Government of Dresden

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The Dresden town hall
The Dresden town hall

Dresden is a kreisfreie Stadt (which is usually translated as district-free city) in the district structure of Saxony. It has its own city council and a municipality lead by a Oberbürgermeister (Supreme Burgomaster i.e. mayor) forming the Government of Dresden.

Although politics are defined by the citizens of Dresden which vote both for the local parliament and the executive organ or exert influence per public decision, some local affairs are observed and discussed throughout Germany.

Contents

[edit] Municipality and city council

[edit] City council

The city council defines the basic principles of the municipality by decrees and statutes. The council gives orders to the burgomaster by voting for resolutions and thus has some executive power. It is elected by the citizenry for a legislature of five years by an election system of three votes per citizen. There an advisory councils for local affairs of senior citizens and immigrants. The ten Ortsamtsbereiche (districts) have an advisory council which has to be heard in district affairs. The Ortschaften (former boroughs) have even smaller councils, which can decide even more freely in local affairs.

The current city council of Dresden has 70 seats. It was elected in 2004 and constists of six political parties:[1]

The three mandates of the Nationale Bündnis (National Pact, which is related to the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany) do not constitute a party.

There is no persistent governing majority in the city council of Dresden.

[edit] Burgomasters

The Supreme Burgomaster is directly elected by the citizens for a term of seven years. Executive functions are normally elected indirectly in Germany. However, the Supreme Burgomaster shares a lot of executive rights with the city council. Governing majorities can be in opposition to the Supreme Burgomaster. He is the head of the municipality, is responsible for the city's operative affairs, and is ceremonial representative of the city. The highest departments of the municipality are managed by seven burgomasters. The First Burgomaster (currently the burgomaster of culture) is also the deputy to the Supreme Burgomaster.[2]

The current Supreme Burgomaster Ingolf Roßberg was convicted in the first instancein the criminal cases of embezzlement and abetted bankruptcy, but the judgement is not final. On the 29th August 2007 the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Law) of the FRG has quashed the judgement. The First Burgomaster and burgomaster of culture Lutz Vogel is standing in for him.

[edit] Municipality

The municipality is divided into seven departments and the Mayor's Office.[3]

  • The department of general administration is responsible for the municipality's civil servants, information technology and the administration of the schools in the city.
  • The department of finance and real estates is responsible for the city treasury. The city agencies of real estates, taxes and civil engineering are responsible to that department.
  • The department of public order and security is responsible for fire and civil protection, food control and the hospitals in the city. The city agencies of public order and law, as well as the civil registry office, are responsible to that department.
  • The department of culture is responsible for the municipal museums and libraries. The agency of monument conservation is responsible to that department. A lot of the cultural institutions in Dresden are directly responsible to the Free State of Saxony, as are the state art collections and the opera house.
  • The department of social affairs is responsible for the municipal kindergartens. The agencies of youth welfare, health and social welfare are responsible to that department. Social welfare is a matter of the cities and communities in Germany.
  • The department of urban development is responsible for mobility and central technical services. The agency of city development, construction inspection, land surveying and streets and excavation are responsible to that department.
  • The department of economy is responsible for the wastewater and the cemeteries. The agencies of business development, green spaces and wasting as well as the environmental agency are responsible to that department.

The City of Dresden owns a lot of institutions and enterprises. Some of them are private companies (for example the Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (transport authorities), the DREWAG (public services and energy supply), the Messe Dresden (fair ground) or the Zoo Dresden (which is a non-profit GmbH: a limited liability company).

[edit] Local affairs

Architecture (like the deconstructivistic fire escape on the baroque Landhaus) is a persistent subject of controversy in Dresden
Architecture (like the deconstructivistic fire escape on the baroque Landhaus) is a persistent subject of controversy in Dresden

Local affairs in Dresden often center around the urban development of the city. Architecture and design of public places is a specifically controversial subject. The reconstruction of completely destroyed buildings around the Frauenkirche at the Neumarkt square as well as the completely modern Wiener Platz square in front of the Hauptbahnhof train station have been criticized. The discussion of the Waldschlößchenbrücke, which is a planned bridge crossing the Elbe river, received international attention due to it crossing the Dresden Elbe Valley World Heritage Site. Opponents of the bridge are concerned that its construction would cause the loss of the status of a World Heritage site.[4]

The city held a public referendum on whether to build the bridge in 2005. However, at the time of the vote it was not yet known that construction of the bridge would jeopardize Dresden's World Heritage status. This has created further controversy over the bridge proposal, and over the validity of the referendum's results.

In 2006 Dresden sold its publicly subsidized housing organization, WOBA Dresden GmbH, to the US-based private investment company Fortress Investment Group. The city received 987.1 Million Euros and paid off its remaining loans, making it the first large city in Germany to become debt free. Opponents to the sale were concerned about Dresden's loss of control on the subsidized housing market, with that control going to an American private company. The long-term risks were a subject of discussion in national media as were the chances of such sales in other cities.[5]

The construction of a new soccer stadium has been in planning for several years but has not yet been realized. The earliest start date for upgrading the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion is in spring 2007.

[edit] Sister cities

Along with its twin city Coventry, Dresden was one of the first cities to twin with a foreign city. The two cities became twins after World War II in an act of reconciliation as both had been nearly destroyed by bombing during the war.

[edit] Coat of arms

The city's coat of arms
The city's coat of arms

Blazon: Party per pale on a golden shield showing a black lion to dexter and two black pales to sinister. The lion is looking to dexter and has a red tongue. The city's colours are derivatively black and yellow (Or).

Meaning: The lion was representing the Margraviate of Meissen and the pales called the Landsberger Pfähle were representing the Mark Landsberg both ruling the city of Dresden. Since 1309 both coat of arms in combination are verifiably in use. The pales were originally blue but converted to black to differentiate from the two other important Saxon cities of Leipzig and Chemnitz having very similar coat of arms.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dresden: City Council
  2. ^ Dresden: The Mayor of Dresden
  3. ^ Dresden: City Administration
  4. ^ UNESCO: World Heritage Committee threatens to remove Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany) from World Heritage List
  5. ^ Dresden: Selling of the WOBA Dresden GmbH (German)

[edit] External links