Bremen Chamber of Commerce - IHK for Bremen and Bremerhaven
The Bremen Chamber of Commerce - IHK for Bremen and Bremerhaven is the legally anchored self-governing organization of the commercial economy in the state of Bremen , entrusted with state tasks. As a chamber of commerce , it is at the interface between the state and the economy. It was created in 2015 from the merger of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce and the Bremerhaven Chamber of Commerce and Industry . It is a member of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry and has its Bremen location in Schütting on the market . Janina Marahrens-Hashagen has been President of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce since January 2019.
Legal status and membership
The Bremen Chamber of Commerce - IHK for Bremen and Bremerhaven is an independent and self-administered corporation under public law . It is subject to the legal supervision of the country. The basis for this is provided by the chamber law passed by the Bundestag in 1956, which enshrined the public law status with compulsory membership. In 1958 this legal basis was supplemented by a state law. It confirmed the tasks of the Chamber and emphasized its independence.
All Bremen companies, with the exception of pure handicraft companies , farmers and freelancers - who are not entered in the commercial register - are legally obliged to be a member of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce - IHK for Bremen and Bremerhaven.
The German economy is organized in the 79 regional chambers of industry and commerce (IHK) and their umbrella organization Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag (DIHK).
The plenum (plenary assembly) of the Chamber of Commerce elects the ( praeses ) president and the other members of the plenum ( praesidium ) in accordance with § 6 of the statutes . The Praeses (President) is the chairman of the plenary. He calls the plenary and chairs it.
tasks
The Chamber of Commerce sees itself as the "Parliament of the Economy" and acts independently of the public administration and independently within its areas of responsibility. It wants to be the center of economic self-government and it presents itself to the Bremen economy as a strong lobbyist and future- oriented service provider. It takes the interests of its affiliated companies towards Bremen, so it is the lobby of the regional economy. In addition, she is responsible for
- the public appointment and swearing-in of experts ,
- the preparation of expert opinions for courts and authorities,
- the issuance of certificates of origin and other certificates required for foreign trade (e.g. carnets ),
- the certification of commercial invoices,
- the granting of permission to broker insurance ,
- ensuring fair competition ,
- monitoring and promoting vocational training in accordance with the Vocational Training Act ,
- the implementation of advanced and advanced training courses ,
- the service and advice for their member companies.
historical development
Today's Chamber of Commerce in Bremen emerged historically from the medieval committee of the " parents " of the Bremen wholesale and long-distance trade merchants.
The history of merchants in Bremen begins with the market law of 888, the imperial market, coinage and customs law extended in 965, the fair privilege granted in 1035 and with joining the Hanseatic League in 1358. With the first Bremen city law of 1303, citizenship was also documented. But only those who had money were recognized as citizens. As a citizen, he had to pay two Bremen marks and as a merchant another four shillings. The parents or the "oldermann" represented craft and trade.
The merchants wanted to represent their concerns to the Bremen Council . In 1451 the “ parents ” of the Bremen merchants had issued a statute. The organized self-administration of the Bremen economy began with the statutes for the “ kopmann tho Bremen ”. The organization, the tasks, the representation of interests vis-à-vis the Bremen Council, the conditions for admission, the election of the head of the board or the assembly system were regulated.
In a contract of 1426, “ de ghemeyne copman der stad Bremen ” (the community of merchants) agreed with the council to commission the “ vorstendere der tunnen ” (head of the barrels) to mark the river Weser with barrels and beacons around the To achieve the safety of their ships at sea. They charged shipping fees for this. From around 1483 to 1849, the administration of the bucket system was the " Olderlüde des Koopmanns ", then the Chamber of Commerce took over the task until 1921.
Through the " uprising of 104 men " of 1530, the participation of broader classes in the city government was initially enforced and the position of the independent parents was weakened (see also here ). The 104 believed in an abuse of the barrel and beacon money for the purchase of the bulk or for expensive celebrations. At the beginning of 1532 they expropriated the Schütting and its inventory and took the management of the barrel money into their own hands. The uprising was put down, the leaders executed, and the merchants got the money back.
In the 17th century, the merchants of the " Collegium Seniorum " (in Low German " Parents ") demanded an even greater share in government affairs. Through increasing critical influence and powerful means of pressure, they achieved that the council was dependent on the approval of the Bremen Citizens' Convention , which is dominated by the merchants, for important decisions . The merchants fixed their newly won privileges in a new version of their statutes - the Ordinantie. The professional representation had now become the decisive political decision-maker in Bremen and remained so until 1848.
Tax surveys were the reason why the Collegium Seniorum sued the Imperial Court of Justice in Speyer in 1677 for violating civil rights and protested against wanting to degrade free citizens to subjects. The council countered and denied the parents the authority to represent the city's citizens alone. The council insisted on governance. Through imperial mediation, a settlement was reached in 1681, which confirmed the central power of the council, but did not restrict the rights of the Schütting. It was the collection point for civil complaints against the council. However, the lower classes continued to have no rights.
The expanded trade made it necessary to change the old statutes in 1774. A new "rules of procedure" with 41 paragraphs was decided. The Collegium Seniorum had between 12 and 32 members.
In 1770 a "widow care society" was founded to take care of the relatives of deceased parents and Syndici. Since 1806 - during Napoleon's reign - the old legal system was abolished. A “depoliticized” chamber of commerce should only take care of trade and shipping. The dissolved Collegium Seniorum met secretly and after 1814 restored the old state and took on its key role in the political and economic life of the city again.
In the times of awakening and change of 1848/1849 the Collegium Seniorum lost its special position of power. In 1849, due to the new Bremen constitution, a new Bremen Chamber of Commerce and the Bremen Chamber of Commerce were formed. The Chamber of Commerce was the "State Institution for the Promotion of Trade and Shipping" and the Merchants' Convention had some of the tasks of the former Collegium Seniorum. The Senate now had technical supervision over the Chamber of Commerce.
During the founding period from 1870 to 1914, the Chamber of Commerce was involved in the establishment of production facilities and supported the expansion of the transport network. In 1911 she suggested the establishment of an industrial development association that was supposed to link trade and industry even more closely.
In the dispute over responsibility for industry, the Senate decided in 1906 that the Chamber of Commerce should represent the commercial concerns of industry and the Chamber of Commerce those of commerce.
In 1921 the new Chamber of Commerce Act expanded the traditional tasks of the chamber to include the interests of industry and strengthened self-administration.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry , renamed in 1934, lost responsibilities and functions. The centralized National Socialists influenced the work. In 1943, by decree of the Reich Ministry of Economics, the Gau Chamber of Commerce was established as the successor to the chambers of industry and commerce and the chambers of crafts , including that for the Reichsgau Weser-Ems, in which Bremen was located.
After the Second World War , the Chamber of Commerce was able to resume business in the temporarily secured building of the Schütting in 1946. The Schütting - the " kopmans hus " - was rebuilt from 1947 to 1951. The Chamber of Commerce - with its traditional name - resumed its traditional function of representing the interests of Bremen entrepreneurs. Since the merger of the institutions from Bremen and Bremerhaven in 2016, the Bremen Chamber of Commerce - IHK for Bremen and Bremerhaven has encompassed the entire state of Bremen.
Self-image of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce
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President Dirk Plump and Matthias Fonger, I. Syndicus, describe the self-image of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce - as part of the 550th anniversary celebration - with a view to its long history in 2001: “ Our Chamber of Commerce is up to this great tradition of parents and the Collegium Seniorum committed today. As a representative of the interests of Bremen companies, it was and is always oriented towards the common good in the republican sense . The focus is always on the future - independent, critical and constructive. The location of the Schütting house vis-à-vis the town hall and next to the citizenship is a symbol : it documents the right to participation and shared responsibility - buten and within. This responsibility for our city republic forms the content-related arc from the beginnings to the present. "
House of seafaring and the Chamber of Commerce
The Haus Seefahrt Foundation and the Bremen Chamber of Commerce, as organizations of Bremen's long-distance trade merchants, have a centuries-old tradition of joint development in political and social life and in the history of Bremen . Among other things, Haus Seefahrt organizes the Schaffermahlzeit annually , which is considered one of the “most important social events in Germany” and is the “destination of business leaders from all over the world”. The fixed program of the Schaffermahlzeit always includes a previous reception for the Schaffer and their international guests at the Bremen Chamber of Commerce in Haus Schütting.
At the present time, members of the Bremen economy who are also active at Haus Seefahrt have a significant share in the management positions of the Chamber of Commerce. In the plenary session of the Chamber of Commerce, almost a third are currently members of Haus Seefahrt, including six of the seven members of the Chamber's Presidium. The great majority of the business representatives elected as President of the Chamber of Commerce were already members of Haus Seefahrt before their term of office.
See also
literature
- Lydia Niehoff : 550 years of independence. Chronicle of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce. Schünemann, Bremen 2001, ISBN 3-7961-1827-5 .
- Klaus Berthold: Bremen merchant festivals. Schünemann, Bremen 2007, ISBN 978-3-7961-1902-6 .
- Ernst Dünzelmann : The Bremen merchants' guild and their parents . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch , Volume 18, pp. 77–115, Bremen 1896.
- Ernst Dünzelmann: From Bremen's plaid days. Still life in an imperial and Hanseatic city . Bremen 1899.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Lydia Niehoff: 550 years of independence. Chronicle of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce . Schünemann, Bremen 2001, ISBN 3-7961-1827-5 , p. 5.
- ↑ Compare: The Bremen Schaffermahlzeit (tradition since 1545). The Senator for the Interior and Sport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (www.inneres.bremen.de), accessed on January 30, 2011 .
- ↑ 14 of the 44 plenary members are members of “Haus Seefahrt” (year of their Schaffermahlzeit in brackets, without the 6 HK Presidium members): Harald Emigholz (2008), Marco Fuchs (2007), Peter Hoedemaker (2010), Stefan Messerknecht (2006) , Hasso G. Nauck (1999), Michael F. Schütte (2007), Michael Vinnen (2006); Chamber of Commerce plenary ; Schaffermahlzeit ( memento from March 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ); Stephan-Andreas Kaulvers (2012); NWZ online . Pages accessed January 18, 2011.
- ^ "Haus Seefahrt" -members in the Presidium of the Chamber of Commerce (year of their Schaffermahlzeit in brackets): Otto Lamotte (2011), Matthias Claussen (1994), Eduard Dubbers-Albrecht (2005), Lutz H. Peper (2007), President Christoph Weiss (2008), Patrick Wendisch (2006); Presidium of the Chamber of Commerce ; Pages accessed January 18, 2011; Schaffermahlzeit ( Memento from March 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive )