders
Other countries
v t e

Powers of the State council included

• to call elections to thePeople's Chamber and other parliamentary bodies
• to appoint members to theNational Defense Council
• to grantpardon,amnesty andreprieves
• to ratify international treaties
• to grantdiplomatic accreditation
• to grantdecorations and awards
• to sponsor families with many children

Originally, the State Council also could issue statutory decrees and legally-binding interpretations of theconstitution and laws. The diplomatic role of head of state solely rested with the chairman. Both the body's legislative and judicial powers and the chairman's special diplomatic status were formally abolished in 1974.

Though the Council formally exercised its functions collectively, it was dominated by its chairman, especially if the chairman was also leader of the SED. In contrast, the predecessor post of president was a relatively weak position. However, the body had some importance as an advisory and decision-making body underWalter Ulbricht. When Ulbricht lost power in the early 1970s, the body was reduced to a ceremonial role. The 1974 amendments reflected this development; when Honecker became chairman in 1976, he derived virtually all of his power from his post as leader of the SED.

The secretariat of the State Council was of some practical importance as its approximately 200 employees since 1961 dealt with citizens' petitions. Authorities in government and economics were obliged to cooperate with the secretariat on this.

WhenEgon Krenz, Honecker's successor as leader of the SED, failed in his bid to preserve Communist rule in East Germany, he resigned from his offices in party and government, including as Chairman of the State Council. To mark the end of the SED's monopoly on power,LDPD leaderManfred Gerlach was elected chairman. However, the body ceased to be of political importance and merely oversaw the transition to theparliamentary elections of March 1990.

The new People's Chamber, the first that emerged from free elections, met for the first time on 5 April 1990. Among its first measures was an amendment to the constitution abolishing the State Council. As provided in the constitution, the Presidium of the People's Chamber, headed by PresidentSabine Bergmann-Pohl, served as interim head of state untilreunification withWest Germany on 3 October.

• Council of Ministers of East Germany

• Government of East Germany
• 1960 establishments in East Germany
• 1990 disestablishments in East Germany
• Collective heads of state

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