Ministry for Foreign Affairs (East Germany)
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the German Democratic Republic (German: Ministerium für Auswärtige Angelegenheiten der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, abbreviated MfAA) 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 from 1964-1967, but the building was demolished in 1996 after 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 Federal 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.
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.
External links
Media related to Ministry for Foreign Affairs (GDR) at Wikimedia Commons