Volkskammer in the context of "Constitution of East Germany"

The German Democratic Republic, commonly known in English as East Germany or the GDR, was a Marxist-Leninist communist state that existed from 7 October 1949 to 3 October 1990. Politics were dominated by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) which ruled the country as a one-party state for most of its existence. The Constitution of East Germany created a liberal democratic socialist republic from 1949 until 1968, when a new constitution formalised many of the Marxist-Leninist practices including the "leading role" of the SED.

East Germany was officially governed by a parliamentary system with power invested in the elected Volkskammer, the State Council (from 1960), the Council of Ministers, and the Supreme Court. The SED instituted a de facto Stalinist political system based on the Soviet Union where actual power was held by the SED's Politburo, maintaining a facade of democracy with rigged elections, and all political opposition was subjected to widespread repression.

General elections were held in East Germany on 18 March 1990. These were the first free elections held in the region since the turbulent Weimar days of 1932 and would become the only truly democratic vote in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The election stood as a final verdict on four decades of one-party rule by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED)–led National Front. It took place against the backdrop of the German reunification process, which had already begun to gather momentum.

The contest was swept by the Alliance for Germany, a coalition led by the newly reconstituted East German Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which captured 192 of the 400 seats in the Volkskammer and had ran on a promise of swift reunification with West Germany. The Social Democratic Party (SPD), re-established only months earlier after its forced 1946 merger with the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), was widely tipped to win but instead came second with 88 seats. In third was the former ruling SED, now rebranded as the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), which secured 66 seats. The Alliance fell just short of an outright majority having needed 201 seats to govern alone.

The Council of Ministers (German: Ministerrat der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, pronounced [miˈnɪstɐˌʁaːt deːɐ ˌdɔʏtʃn̩ demoˌkʁaːtɪʃn̩ ʁepuˈbliːk]) was the executive and administrative organ of the supreme organ of state power, the People's Chamber. It existed from November 1950 until the country was reunified on 3 October 1990. 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 National Front of the German Democratic Republic (German: Nationale Front der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik) was a coalition of parties and mass organisations from 1950 to 1990 which governed the German Democratic Republic (GDR), informally known as East Germany. Although it was presented as a broad alliance, real political authority in the country rested with the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). The National Front's primary role was to manage electoral processes through a single list of approved candidates (Einheitsliste) for the Volkskammer. This system was designed to present an appearance of democratic pluralism under a multi-party system.

The National Front developed out of the Democratic Bloc, established in 1945. After the Second World War, the Soviet Union permitted the formation of four parties, but in 1946 the Communist Party forced a merger with the Social Democrats to create the SED. Other parties such as the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPD) were gradually brought into line through intimidation and the removal of dissenting leaders. Two additional parties, the Democratic Farmers' Party (DBD) and the National Democratic Party (NDPD), were created in 1948 under SED direction to draw support away from existing parties and incorporate former Nazis. These non-SED parties were called Blockpartei.

The President of the German Democratic Republic (German: Präsident der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik) was the head of state of the German Democratic Republic, commonly known as East Germany, from 1949 until 1960. The office was created by the Constitution of 1949 (Section V) with the President of the Republic was elected by the People's Chamber (Volkskammer) and the Chamber of States (Länderkammer). The office was mostly ceremonial in nature and, if necessary, the President of the People's Chamber acted as the President.

Wilhelm Pieck of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) was the sole incumbent as President of the German Democratic Republic, elected on 11 October 1949 and re-elected in 1953 and in 1957. On 7 September 1960, shortly after the death of Pieck, the Constitution was amended which abolished the office of President. The Law concerning the formation of the State Council of 12 September 1960 introduced the State Council of East Germany, a collective head of state, instead of the presidency. The State Council was abolished during Die Wende of East Germany in 1989/90, with the President of the People's Chamber Sabine Bergmann-Pohl acted as interim head of state.

The State Council of the German Democratic Republic (German: Staatsrat der DDR) was the standing organ of the People's Chamber and functioned as the collective head of state of the German Democratic Republic, most commonly referred to as East Germany, from 1960 to 1990.

The Alliance for Germany (German: Allianz für Deutschland) was an electoral alliance in East Germany. It consisted of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Democratic Awakening and German Social Union. The German Forum Party was invited to join, but it declined.

The Alliance was formed to contest the 1990 East German general election, the first and only free election in the country's history. It ran on a platform of expediting German reunification and won a plurality of the seats in the Volkskammer. It led a coalition government that lasted until reunification, with Lothar de Maizière of the CDU serving as minister-president of East Germany.

The Palace of the Republic (German: Palast der Republik, pronounced [paˈlast deːɐ ʁepuˈbliːk]) was a building in Berlin that hosted the Volkskammer, the parliament of East Germany, from 1976 to 1990.

Also known as the "People's Palace", it was located across the Unter den Linden from Museum Island in the Mitte area of East Berlin, on the site of the former Berlin Palace, which had been heavily damaged by Allied air raids and demolished in the 1950s. It was located between the Lustgarten and Schlossplatz, near the West Berlin border. The palace was completed in 1976 to house the Volkskammer, also serving various cultural purposes including two large auditoria, art galleries, a theatre, a cinema, 13 restaurants, five beer halls, a bowling alley, billiards rooms, a rooftop ice skating rink, a private gym with spa, a casino, a medical station, a post office, a police station with an underground cellblock, a fire station, an indoor basketball court, an indoor swimming pool, private barbershops and salons, public and private restrooms and a discothèque. In the early 1980s, one of the restaurants was replaced by a video game arcade for children of Volkskammer members and staff. The palace also had its own subway station, secure underground parking garage reserved for Central Committee members and a helipad reserved for Politburo members.