City Council (GDR)

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Sign at the entrance to the City Council Gernrode / Harz , district Quedlinburg , Halle Region (May 1990)

In the GDR , the local councils (City Council, City Council, City Council) formed the institutions of local public administration with technical subdivision in the sense of democratic centralism . As organs of their local people's representatives (city council, city district assemblies, municipal councils) they were elected by them and were accountable to them. In the context of the aforementioned democratic centralism, the principle of “double subordination” also applied, which is why they were bound by instructions to the district councils .

In contrast to the West German usage, the councils did not represent local people's representations, but corresponded to local government.

Types and names

Then there were - according to the status of the place to be administered - local governments with the names:

  • City Council (today corresponds to: city ​​administration , mayor's office)
  • City District Council (in large cities) (today: Local Office )
  • Council of the municipality (today: municipal administration)

The name was followed by the respective place name (e.g. Council of the City of Meißen , Council of the City District Erfurt-Mitte or Council of the Municipality of Merxleben ).

Such a council consisted of a full-time mayor (or mayor in large cities) and - depending on the size of the city or municipality, either full-time or honorary - one or more deputies and other council members, who then also head the respective specialist departments (e.g. Agriculture, trade and supply, culture, local supply economy [ÖVW], roads, housing, construction, public education, etc.) were.

tasks and responsibilities

The tasks and the working methods of the councils of the cities and municipalities were most recently in the law on local people's representations in the GDR of July 4, 1985, Chapter II, §§ 9-12; their responsibilities are regulated in Chapter VI, Sections 61–79. They ranged from territorial political, social and cultural administrative tasks to budgetary and financial management to questions of order and security.

See also

literature

  • GDR manual. VEB Verlag Enzyklopädie, Leipzig 1979.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Law on the local people's representations of the GDR of July 4, 1985 (GöV)