Capital resolution

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The resolution of the German Bundestag of June 20, 1991 to move its seat from Bonn to Berlin as a result of German reunification is called the capital city resolution . The term capital city resolution is misleading because Berlin had already become the federal capital of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990 when the Unification Treaty came into force .

The relocation of the seat of parliament and government to Berlin took place largely in the summer of 1999, with second seats of the federal government (via the federal ministries) and the legislature (via the Bundesrat ) remaining in Bonn - which can also be referred to as a "shared" seat of government .

Decision and implementation

poll

The motion " Completion of the unity of Germany " , with the content of establishing the future seat of government in Berlin, was formulated and introduced by prominent members of parliament across all parties. Among them were members of the SPD ( Willy Brandt , Hans-Jochen Vogel , Wolfgang Thierse ), the FDP ( Burkhard Hirsch , Hermann Otto Solms , Rainer Ortleb ), the CDU / CSU ( Helmut Kohl , Günther Krause , Wolfgang Schäuble , Oscar Schneider ) and of Bündnis 90 ( Wolfgang Ullmann ). After a controversial debate with more than 600 minutes of speaking time requested, the Bundestag accepted the request by roll call with 338 votes to 320. The parliamentary group's discipline was lifted for the vote . Initially, a result of 337 to 320 was determined and announced; then it turned out that a yes vote had been overlooked during the counting. One vote was invalid and there was an abstention.

The vote showed that the regional origin of the MPs was of great importance. MPs from North and East Germany mostly voted for Berlin, those from South and West Germany mostly for Bonn. Of the directly elected members of the 328 constituencies, 169 voted for Bonn and 153 for Berlin. Of the MPs elected via the state lists, 185 were for Berlin and 151 for Bonn.

Voting behavior of the MPs elected in the Bundestag election in the constituencies on June 20, 1991: for Berlin (153) for Bonn (169) no participation or replacement by successors (6)



Voting behavior according to party affiliations
Political party for Berlin for Bonn
voices percent voices percent
CDU 146 54.1 124 45.9
CSU 8th 16.7 40 83.3
SPD 110 46.6 126 53.4
FDP 53 67.1 26 32.9
Bü90 4th 66.7 2 33.3
PDS 17th 94.5 1 5.5
non-attached 0 0.0 1 100.0
total 338 51.5 320 48.5

implementation

As a result, decisions were made at various levels to implement this resolution. So, in keeping with the “fair division of labor” between Berlin and Bonn, which was mentioned in the resolution, in addition to the

be relocated to Berlin, but they will keep a second office in Bonn.

The following federal ministries should remain in Bonn, each with a second office in Berlin:

In 1994 the Berlin / Bonn Act was passed. The federal ministries were originally supposed to move to Berlin in 1995, but this schedule could not be kept. Instead, a cabinet resolution was passed stating that the move should be completed by 2000 and that a budget of DM 20 billion (EUR 10.2 billion) should not be exceeded.

During this time, fundamental decisions were made, including:

  • the Reichstag building becomes the permanent seat of the Bundestag,
  • the majority of the federal ministries are moving to Berlin,
  • the majority of ministerial jobs remain in Bonn,
  • the federal ministers have a second seat in Bonn and Berlin,
  • the office of the Federal President has its seat in Berlin.

Berlin has been the seat of parliament and government of the Federal Republic of Germany since autumn 1999. Since the relocation of the seat of the Federal Council in summer 2000, Berlin has been the seat of both legislative federal constitutional organs .

The Federal Administrative Court , which was based in Berlin prior to the implementation of the capital city resolution, moved to Leipzig.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Art. 2 of the Unification Treaty
  2. ↑ a b Hans Georg Lehmann: Infographic: Vote on 20 June 1991. Federal Agency for Civic Education , May 11th 2011, accessed on May 6, 2017 .

literature

  • Ekkehard Kohrs : Endless controversy. The capital dispute. Arguments - emotions - perspectives (= Beltz-Quadriga-Taschenbuch . Vol. 558). Beltz Quadriga, Weinheim 1991, ISBN 3-407-30558-3 .
  • Andreas Salz: Bonn-Berlin: The debate about the seat of parliament and government in the German Bundestag and the consequences. Monsenstein and Vannerdat, Münster 2006, ISBN 3-86582-342-4 (Zugl .: Bonn, Univ., Mag.-Arb., 2006).

Web links