District Administrator (Germany)

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Party membership of German district administrators and mayors of independent cities (as of July 2019): Union SPD FW Left Green FDP independent








The district administrator is the organ and main administrative officer of a German district or district and thus the highest municipal official. At the same time, it is the lower state administrative authority in most countries (so-called "double position" or " Janus-headed " district administrator). He represents the (rural) district externally and is elected directly by the district citizens in most countries . Only in Baden-Württemberg and Schleswig-Holstein is the district administrator elected by the district council.

The legal status and tasks of the district administrator are structured differently in the individual countries - especially in the district regulations . In many German federal states, "Der Landrat" is also the name of the authority he heads , the district administration . In southern Germany, instead, the name Landratsamt is common. According to the regulations of most German federal states, the district administrator, as an election officer, is also the head of the state part of the district office (lower state administrative authority or lower state authority). This does not apply in the federal states that have chosen the path of full municipalization ( Lower Saxony , Saarland , Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt ).

history

In Prussia (with the exception of the Sigmaringen administrative district ), the district administrator was the official title of the lowest state administrative authority ( district office ) or the official in question . It was introduced in 1815 by an ordinance to improve the establishment of the provincial authorities. Initially, the district administrator was essentially an honorary municipal office, which was determined by the knighthood through election. The office developed into a professional office with state functions. The district administrator was the first state police authority and body of the state government for the business of the general state administration and at the same time headed the district administration as chairman of the district council and the district committee according to the district constitution.

The title Landrat had been accepted for the lowest administrative authorities in individual German small states, namely in Sachsen-Altenburg , Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha , Sachsen-Meiningen as well as in the Russian and Schwarzburg principalities ( Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen ). In Bavaria , where district administrators have been elected since 1828 with their introduction in the districts on the right bank of the Rhine, the assembly appointed to represent a district municipality was called district administrator. In Mecklenburg, the eight representatives of the native or received nobility in the estate directory were called district administrators. Two district administrators belonged to the " narrow committee " of the knight and landscape.

The official title of a district administrator could differ. That was in Alsace-Lorraine from 1871 to 1918 the official name given to the district director of the district , in Hesse-Darmstadt regional council or the Duchy of Nassau 1849-1853 county magistrate .

Individual regulations

In Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia , according to the old legal situation, the Oberkreisdirektor (OKD) was the main administrative officer, the honorary district administrator only performed representative tasks (so-called "dual track" or "dual leadership"). The district order in North Rhine-Westphalia stipulated that from the local elections in 1999 the district administrators should be full-time electoral officials and thus also main administrative officials . However, the districts were given the opportunity to make this change as early as 1994 and then have the district council elected by the district council until 1999. The district administrator has been directly elected by the people since 1999 for five years and since 2009 for six years . If he left prematurely, a district council election took place, whereby the term of office then until the end of the next local election period, i. H. lasted more than five years. In Lower Saxony, the dual leadership was also abolished from 1996. The term of office of a Lower Saxony district administrator is five years, in certain cases more than five years (§ 80 NKomVerfG).

In Rhineland-Palatinate , the district administrator is directly elected for eight years. If the citizens do not submit a valid nomination, it will be elected by the district council.

In Baden-Württemberg , the district administrator is not elected directly, but for eight years by the district council. His deputy has the official title of “ First State Official” and heads the state administration department in the District Office. The first state official is appointed by the state government.

Regulations on the district elections in the federal states
country Term of office Electoral procedure 1st ballot Electoral procedure 2nd ballot Deselection Age limits
Baden-Württemberg 8 years by district council

(absolute majority vote)

by district council (absolute majority vote) No 30–65 years
Bavaria 6 years absolute majority vote absolute majority vote

Runoff election of the two applicants with the highest voting results

No 18–67 years
Brandenburg 8 years absolute majority vote and approval quorum of 15% of the eligible voters absolute majority vote

Runoff election of the two applicants with the highest voting results and an approval quorum of 15% of the eligible voters

(in case of non-fulfillment, election by district council)

Yes

to be initiated by district council (2/3 majority) or citizenship (quorum 15%)

in the case of voting, majority and approval quorum 25% of the eligible voters

25–62 years
Hesse 6 years absolute majority vote absolute majority vote

Runoff election of the two applicants with the highest voting results

Yes

to be initiated by the district council (2/3 majority)

in the event of a majority vote and approval quorum 30% of the electorate

from 18 years
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 7–9 years

(Main statute)

absolute majority vote absolute majority vote

Runoff election of the two applicants with the highest voting results

Yes

to be initiated by the district council (2/3 majority)

with a 2/3 majority vote and a quorum of approval 1/3 of the eligible voters

18–60 / 64 years

(on re-election)

Lower Saxony 5 years absolute majority vote absolute majority vote

Runoff election of the two applicants with the highest voting results

Yes

to be initiated by the district council (3/4 majority)

in the case of voting, majority and approval quorum 25% of the eligible voters

23–67 years
North Rhine-Westphalia 5 years absolute majority vote absolute majority vote

Runoff election of the two applicants with the highest voting results

Yes

to be initiated by district council (2/3 majority) or citizenship (quorum 15%)

in the case of voting, majority and approval quorum 25% of the eligible voters

from 23 years
Rhineland-Palatinate 8 years absolute majority vote absolute majority vote

Runoff election of the two applicants with the highest voting results

Yes

to be initiated by the district council (2/3 majority)

in the event of a majority vote and approval quorum 30% of the electorate

23–65 years
Saarland ten years absolute majority vote absolute majority vote

Runoff election of the two applicants with the highest voting results

Yes

to be initiated by the district council (2/3 majority)

in the event of a majority vote and approval quorum 30% of the electorate

25–65 years
Saxony 7 years absolute majority vote Relative majority vote, new ballot

only candidates from the 1st ballot

Yes

to be initiated by the district council (3/4 majority) or the citizenry (quorum 1/3)

in the event of a majority vote and a quorum of approval, 50% of the electorate

27–65 years
Saxony-Anhalt 7 years absolute majority vote absolute majority vote

Runoff election of the two applicants with the highest voting results

Yes

to be initiated by the district council (3/4 majority)

in the event of a majority vote and approval quorum 30% of the electorate

21–65 years
Schleswig-Holstein 6-8 years

(Main statute)

by district council

(absolute majority vote) (again since 2009)

by district council (absolute majority vote)

Runoff election of the two applicants with the highest voting results

Yes

by district council with a 2/3 majority in two ballots

from 18 years
Thuringia 6 years absolute majority vote absolute majority vote

Runoff election of the two applicants with the highest voting results

Yes

to be initiated by the district council (2/3 majority)

in the event of a majority vote and approval quorum 30% of the electorate

21–65 years

tasks

The district administrator - if so provided by the district regulations - leads the meetings of the district council, represents the district or district, implements the decisions of the district council and takes care of day-to-day administration. In North Rhine-Westphalia , the district administrator is also head of the district police authority by way of organ lending. As a rule, the district administrator is the superior of the employees and civil servants of the district administration.

While the district administrator is bound by the resolutions of the district council and its committees in the area of ​​its own and assigned tasks of the district , as head of the state district office , as far as full municipalization does not apply in the respective federal state, he is bound by the instructions of the state central and higher authorities bound election officer active. This area is then beyond the decision of the district council and its committees.

Depending on the federal state , it has other tasks.

Local associations of a special kind

The local associations of a special kind have a main administrative officer whose tasks are comparable to those of a district administrator. In the Hanover region , this is the regional president , in the Saarbrücken regional association, regional association director, and in the Aachen city ​​region, the city council .

Salary

The salary of these election officers is regulated by the respective municipal salary ordinance. In Hesse, for example, district administrators are paid from B5 to B7 , depending on the number of inhabitants in their district , in Saxony-Anhalt, for example, from B4 to B6.

See also

literature

  • Jürgen W. Schmidt: Die Landräte des Kreis Westprignitz from 1860 to 1920. In: Mitteilungen des Verein für Geschichte der Prignitz , Vol. 12. Perleberg 2012, pp. 5–60 (on pp. 5–12 General information on the districts in Prussia and its tasks).
  • Horst Romeyk : The leading state and municipal administrative officials of the Rhine Province 1816–1945 (=  publications of the Society for Rhenish History . Volume 69 ). Droste, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-7700-7585-4 .

Individual evidence

  1. Ulrich Wagner: Würzburg rulers, Bavarian minister-presidents, chairmen of the district council / district council presidents, regional presidents, bishops, lord mayors 1814–2006. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. Volume 2, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 1221-1224; here: p. 1221.
  2. ^ Law on the Constitution and Administration of Alsace-Lorraine of December 31, 1871
  3. ^ A b Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior and Sport: Farewell District Administrator Wächter and Oberkreisdirektor Jahn . Retrieved March 19, 2011.
  4. §3 Hessian municipal salary regulation
  5. §4 Municipal Salary Ordinance for the State of Saxony-Anhalt ( Memento of the original from June 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / st.juris.de