# 1st Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic

At the inaugural meeting of the Volkskammer on 8 November 1950, Otto Grotewohl was elected Prime Minister. At the same time, the law on the government of the German Democratic Republic was approved and thus given a structure. Grotewohl presented his government at the 2nd meeting of the People's Chamber on 15 November 1950. Among them were 4 state secretaries with their own portfolio, whose secretariats were set up by resolution at the 1st government meeting, which took place before the 2nd Volkskammer conference. At the 2nd government meeting on November 16, 1950, the respective state secretaries of the ministries were appointed by resolution. Among the 21 ministers and almost 30 state secretaries were 13 candidates and members of the Central Committee of the SED, including 4 members of the Politburo. The block parties were represented by a total of 9 ministers and 8 state secretaries, with the CDU alone providing 4 ministers. The DBD was the only block party that did not provide a deputy prime minister at the beginning of the government period. The following overview lists the ministers and state secretaries of the GDR government at the beginning of the government period.

## Ministries

The government consisted of:
| Portfolio | Minister | Took office | Left office | Party |
| Minister-President | Otto Grotewohl | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | SED |
| Deputy Minister-President | Walter Ulbricht | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | SED |
| Deputy Minister-President | Otto Nuschke | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | CDU |
| Deputy Minister-President | Heinrich Rau | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | SED |
| Deputy Minister-President | Hans Loch | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | LDPD |
| Deputy Minister-President | Lothar Bolz | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | NDPD |
| Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry | Paul Scholz | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | DBD |
| Ministry of Construction | Lothar Bolz | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | NDPD |
| Ministry of Finance | Hans Loch | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | LDPD |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Georg Dertinger | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | CDU |
| Ministry for Inner-German Trade, Foreign Trade and Material Supply | Georg Ulrich Handke | 16 November 1950 | 1952 | SED |
| Ministry for Inner-German Trade, Foreign Trade and Material Supply | Kurt Gregor | 1952 | 19 November 1954 | SED |
| Ministry of Heavy Industry | Fritz Selbmann | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | SED |
| Ministry of the Interior | Karl Steinhoff | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | SED |
| Ministry of Justice | Max Fechner | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | SED |
| Ministry of Labor | Roman Chwalek | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | SED |
| Ministry of Light Industry | William Feldman | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | NDPD |
| Ministry of Mechanical Engineering | Gerhart Ziller | 16 November 1950 | 19 December 1952 | SED |
| Ministry for Post and Telecommunications | Friedrich Burmeister | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | CDU |
| Ministry of Public Education | Paul Wandel | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | SED |
| Minister of State Security | Wilhelm Zaisser | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | SED |
| Ministry of Trade and Supply | Karl Hamann | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | LDPD |
| Ministry of Transport | Hans Reingruber | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | Independent |
| Ministry of Health | Luitpold Steidle | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | CDU |

## Committees

| Portfolio | Minister | Took office | Left office | Party | Party |
| Chairman of the State Planning Commission | Heinrich Rau | 16 November 1950 | 19 November 1954 | | SED |