The Volkskammer ("People's Chamber") was the de jure 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.
On paper, the Volkskammer had great power, appointing the Councils of State and Ministers, and the Chairman of the National Defence Council. However, the Volkskammer had little real power, and 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).
After the 1990 elections, the disposition of the parties was as follows
Chairmen of the People's Chamber
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