Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the German Democratic Republic
Encyclopedia
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the German Democratic Republic was a government body of the German Democratic Republic
(East Germany) that existed from 1949 to 1990. It had its seat at Schinkelplatz in Berlin-Mitte. A new foreign ministry building was constructed 1964-1967, although the building was demolished in 1996, after the German reunification
.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs was led by the Foreign Minister of the German Democratic Republic and a number of deputies. However, the Foreign Minister had less actual influence over the foreign policy than the central committee
secretary for foreign policy in the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
. As a de facto subordinate position, the Foreign Minister could be a member of some of the block parties in the GDR.
The West German counterpart was the Foreign Office
, that still exists as the current German foreign ministry, and considers itself to be the direct continuation of the Foreign Office that was established in 1870 in the North German Confederation
.
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(East Germany) that existed from 1949 to 1990. It had its seat at Schinkelplatz in Berlin-Mitte. A new foreign ministry building was constructed 1964-1967, although the building was demolished in 1996, after the German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs was led by the Foreign Minister of the German Democratic Republic and a number of deputies. However, the Foreign Minister had less actual influence over the foreign policy than the central committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
secretary for foreign policy in the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
. As a de facto subordinate position, the Foreign Minister could be a member of some of the block parties in the GDR.
The West German counterpart was the Foreign Office
Foreign Office (Germany)
The Foreign Office is the foreign ministry of Germany, a federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign politics and its relationship with the European Union. From 1871 to 1919, it was led by a Foreign Secretary, and since 1919, it has been led by the Foreign Minister of Germany...
, that still exists as the current German foreign ministry, and considers itself to be the direct continuation of the Foreign Office that was established in 1870 in the North German Confederation
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation 1866–71, was a federation of 22 independent states of northern Germany. It was formed by a constitution accepted by the member states in 1867 and controlled military and foreign policy. It included the new Reichstag, a parliament elected by universal manhood...
.
Literature
- Hermann Wentker: Außenpolitik in engen Grenzen. Die DDR im internationalen System (= Schriftenreihe der Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte). Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, München 2007. ISBN 978-3-486-58345-8.