History of the Land Brandenburg

The Federal State Parliament in the 1990s
© ZB - Fotoreport

Between autumn 1989, the exciting times when the Wall fell, and the first free People’s Chamber (“Volkskammer”) elections in March 1990, Brandenburg experienced an eventful period of democratic upheaval which soon raised the claim of a restoration of an independent Land Brandenburg. On July 22, 1990, the first freely elected GDR Volkskammer passed the Land Introduction Act, whose implementation marked the re-establishment of the Land Brandenburg on October 3, 1990 in the course of German reunification.

In a popular vote on June 14, 1992, the citizens of Brandenburg decided clearly for the draft of the new Brandenburg constitution, which the Brandenburgian Parliament (“Landtag”) had approved by an overwhelming majority on April 14, 1992. Thus, the state constitution was signed by the President of the Landtag on August 20, 1992. It entered into force the next day. The process of the establishment of a renewed Land Brandenburg started with the peaceful revolution in the GDR at the end of 1989 and thereby reached its constitutional conclusion.

The preamble to the state constitution emphasizes that the Land sees itself as a "vivid member of the Federal Republic of Germany in a united Europe and in one world". The Brandenburgian Constitution contains a comprehensive catalog of political and social rights (art. 7-20). These are intended to protect the citizen from being helpless in the face of an overpowering and maternal state once again - as in the GDR era. Therefore, numerous fundamental rights being declared as human rights go beyond those of the Basic Constitutional Law of the Federal Republic of Germany.

 

Landtag Brandenburg
© dpa-Zentralbild/Ralf Hirschberger

Landtag
The new parliament building in Alter Markt has moved the Landtag closer to the people in the literal sense of the word. Read more

Dr. Dietmar Woidke
© brandenburg.de

Minister-President
Elected on August 28, 2013, Dr. Dietmar Woidke became 3rd Minister-President of the Land Brandenburg. Read more

Federal Foreign Office
© auswaertiges-amt.de

German-Polish Cooperation
As Coordinator for German‑Polish Cooperation, strengthening intersocietal and cross-border cooperation is a top priority for Dr. Dietmar Woidke. Read more