Council of Commissars

The Council of Commissars is the effective ruling body of the German Democratic Republic. It is in large parts inspired by the transitional government established by Vladimir Lenin in the wake of the Russian revolution.

## **History**

The Council of Commissars was established in the aftermath of the 1991 attempted Coup in Berlin, which decimated the active government at the time and left a major power vacuum. In order to stabilize the crisis, the Kremlin nominated Alexis Alscher - then major in the Ministry of State Security and an instrumental figure in halting the Berlin coup and dealing with its subversives. Surprising many, instead of returning to a pre-coup status quo, Alexis began a serie of far-reaching reforms, the first of which involved the institution of permanent commissariats to oversee the various aspects of state affairs. Eminent figureheads from their respective fields were then nominated to occupy the seats of the many commissariats. Most controversial about these nominations was the fact that for the first time, individual who were not members of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany ascended to positions of authority.

## **Operation**

The Council of Commissar is essentially an oligarchic system where Commissars meet in regular sessions to discuss the various issues at hand and exchange and vote on what measures need to be taken. The Chairman of the council has an executive veto and splits the debate in case of a tie. Commissars are not elected, they are nominated. The original set of Commissars were nominated personally by Alscher, and subsequent nominations are under scrutiny of the council's acting members whenever a member resigns or needs to be replaced for whatever reasons.

The individual Commissariats are very similar in function and organization to Ministries in Western governments. Each Commissar is considered as the leading authority in all affairs of their jurisdiction, and while the Council votes on mandates, goals and plans, it is ultimately the purview of each commissar to use whatever means they deem best to achieve these objectives and plans. Each Commissariat has significant amount of resources at its disposition including bureaucrats, analysts and experts of various kinds, but also field workers. For example, all doctors are employed by the Commissariat of Health and Education, and all policemen are employed by the Commissariat of Justice and Order. As such, the Commissariats represent a major chunk of the national employment.

## **Commissariats**

### **Commissariat of Global Affairs**

The chairman position of the Council with the power to veto any decision, it oversees the activities and sessions of the rest of the board and holds other commissars accountable. In addition to this duty, the position handles the majority of external affairs, which includes diplomacy, public relations and official stances, but does not extend to commerce (which is under Economy) nor border control (Under Justice and Order). It has somewhat fewer, but more highly trained employees then other commissariats and include ambassadors and diplomats abroad as well as the state press.

#### **Alexis Alscher**

A 5'9" woman in her mid-thirties with blonde hair and violet eyes. She is known to be particularly brazen, but also ruthless and to place an extremely high importance on loyalty. Despite her aggressive interventionism, she both preaches for rapprochement with West Germany and attempts to keep smooth relations with the USSR. It is known that she used to be a high-ranking member of the Ministry of State Security, which brings a certain amount of fear in some, especially in the wake of the '91-'93 purges, but the facts that she increased freedoms and quality of life and that he continues to risk her life in military actions earn her great respect and popularity. She has also displayed keen skills at propaganda.

### **Commissariat of Food and Lodging**

This position has the responsibility of ensuring that the basic needs of every citizen are being adequately met, especially in terms of food, housing and water. This is not merely a quantitative meter and the quality of available food supplies and housing conditions are also under scrutiny. All forms of agriculture, aquaculture and livestock herding fall under this purview, and the commissariat also employs a number of nutritionists to make sure that the food made available to the people adequately covers their needs in both calories and various required nutrients and vitamins. These nutritionists are responsible for determining the allocations in food rations of every worker related to the physical intensity of their jobs, with workers handling exhausting jobs being afforded larger quantities. The commissariat also handles the distribution infrastructure including groceries and the transport from farm to market. The availability of necessary daily life amenities also fall within its purview.

#### **Gerhardt Rothenberg**

A 6'3" tall but slender man in his late thirties with short black hair and gray eyes. He is an interesting case among the council as he openly supports warmer relations with the West and global trade and stability in general. He is known for being very thorough and dedicated in his work, but also for being particularly collaborative and prone to trying to find compromises and middle grounds whenever other Commissars are in disagreement. He has a Ph.D in community dietetics and has been elected for two 3-year terms at the World Health Assembly.

### **Commissariat of Labor**

This position serves as the center of coordination for all workers and industries and is one of those with the heaviest amounts of bureaucracy and paperwork archives. It keeps records on every citizen about their education and experience but also their skills and aptitudes as well as their performances. Its primary responsibility is to match all the available manpower to occupations that fit with their capabilities, and ideally also their desires and ambitions. Its responsibilities also include keeping the rest of the council informed about what specializations are in short supplies, or inversely lacking employment opportunities. It must work in conjunction with the Commissariat of Health and Education to predict trends in the workforce and strive to avoid shortages or over-supply by promoting up or down specific specializations through the education system.

#### **Oswald Hohenzollern**

A slightly overweight man in his early 60s with gray-white hair and black eyes. He is noteworthy for his monarchist lineage and conservative tendencies. However, is also known for being an extremely calm individual who is very difficult to anger or disturb. He is rather stern and keeps a proud demeanor while remaining fairly neutral in global politics, with the exception of his support for German re-unification. He has a Ph.D in human resources and has plentiful experience both as a former head of the Neptun Werft naval yards and as a surviving former minister of the pre-coup government.

### **Commissariat of Infrastructure**

This position overviews the needs of every city and Länder in all matters of infrastructure, which includes such things as water supply, electrical supply, transportation, communications, and all other public services. It is the absolute center of co-ordination in all matters of construction, whether it be aforementioned services, residential districts creation, the building of factories for the Commissariat of Labor, hospitals, schools, and so on. The purpose of this centralization is to avoid any and all form of confusion or conflict between the many departments.

#### **Nicole Lorenz**

A petite, 5'4 woman in her early thirties with mid-back brown hair and green eyes. She is most known for her seemingly boundless amounts of energy and enthusiasm, which sometimes - especially when combined with her short size - make her appear childish, yet she is extremely competent for her age and her always positive energy is shockingly contagious, resulting in cheerful dispositions and optimism following wherever she goes. he has both a Master in Architecture and a Master in Urban Planning. She was only recently made a member of the Council and is largely considered a genius due to holding a very secure and respected position in the Architektenkammer before she was even 30. She is also an outspoken Kremlin supporter and loyalist.

### **Commissariat of Economy**

This positions oversees the various needs and fluctuations of resources and currency. Although no currency is used internal in East Germany, it is still used in international trade, so this position effectively acts as the treasury of the council of commissars and has authority on commerce with other nations. Its duties also count keeping track of the strategic reserves of the nation, making sure to avoid shortages in the various fields of industry and also monitoring the states of the international market and supply and demand. While capitalism is seen with disdain in East Germany, the fact that a successful state needs to smartly manage its resources remains undeniable, and the fact that other nations play the great game means that it if the state can make money by playing the fluctuations of the global market, it should take the opportunity to do so, as not doing it would be handicapping itself before its economic or ideological enemies.

#### **Ferdinand Schulze**

An average man in his late 50s standing 5'10" and with black eyes and short black hair. He is most noteworthy due to being a West German who emigrated to East Germany and recently ascended to the position of Commissar. He served for 20 years in the West German Deutsche Bank, and has gone on record saying that lack of regulation leads to corruption and abuse, citing it as one of the primary reasons for his move. This does not prevent him from being a Pro-West and pro-globalization supporter, however. He is known for being particularly formal and stubborn, which makes him rather difficult to work with at time, but despite his conservative appearance, he hides an innovative mindset and a shrewd intellect which have served him well.

### **Commissariat of Education and Health**

This position has the double responsibility to ensure that both quality education and healthcare are readily available for all citizens. It coordinates with the commissariat for infrastructure to ensure all neighborhood have adequate numbers of hospitals and schools to provide coverage as well as with the commissariat for labor to know which sectors to promote in education and to test the skills of workers seeking to try a new field. It is also responsible for coming up with the national curriculum for standardized education, the internship programs and to monitor the health of the citizen, be they natives or migrants. Finally, it also makes investigations to make sure workplaces have adequate safety regulations and to monitor the levels of water and air pollution.

#### **Sylvia Faust**

A lithe woman in her early 60s standing at 5'7" with shoulder length auburn hair and brown eyes. She is known for being particularly patient and compassionate and to mostly avoid matters of politics. Despite her kind appearance and advancing age, she is particularly sharp and alert. She has served for roughly 15 years as a trauma surgeon before moving on to teaching for about 10 years at the Rostock University's faculty of medicine.

### **Commissariat of Armed Forces**

This position oversees the organization, training and equipment of three branches of the National Volksarmee as well as their deployments and logistical needs. It seeks to balance resource allocations between the three branches as needed and coordinates with the other commissariats to assure a steady stream of manpower and the construction and smooth running of the strategic industries required to the proper function of the army. The various Chief of Staff positions are also fond within the Commissariat of Armed Forces, and its duties extend beyond simply maintaining a defensive state of readiness, as it strives to be capable of projecting power abroad, mobilize quickly and efficiently in case of emergency, and attain higher than average standards overall

#### **Katherine Walter**

An athletic woman in her early 40s, standing at 5'10" with long black hair and crimson eyes. She is notorious for being a particularly ruthless and pragmatic woman wether on our outside of the battlefield, with a fairly jaded outlook on life and a lack of care - and respect - for political affairs. She was a mid-ranking officer in the NVA when the early reforms began and quickly caught the eyes of Alexis Alscher. She has considerable experience in flight hours with several aircraft and is fairly conservative, with a strong nationalist fiber.

### **Commissariat of Research**

This position is fairly unusual among the council as it's the only one that doesn't interact much at all with the people. The ideal of the Cult of Progress is so great in East Germany that it has its own Commissariat, which independently conduct research on a staggering variety of fields, both military and civilian, with the goal of advancing society and achieving technological edge over its rivals which have up to now had significant head-starts. It works in direct collaboration with members of the other commissariat to first-hand study their conditions and equipment and field-test their various experiments with as much concrete data and feedback as possible. It also promotes science and projects in universities.

#### **Viktor Porsche**

A particularly young man in the mid 20s standing at 5'10" with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He is widely considered an aerospace genius and is the one who has restored and completed the Soviet Energia project after the decommissioned rockets were pawned off to East Germany. He is a shameless dreamer and innovator behaving in an extremely straightforward manner and with a Can Do attitude. He is supportive of the Kremlin and wishes for Germany to greatly expand its own space program.

### **Commissariat of Order and Justice**

This position has a double responsibility over all manner of law. It presides over courts and the bar, but also over law enforcement, making it judge and executioner. It handles all internal affairs and matters of national security and is effectively the replacement for the Ministry of State Security, with extended powers and influence. The commissariat, commonly referred to as the RJO, has its own paramilitary branch to defend such locations as power plants, research labs and political institutions. Abroad, its personnel guards East German embassies and assets. Military Police units are drawn from the RJO. There also exists an unofficial organization within the RJO known as the Silver Cross which is dedicated solely to constantly internally investigating the RJO to weed out any possible corruption or spies. Many high-ranking officials within the commissariat and especially the order are former close comrades of Alexis Alscher from the MSS, including the current commissar.

#### **Eleonore Metz**

A lithe woman in her mid-30s standing at 5'8" with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is often jokingly referred to as commissar Alscher's sister due to their physical and ideological resemblances. They were close friends and comrades in the MSS and they fought in many battles together including the 1991 Coup. She is widely known as a thorough and incorruptible individual who exposed several cases of corruption before and after 1991 and has immediately arrested anyone attempting to bribe or otherwise influence her on the spot. She is a firm believer of the 'an iron fist in a silken glove' approach and is a talented peacekeeper who was instrumental in managing the fallout of the Czechoslovak civil war. She is pro-soviet, but her ultimate loyalties remain with Germany.