The Prussian State Ministry (german: Preußisches Staatsministerium) from 1808 to 1850 was the executive body of ministers, subordinate to the King of Prussia and, from 1850 to 1918, the overall ministry of the State of Prussia consisting of the individual ministers. In other German states, it corresponded to the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

or the

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

of a

free city Free city may refer to: Historical places * Free city (antiquity) a self-governed city during the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial eras * Free imperial city, self-governed city in the Holy Roman Empire subordinate only to the emperor ** Free City of ...

History

The Prussian State Ministry met under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister. The ministers were equal while the president was ''

primus inter pares ''Primus inter pares'' is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their sen ...

''. When the King himself presided, the state ministry was called the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. Under the Prussian Constitution, the State Ministry had to meet and lead the government in the cases under Articles 57 (convocation of the chambers to elect a regent), 58 ( responsibility for all government actions until the regent is sworn in), 63 (

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

) and 111 (small state of siege). Additionally, the State Ministry was the highest court for misconduct by non-judicial civil servants. The Ministry of State succeeded the General Directorate, which was responsible for internal and financial administration of the Kingdom. The General Directorate, which existed from 1723 to 1808, had been formed by King Frederick William I to consolidate the departments established during his reign to replace the corrupt Cabinet of Three Counts and reorganize the finances that had been shattered by his father, King Frederick I.

1808-1848

Under the reforms of 1808, the structure of the State Ministry was: * State Chancellor * War *

Interior Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

** From 1817: Spiritual, Educational and Medical Affairs ** From 1819:

** From 1819: Police * Administration * Justice *

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

1848-1920

From 1848 to 1871, the State Ministry was housed at Wilhelmstrasse 74; from 1871 to 1889 at Behrenstrasse 72; and from 1889 to 1902 at Leipziger Platz 11. From 1900 to 1902, a new building was built at Wilhelmstrasse 63 for the State Ministry by Hans Altmann, Paul Kieschke and Adolf Bürckner. During the construction of the houses for the Landtag of Prussia, an intermediate building was built between the House of Lords building and the House of Representatives building for the cabinet meetings, which was connected to both buildings. From 1848 to 1920, the State Ministry was structured as follows: * Minister President (Prime Minister) * War *

Interior Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

Finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

* Justice *

* Spiritual, Educational and Medical Affairs * Agriculture, Domains and Forests * Trade and Commerce

1920-1945

At the time of the Weimar Republic, the State Ministry name was retained for the Prussian government for reasons of tradition. The State Ministry was the organ of the cabinet, i.e. the college of Prussian ministers. Equally, it was also the State Chancellery, i.e. the office of the Prussian Prime Minister. This second function came increasingly to the fore after the

German Revolution of 1918–1919 The German Revolution or November Revolution (german: Novemberrevolution) was a civil conflict in the German Empire at the end of the First World War that resulted in the replacement of the German federal constitutional monarchy with a dem ...

. From 1920 to 1932, with two short interruptions in 1921 and 1925, Otto Braun was Prime Minister of Prussia. His government was deposed on July 20, 1932, by Chancellor

Franz von Papen Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German conservative politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and General Staff officer. He served as the chancellor of Germany i ...

under a pretext (so-called " Preußenschlag"). The imperial government administered Prussia provisionally. In April 1933, Hermann Göring was appointed Prime Minister of Prussia. The State Ministry lost most of its importance by 1935 due to the National Socialist

Gleichschaltung The Nazi term () or "coordination" was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society and societies occupied b ...

. The sovereign rights of the states were transferred to the Third Reich. The Prussian Ministries were linked to the Reich Ministries with the Reich Ministers now also Prussian Ministers. Formally, however, there was still a Prussian Prime Minister. From 1920 to 1945, the State Ministry was structured as follows: * Prime Minister *

* Justice * Science, Art and Popular Education * Agriculture, Domains and Forests * Trade * Public Welfare

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prussian State Ministry Kingdom of Prussia

Government ministers of Prussia A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

State Ministry