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36-571: Until 1848 the State Council in the Kingdom of Prussia was an important institution within the Prussian executive, but its importance dwindled with the development of constitutionalism. The Council produced expert opinions and made recommendations. Decision-making power, however, rested solely with the king and cabinet. With the push towards a constitution and the associated demand for separation of powers,

72-574: A constitutional monarchy in 1848. Legislation now rested exclusively with the King and Parliament. The Prussian Constitution , which came into force in 1850, did not provide for a State Council. The Secretariat of the State Council was dissolved; State Secretary Bode had already been placed on hold on 1 October 1848. In the Reaction Era , King Frederick William IV reactivated the State Council in 1854 as

108-603: A State Council as well as regulations regarding its composition, however, the committee was initially not actually introduced. The King's announcement in the Supreme Cabinet Order of 3 June 1814 "for the appointment of the Minister" that he wanted to put the Council of State into action after his return from Paris, but brings his order into connection with the question of the corporate constitution and representation, likely explains

144-535: A bill in the Reichstag to monopolize grain imports and introduce minimum prices for grain, Kaiser Wilhelm II announced at the meeting of the State Ministry on 4 January 1895 that he would convene the State Council to discuss the bill. This led to intensive discussions. Bismarck's participation was a constitutional problem because a legal question existed whether his membership expired when he left office or whether he

180-833: A large part of his demands. The Prussian state elections of 24 April 1932 , which gave the Nazi Party the most seats but not enough to form a viable coalition with any other parties, also largely deprived the State Council of its ability to function. Legislative and budgetary decisions could no longer be implemented. In the Prussian coup d'état of 20 July 1932, the national conservative Reich government of President Paul von Hindenburg and Chancellor Franz von Papen issued an emergency decree to put executive power in Prussia into von Papen's hands as Reichskommissar . The decree left Braun's cabinet in place as an all but meaningless caretaker government and

216-575: A majority, but since none were willing to cooperate with any of the others, the SPD-led coalition could not be removed. It continued in office as a minority government. This situation ended with the Preußenschlag on 20 July 1932. Reich President Paul von Hindenburg , on the advice of Reich Chancellor Franz von Papen , issued an emergency decree under Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution dissolving

252-521: A personal body to assess the most important state affairs. When the State Council was re-established, its role in the legislative process changed. Because laws were now only dealt with in the Landtag of Prussia , the matter was dealt with by the State Council prior to deliberation in Parliament. New members were appointed (former members remained members) and the State Council was invited to deliberate. Some of

288-649: A province, of one-fifth of all members, or of the State Ministry. Konrad Adenauer of the Centre Party , then mayor of Cologne and after World War II the first chancellor of West Germany , held the chairmanship of the State Council from its inception until the Nazi takeover in 1933. About one month after the provincial parliamentary elections, the elections for the members of the Prussian State Council were held by

324-531: The Landtag Hanns Kerrl of the Nazi Party, Prussian minister president von Papen and Adenauer as president of the Council of State . Adenauer left the room before the vote, probably convinced that he had made it legally impossible to pass a resolution. Papen and Kerrl interpreted Adenauer's action as an abstention and decided to dissolve the Landtag . The legality of the procedure was highly questionable. In

360-535: The Reichsrat – the body that represented the states' interests in the national parliament – the State Council had a right only to object to actions taken in the Prussian Landtag , and its objections could be overridden by a two-thirds majority in the Landtag . All state expenditures that exceeded the budget required the approval of the State Council. It also had an indirect right of initiative: proposals went to

396-648: The German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the fall of the Hohenzollern monarchy , established a State Council in Section IV, Article 31 as a body for the participation of the provinces in the legislative process. It provided the Free State with a federal element, although Prussia otherwise remained a unitary state whose provinces were not constituent states. (1921) The State Council was composed of members delegated by

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432-799: The Landtag of Prussia . They were the last free election in Prussia, as the next election in 1933 took place under the Nazi regime , and Prussia was then abolished after World War II . The election saw the Nazi Party become the largest party in Prussia, winning 36% of the vote. The coalition of the Social Democratic Party , Centre Party , and German Democratic Party (now the German State Party ), which had governed Prussia since 1919, lost its majority. The SPD, DNVP , and DVP all suffered huge losses. The Economic Party lost all its seats, while

468-450: The Prussian election on 5 March 1933 , held in parallel with the national Reichstag election , the Nazi Party achieved the necessary majority to pass a Prussian enabling act which gave the Reich chancellor full authority over the state. The State Council was thereby definitively deprived of its co-legislative and co-executive functions. Following the elections to the provincial parliaments held

504-471: The Social Democrats (SPD), it was not treating the State Council with the importance that it deserved under the constitution. Braun and the rest of the government viewed the situation differently. He feared encroachment on his policy-making authority as minister president, and the other ministers, including those from Adenauer's Centre Party, were apprehensive of a possible dilution of democratic reforms by

540-406: The State Ministry (the Prussian minister president and his cabinet) and had to be passed on by it to the Landtag . The State Council had the right to express its opinion on all matters concerning the Landtag and thus on legislation. It also had a right to obtain information from the State Ministry. The State Council was convened by its president at the request of all the representatives of

576-468: The Central Assembly meet for the last time, after which it went dormant. At the instigation of Otto von Bismarck , the State Council was reactivated again in 1884. King Wilhelm I appointed 70 new members on June 11, 1884. Undersecretary Theodor von Möller was appointed State Secretary of the State Council. The basis of the work of the State Council was the regulation concerning the negotiations of

612-721: The DVP and DStP were left with only a handful each. The Centre Party stayed steady, and the Communist Party made minor gains. The resulting Landtag was divided between the SPD–Zentrum–DStP coalition, the Nazi–DNVP bloc, and the Communist Party. Prussia used the constructive vote of no confidence , meaning a government could be removed from office only if there was a positive majority for a prospective successor. No parliamentary force held

648-479: The Prussian government and giving von Papen direct control over Prussia as Reichskommissar . Prussia remained under direct control of the federal government until April 1933 when, at the behest of Adolf Hitler under the Enabling Act of 1933 , state elections were held. The Nazis failed to win a majority, but the subsequent ban of the Communist Party and arrest of opposition deputies allowed them to secure control of

684-413: The State Council with little room to act. In a move towards dissolving the Landtag , Reich President Hindenburg by emergency decree unlawfully stripped Braun of his remaining powers on 6 February 1933 and replaced him with von Papen. Adenauer remained in office. A meeting of the three-man body that was necessary to dissolve the Landtag took place shortly afterwards. It consisted of the president of

720-522: The State Council. The constitution of the Free State of Prussia of 30 November 1920 again provided for a State Council . However, this was not in the tradition of the old State Council, but was the representation of the Prussian provinces and was more oriented towards the Reichsrat . 1932 Prussian state election State elections were held in the Free State of Prussia on 24 April 1932 to elect all 423 members of

756-535: The State Council. The regulations adapted the departments of the State Council to the structure of the ministries. Above all, the State Council was subordinate to the State Ministry . The ceremonial reopening took place on 25 October 1884 in the Berlin Palace. The Ministries provided little support for the work of the State Council and once again submitted only a few submissions to it. The State Council last met under Bismarck in 1890. After Hans von Kanitz introduced

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792-504: The chairmanship of the Emperor. This was the last meeting of the State Council. It was never convened again, new members were no longer appointed, but the State Council was not abolished either. With the German Revolution of 1918–1919 , its existence de jure ended. At that point, it only consisted of 8 members, apart from the members by office. The law on the provisional order of state power in Prussia of 20 March 1919 no longer provided for

828-561: The conservative provinces east of the Elbe River. A rivalry thus developed between the two politicians and their respective state bodies which led the State Council to take a blockading stance towards the Landtag and its actions until the early 1930s. Adenauer took his case to the State Court for the German Reich in 1922. The court reached a settlement in 1923 after Adenauer had withdrawn

864-542: The continued existence of the State Council came into question. The Prussian constitution of 1850 therefore did not provide for one. A revival was attempted with the decree of 12 January 1852 that re-established the Council, but it found no proper place for itself in a state with a constitution. A second attempt to revive it in 1884, along with the transfer of the chairmanship to Crown Prince Frederick William , led to no significant results. The Council ultimately faded away. The Prussian Constitution of 1920 , implemented after

900-615: The delay in introduction until 1817. Upon the introduction of the State Council of 20 March 1817, the State Council was formed and consisted of: The State Council formed seven committees (called departments) each consisting of five members: The State Council was tasked with advising on legislative proposals including regulations, decrees, etc., but had no right of initiative , only dealing with proposals that were assigned to it. The State Council had no decision-making authority, but voted for, or against, proposals and could make suggestions for changes. The monarch usually followed this vote. If

936-462: The establishment of a State Council with an advisory and legislative function in the Nassau Memorandum ( German : Nassauer Denkschrift and his draft ordinance of 24 November 1808 (which never came into effect). The ordinance of 27 October 1810 by Karl August von Hardenberg "on the amended constitution of all the highest state authorities in the Prussian monarchy" contains the establishment of

972-481: The meetings). Nevertheless, Bismarck decided not to attend the meeting and Hohenlohe became vice president. The second question was how to secure a majority for the government position. The government considered a peer boost and presented lists of names to Kaiser Wilhelm II. Instead, a "Central Assembly" of the State Council was called. The 16 members of the State Council selected in this way, advised by 26 large agrarians and financial magnates, met from March 12 to 21 under

1008-499: The members of the State Council formed the "Central Assembly". On July 4, 1854, the full assembly of the State Council met in the Berlin Palace and the King inaugurated the members into office. From 1854 onwards, he only called meetings of the Central Assembly; for the other members, membership in the State Council was purely an honor. The King only referred a few matters to the Council of State for consideration. In October 1856, he had

1044-456: The monarch attended the meetings of the Council of State, he left the meeting when voting so as not to influence the result. The proportion of laws submitted to the State Council decreased rapidly. In 1818, all 16 of 16 suitable laws were discussed, in 1821, 10 out of 31 and, in 1826, there were 4 out of 30. As a result of the German revolutions of 1848–1849 , Prussia changed from an absolute to

1080-403: The provincial parliaments. The results by election date and party were as follows: AG: Preußische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (Prussian Working Group): DNVP , DVP and other middle-class and conservative parties Konrad Adenauer, the president of the State Council, had significant reservations about the state government and its ministers. He thought that under Minister President Otto Braun of

1116-497: The provincial parliaments. Any male citizen over the age of 25 could be elected. The number of representatives from a province depended on its population; each province generally sent at least 3 representatives (with the exception of the Hohenzollern Lands , which had only one). Otherwise, each province had one vote for every 500,000 inhabitants; a remainder of at least 250,000 inhabitants above that gave an additional vote. Like

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1152-680: The same month, the Nazis secured a majority of seats in the State Council. On 26 April the body elected Robert Ley , the Party's Reich organization leader, to succeed Adenauer. The Prussian "Law on the State Council" of 8 July 1933 dissolved the State Council in its previous form. Simultaneously with the dissolution of the old State Council, a new institution of the same name was created. The State Council of Nazi Germany then consisted of those who were members by virtue of their office (the Prussian ministers and certain other holders of public office) and those awarded

1188-716: The title of state councilor ( Staatsrat ) by Prussian minister president Hermann Göring . The Prussian State Council met between 1921 and 1933 in the Herrenhaus on Leipziger Straße in Berlin. After World War II, the building housed part of the East German Academy of Sciences. Since 2000, the building, renovated and again with an assembly chamber, has served as the seat of the German Bundesrat . State Council of Prussia (1817%E2%80%931918) The Prussian State Council

1224-402: Was a member for life due to his appointment in 1854. The political question was Kaiser Wilhelm II's policy of reconciliation towards Bismarck. The then Imperial Chancellor and Prime Minister Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst visited Bismarck at Kaiser Wilhelm II's request and declared that he would become Vice President of the State Council if he appeared (Wilhelm II himself wanted to chair

1260-698: Was an advisory body to the King in the Prussian State from 1817 to 1848 and reactivated in 1854, 1884, and 1895. Its members did not have the title of State Councilor, but were allowed to call themselves a Member of the State Council. After Prussia's defeat by Napoleon in the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt in 1806, the Prussian Reform Movement began with many areas based on the changes in France . A much-noticed innovation

1296-748: Was the founding of the Conseil d'État by Napoleon in 1798. In the Rhine Confederation states, state councils were partly set up as advisory bodies based on this model, including the Constitution of the Kingdom of Westphalia . There were also Privy Councils in many territories in the Holy Roman Empire . In Prussia this was the Privy Council until 1808. Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein proposed

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