People's Chamber Volkskammer
Type
Type	unicameral parliament (until 1958 lower chamber)
Timeline
Country	German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
Established	1949
Preceded by	Reichstag
Succeeded by	Bundestag
Disbanded	1990
Leadership and Structure
Members	400
Election
Meeting place
Palast der Republik

The People's Chamber (German: Volkskammer) was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). From its founding in 1949 until the first free elections on 18 March 1990, all members of the Volkskammer were elected on a slate controlled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), called the National Front. Despite the appearance of a multi-party system, all opposition parties were effectively controlled by the dominant SED. In addition, seats were also allocated to various mass organizations affiliated with the SED, such as the Free German Youth.

Initially, it existed alongside the Chamber of States, but in 1952 the states of East Germany (and with it the chamber) were suppressed.

In theory, the Volkskammer was the central political body of the GDR, appointing the Council of State (after 1960), the Council of Ministers, and the National Defence Council. However, parties were expected to respect democratic centralism, with the most dissent in voting ever shown by Parliament to the SED were fourteen nays and eight abstentions on the part of CDU representatives in a vote on liberalising abortion law.

A typical slate was as follows:

In 1976, the Volkskammer moved into a specially-constructed building on Marx-Engels-Platz (now Schloßplatz again), the Palast der Republik (Palace of the Republic).

Protestor, January 1990

Ballot for the 1990 elections (Text reads "Sample")

After the 1990 elections, the only legitimate elections in East Germany, the disposition of the parties was as follows:

[edit] Chairmen of the People's Chamber

Chairmen of the People's Chamber were

Chairwoman of the People's Chamber and head of state of the German Democratic Republic was

because the State Council had been abolished.

[edit] See also

• List of Presidents of the People's Chamber

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Volkskammer of the German Democratic Republic

• A Successful Policy Seared to the Needs of the People "Deliberations" of the Volkskammer on nuclear disarmament, 1981.

v • d • e Elections in East Germany General elections 1950 · 1954 · 1958 · 1963 · 1967 · 1971 · 1976 · 1981 · 1986 · 1990

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