Pankaj kumar (film director) at 02:45, 6 February 2022

2022-02-06T02:45:50Z

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{{unreferenced}}
{{short description|Upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic}}
{{Infobox legislature
| name = Chamber of States
| native_name = Länderkammer
| legislature = [[German Democratic Republic]] (East Germany)
| house_type = Upper house
| coa_pic = Coat of arms of East Germany.svg
| coa_res = 150px
| coa_caption =
| members = 50
| established = {{start date and age|1949}}
| preceded_by = [[Reichstag (Nazi Germany)|Nazi Reichstag]]
| disbanded = {{end date and age|1958}}
| succeeded_by = [[People's Chamber]]
| meeting_place = Langenbeck-Virchow-Haus
}}
{{Politics of East Germany|image=Flag of East Germany.svg}}
The '''Chamber of States''' ({{lang-de|Länderkammer}}) was the [[upper chamber]] of the [[bicameral]] [[legislature]] of the German Democratic Republic ([[East Germany]]) from its founding in 1949 until 1952, at which time it was largely sidelined, when the five [[Administrative divisions of East Germany#Länder in East Germany|Länder]] (states) of East Germany ceased to exist and were replaced with smaller administrative regions. The Chamber of States itself was dissolved on 8 December 1958. The [[lower chamber]], which continued in existence until [[German reunification]] in 1990, was the [[People's Chamber]] (''Volkskammer'').

In the [[Federal Republic of Germany]] the expression ''Länderkammer'' is sometimes used to denote the [[Bundesrat (Germany)|Bundesrat]] although it is not legally classified as a legislative chamber.
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-58621-0001, Berlin, Länderkammer.jpg|thumb|A Session of the Länderkammer in 1958. The Minister of the Interior Karl Maron is speaking.]]

==Idea and reality==
[[File:Germany Laender 1947 1990 DDR.png|thumb|''Länder'' in 1947 (purple), and in 1990 (red)]]
After 1945, the [[Soviet Occupation Zone|Soviet military administration]] established the five ''[[States of Germany|Länder]]'' of [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]], [[Brandenburg]], [[Saxony]], [[Saxony-Anhalt]] and [[Thuringia]].

Initially, in 1949, the communists aimed for a quasi-[[unitary state]], with some degree of [[decentralization]]. Laws were to be made by the central [[legislature]] in [[East Berlin]], and the Länder authorities were responsible for the implementation of the laws.

In practice, due to the [[democratic centralism]] of the SED, the GDR rapidly developed strong centralist tendencies. However, it initially operated in this [[bicameralism|bicameral]] framework in which the states were represented. The Chamber of States theoretically had the power to introduce bills and to veto laws proposed by the People's Chamber, although another vote in the People's Chamber could overturn such a veto. The Chamber of States never made use of its veto. The two chambers also elected the [[President of East Germany]] in joint session.

According to the [[Constitution of East Germany]], in addition to the People's Chamber, a “provisional Land Chamber” was formed. The fifty members of the Land Chamber were to be determined by the assemblies in the various Länder, according to the memberships of these assemblies. [[Saxony]] sent thirteen delegates, [[Saxony-Anhalt]] eleven, [[Thuringia]] ten, [[Brandenburg]] nine, and [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]] seven. [[East Berlin]] sent thirteen delegates, but they did not have voting rights owing to Berlin as a whole still legally being occupied territory. (A similar arrangement existed in [[West Berlin]], in which the city's delegates in the [[Bundestag]] and [[Bundesrat of Germany|Bundesrat]] had no voting rights.)

In 1952, the [[Administrative divisions of East Germany#Länder in East Germany|East German Länder]] transferred their administrative functions to the smaller regional districts ''([[Bezirk]]e),'' effectively dissolving themselves. The Chamber of States remained in existence, but became increasingly redundant. Since the Landtage could no longer meet to elect members of the Chamber of States, the 1954 delegates for each Länder were chosen by a special meeting of the District Assemblies (''[[Bezirkstag]]e'') of that state. The members of the Chamber of States [[East German general election, 1958|elected in 1958]] were [[directly elected]] by their ''Bezirkstage''. These delegates were appointed as a "suicide squad," raising no objection as the People's Chamber abolished the Chamber of States and the Länder on 8 December 1958.

==Presidents of the Chamber of States==
{| class="wikitable"
! Name
! Period
! Party
|-
|[[Reinhold Lobedanz]]
|October 11, 1949 – March 5, 1955
|[[Christian Democratic Union (East Germany)|CDU]]
|-
|[[August Bach]]
|March 5, 1955 – December 8, 1958
|[[Christian Democratic Union (East Germany)|CDU]]
|}

==Vice-Presidents of the Chamber of States==
{| class="wikitable"
! Name
! Period
! Party
|-
|[[August Fröhlich]]
|1950 – 1958
|[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|SED]]
|-
|[[Hans Luthardt]]
|1950 – 1958
|[[National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany)|NDPD]]
|-
|[[Erich Hagemeier]]
|1950 – 1954
|[[Liberal Democratic Party of Germany|LDPD]]
|-
|Dr. [[Karl Mühlmann]]
|1954 – 1958
|[[Liberal Democratic Party of Germany|LDPD]]
|-
|[[Max Suhrbier]]
|1958
|[[Liberal Democratic Party of Germany|LDPD]]
|-
|[[Diedrich Besler]]
|1950 – 1954
|[[Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany|DBD]]
|-
|[[Albert Rödiger]]
|1954 – 1958
|[[Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany|DBD]]
|}

==See also==
*[[Administrative divisions of the German Democratic Republic]]
*[[Politics of East Germany]]

==External links==
*[https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.documentarchiv.de%2Fddr%2F1950%2Fddr-laenderkammer_ges.html&act=url Law on the composition of the upper house of the German Democratic Republic.]
{{National upper houses}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamber Of States}}
[[Category:Politics of East Germany]]
[[Category:1949 establishments in East Germany]]
[[Category:1958 disestablishments]]
[[Category:Defunct upper houses]]
[[Category:Historical legislatures in Germany]]

Chamber of States - Revision history

Pankaj kumar (film director) at 02:45, 6 February 2022