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Ministry for Foreign Affairs (East Germany)

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Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the German Democratic Republic, 1958
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the German Democratic Republic, 1972. The building was demolished in 1996, after German reunification.

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 building was constructed in 1964-1967 and used by the foreign ministry, but 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 East Germany.

The West German counterpart to the Ministry was the Federal Foreign Office. The office still serves as the current German foreign ministry, considering itself to be the direct continuation of the Foreign Office of the North German Confederation, established in 1870.

Literature

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  • 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.
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the GDR: A New Beginning with Big Plans. In: Sites of Unity (Haus der Geschichte), 2022.
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