State ceremony
75 years of the Basic Law – Steinmeier delivers key speech
Steinmeier, who ordered the state ceremony, will give the central speech. Photo
© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
A temporary solution that became a permanent situation: the Basic Law has ensured political stability in Germany for 75 years. First only in the West, since 1990 in West and East. This is now being celebrated.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who ordered the state ceremony, will give the central speech. “This Basic Law is the basis for freedom, democracy and law to determine coexistence in our state,” writes Steinmeier on his website. In his view, the constitution has proven to be stable and adaptable over the past 75 years and has overcome numerous crises and challenges.
Eastern Commissioner Schneider: Celebrate the Basic Law
Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann would like to see more appreciation for the constitution and democracy in Germany. “You don’t have to like everything that happens in our country,” the FDP politician told the “Rheinische Post”. “But our constitution as a political framework has ensured the most free and prosperous state we have ever had.” He recommends that those who question democracy take a look at the world: “They wouldn’t be able to live better in any authoritarian state.”
The Eastern Commissioner Carsten Schneider made a similar statement. The constitution regulates coexistence in Germany through values such as humanity, fairness, diversity and cohesion. “That’s why we can’t celebrate it enough,” the SPD politician told the dpa. The people in the GDR fought for these values and freedoms themselves in the peaceful revolution. “That’s why 35 years of the Peaceful Revolution and 75 years of the Basic Law, which had German unity as the national goal, are inseparably linked.”
Democracy festival in the government district
The heads of the five constitutional bodies will take part in the ceremony. In addition to the Federal President, these are the Presidents of the Bundestag, Bundesrat and Federal Constitutional Court – Bärbel Bas (SPD), Manuela Schwesig (SPD) and Stephan Harbarth – as well as Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). The state ceremony is preceded by an ecumenical service with the participation of several religions in St. Mary’s Church. The police are securing the ceremony with an expected 1,100 guests at great expense. Around 1,000 officers are deployed for security and traffic control.
After the state ceremony, citizens will also have the opportunity to celebrate their constitution. There will be a democracy festival in the Berlin government district, including in the old Bonn government district, where Steinmeier is opening his official residence, the Villa Hammerschmidt.
Basic Law proclaimed by Adenauer on May 23, 1949
The Basic Law was created after the military governors of the Western powers had commissioned the eleven prime ministers of the West German states to convene a “constituent assembly” on July 1, 1948. Important preparatory work was carried out by the Constitutional Convention on the island of Herrenchiemsee in August 1948. From September 1, 1948, the Parliamentary Council in Bonn drafted the Basic Law, which was passed on May 8, 1949, and announced on May 23 by the Chairman of the Parliamentary Council, Konrad Adenauer.
The Parliamentary Council consisted of 65 members elected by the eleven state parliaments. It consisted of 61 men and 4 women. The latter ensured that the norm “men and women have equal rights” was included in Article 3 – which, however, has still not been implemented to this day, for example in terms of pay at work and when filling top positions. The core of the Basic Law is its catalog of fundamental rights in Articles 1 to 19, the beacon of which is, so to speak, in Article 1: “Human dignity is inviolable.”
Abuse Commissioner promotes children’s rights in the Basic Law
The Basic Law has been changed and expanded several times over the years. The original 146 articles became 203. And there are further attempts to secure individual questions under constitutional law. The federal government’s abuse commissioner, Kerstin Claus, is calling for children’s rights to be anchored in the Basic Law.
The anniversary is a reason to celebrate, “but also a reason to remember that children’s rights must finally be given the constitutional status they deserve,” Claus told dpa. “The inclusion of children’s rights in the Basic Law is of great importance for society as a whole.”