Saarland state government
The Saarland state government (official name: Government of the Saarland ) is the executive branch of the Saarland . It consists of the Prime Minister and the ministers . Since a constitutional amendment in 2001, state secretaries can also be appointed as “additional members” of the government.
Constitutional provisions
The main provisions on the state government are set out in Articles 86 to 95 of the Saarland constitution. After that, the Prime Minister is elected by the Saarland Landtag . The ministers and the state secretaries belonging to the government are appointed and dismissed by the prime minister with the consent of the state parliament.
The Prime Minister holds the chairmanship of the state government. It represents the Saarland externally, defines the ministers' areas of responsibility, determines the political guidelines and manages the affairs of the state government in accordance with the rules of procedure . The state government appoints and dismisses the state's officials and judges and exercises the right to pardon .
For the short period from the coming into force of the Saarland constitution on December 17, 1947 until the formation of the first state government on December 20, 1947, the tasks of government were carried out by the Saarland Administrative Commission (Art. 131 SVerf old version).
Limitation of the term of office of the state government
Until 1979, the term of office of a state government was not tied to the length of a legislative period of the state parliament. As part of a major constitutional revision through Law No. 1102, which came into force on July 28, 1979, the term of office of the government was limited: It will now expire "with the convening of a new state parliament".
The impetus for this change was the result of the election to the 7th state parliament on May 4, 1975: the CDU , which had previously ruled alone, received 25 seats in the state parliament , the SPD (22 seats) and FDP (three) also had 25 seats together. A majority to form a new government did not initially come about, so that the government of Prime Minister Franz-Josef Röder (CDU) continued to hold office. The stalemate only dissolved when the FDP entered the government on March 1, 1977 . However, there was no new election of the Prime Minister, as the incumbent Röder refused to resign and since his last election by the state parliament on July 13, 1970, he considered himself in office without interruption. Only the appointment of three new ministers was confirmed by the government majority in parliament.
The new regulation came into effect immediately after the next state parliament election in 1980: The government's term of office had expired with the constituent session of the 8th state parliament on May 21, 1980. Prime Minister Werner Zeyer (CDU), his successor since the death of Franz-Josef Röder in 1979, had to face another election by parliament in order to be able to continue the coalition of CDU and FDP.
Other members of the state government
Until 2001, Article 86 of the Saarland state constitution read "The state government consists of the prime minister and the ministers" . The Constitution was amended in this respect by Law no. 1478, so since then Secretaries of State may be appointed as additional members of the state government. Their number must not exceed a third of the number of ministers. After this regulation came into force on September 21, 2001, five days later Monika Beck and Karl Rauber (both CDU) were appointed state secretaries for the first time as members of the state government.
The same rules apply to state secretaries belonging to the government in their appointment and in their official powers as for ministers. In doing so, they set themselves apart from the other state secretaries - who, as the highest officials of the Saarland, do not belong to the government:
- The other members of the state government take their oath of office before the state parliament.
- Their appointment and dismissal must be confirmed by the state parliament.
- You have a seat and a vote in the cabinet.
- They can be appointed as full members of the Federal Council and appear there as voting leaders of the Saarland.
- Your term of office ends with the meeting of a newly elected state parliament.
| Surname | Political party | Office | Term of office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monika Beck | CDU | State Secretary and authorized representative of the Saarland at the federal government | 2001-2005 |
| Karl Rauber | CDU | State Secretary, Head of the State Chancellery and European Commissioner of the State Government | 2001-2004 |
| Wolfgang shield | CDU | State Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Health and Social Affairs State Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Labor, Health and Social Affairs State Secretary in the Ministry of Justice |
2004–2007 2007–2009 2009–2012 |
| Joachim Kiefaber | FDP | State Secretary in the Ministry of Economics and Science | 2009–2012 |
| Jürgen Barke | SPD | State Secretary in the Ministry of Economy, Labor, Energy and Transport | since 2012 |
| Jürgen Lennartz | CDU | State Secretary, Head of the State Chancellery and representative of the Saarland at the federal level | 2012-2019 |
| Henrik Eitel | CDU | State Secretary, Head of the State Chancellery and representative of the Saarland at the federal level | since 2019 |
State governments since 1947
Due to new political majorities following state elections and government reforms during a legislative period, the following cabinets have been in office in Saarland so far:
See also
Web links
- Website of the Saarland government
- Members of the Saarland government at the Bundesrat
- Constitution of the Saarland (SVerf) of December 15, 1947, last amended by the law of July 13, 2016 (Official Journal I p. 710)
- Law No. 784 on the Legal Relationships of Members of the State Government (Saarland Ministerial Law) of July 17, 1963, last amended by the law of March 15, 2017 (Official Gazette I p. 436)
- Rules of Procedure of the Saarland Government (GOReg) of February 15, 2005, last amended by the notice of May 9, 2012 (Official Journal I p. 132)
- Announcement of the business areas of the highest state authorities of May 17, 2017, amended by the announcement of October 17, 2017 (Official Journal I p. 982)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Act No. 1102 amending the Saarland constitution of July 4, 1979. (PDF; 1.1 MB) In: Saarland Official Gazette No. 28. Head of the State Chancellery, July 27, 1979, pp. 650–655 , accessed on June 28, 2017 .
- ↑ Law No. 1478 amending the Saarland Constitution of September 5, 2001 (PDF; 4.9 MB) In: Saarland Official Gazette No. 42. Head of the State Chancellery, September 20, 2001, p. 1630 , accessed on September 28 , 2001 June 2017 .
- ↑ a b c approval of the state parliament for the appointment of further members of the state government; Swearing in of the other members of the state government. (PDF; 4.9 MB) In: Plenary minutes 12/30. Saarland State Parliament, September 26, 2001, pp. 1424–1425 , accessed on June 28, 2017 .
- ↑ Approval of the state parliament for the appointment of further members of the state government in accordance with Article 87, Paragraph 1 of the Saarland Constitution; Swearing in of further members of the state government in accordance with Article 89 of the Saarland Constitution in conjunction with Section 3 of the Ministerial Law. (PDF; 263 kB) In: Plenary minutes 13/3. State Parliament of Saarland, November 3, 2004, p. 16 , accessed on June 28, 2017 .
- ↑ a b approval of the state parliament for the appointment of two members of the state government in accordance with Article 87, Paragraph 1, Clause 2 of the Saarland Constitution; Swearing in of the new members of the state government in accordance with Article 89 of the Saarland constitution. (PDF; 333 kB) In: Plenary minutes 14/3. Saarland State Parliament, November 18, 2009, pp. 19-20 , accessed on June 28, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Approval of the state parliament for the appointment of two further members of the state government in accordance with Article 87, Paragraph 1, Clause 2 of the Saarland Constitution; Swearing in of the other members of the state government in accordance with Article 89 of the Saarland Constitution. (PDF; 301 kB) In: Plenary minutes 15/3. State Parliament of Saarland, May 16, 2012, pp. 21-22 , accessed on June 28, 2017 .