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East Germany Council of State
Designated as an organ of the People's Chamber, the Council
of State was largely a creation of Ulbricht's during his tenure
as first secretary of the SED. After Ulbricht was forced to
relinquish that position in 1971, the prestige and authority of
the council correspondingly began to decline. However, although
it was no longer the de facto supreme executive organ, Honecker's
assumption of the chairmanship of the Council of State in October
1976 represented a renewal of its importance. A similar move was
made in the Soviet Union when Leonid Brezhnev became head of
state. It is reasonable to assume that given East Germany's close
adherence to Soviet practices, the increased invisibility of the
Council of State since the late 1970s can be traced at least in
part to parallel developments in the Soviet Union. Not unrelated
to the takeover of the council's chairmanship by Honecker is the
fact that after 1977 the number of individuals who were
simultaneously members of the council and of the SED's Central
Committee Secretariat increased.
In referring to the Council of State, the Constitution
declares that it will consist of the chairman, deputy chairmen,
members, and secretary; it does not specify the number of deputy
chairmen and members. In l987, under the chairmanship of
Honecker, there were eight deputy chairmen and seventeen members.
In addition to Honecker, two of the deputy chairmen, Horst
Sindermann and Willi Stoph, were members of the Politburo of the
SED; Stoph was also chairman of the Council of Ministers, and
Sindermann was president of the People's Chamber. Four of the
deputy chairmen of the Council of State represented the other
four political parties, as did four of its seventeen members. The
day-to-day functions of the council are carried on by a small
bureaucratic staff consisting in 1987 of twenty offices and
departments, all of which were headed by SED members. Despite the
presence of non-SED members as deputy chairmen and members of the
leadership group, SED control was guaranteed by the presence of
Honecker, Stoph, Sindermann, and Egon Krenz, probably the four
most powerful individuals in the country.
In the mid-1980s, the functions performed by the Council of
State included representing the country abroad and ratifying and
terminating international treaties; supporting local assemblies
in the implementation of their economic and budgetary plans;
administering electoral laws that govern the selection of local
assemblies on the community, city, county, and district levels;
discharging responsibilities for the maintenance of the country's
defense with the assistance of the National Defense Council; and
administering the activities of the Supreme Court and the Office
of the General Prosecuting Attorney to ensure that their actions
are congruent with the Constitution and the civil law. In this
area, the Council of State possesses additional responsibility
for proclaiming amnesties and pardons.
Data as of July 1987
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