West and East Germany
After the Allied state-building attempts to implement an all-German administration had foundered on factionalism, the Western Allies resolved upon the foundation of a West German federation, established on 23 May 1949 with the promulgation of the Basic Law as it had been adopted by the Parliamentary Council and approved by the Western occupation forces. The Federal Republic created by the Basic Law became capable of acting upon the federal election held on August 14, the constitutive meeting of the Bundestag parliament on September 7, the investiture of the first Federal President, Theodor Heuss, on September 13, the appointment of Konrad Adenauer as the first ] on September 15 and the accession of the Federal Cabinet on September 20, 1949. In turn the Soviet Military Administration on October 7 implemented the People's Chamber (Volkskammer) parliament in the Soviet occupation zone and East Berlin, which passed the Constitution of East Germany, officially named "German Democratic Republic" (GDR). The Council of Ministers of the GDR assumed office on October 12, 1949.
On April 10, 1949, the Western Allies had drawn up the occupation statute and had it conveyed to the Parliamentary Council. Officially announced on May 12, it reserved a number of sovereign rights, like foreign policy and external trade, for the Allied authoritites. Any amendment to the West German Constitution was subject to Allied permission, specific laws could be rejected, and the military governors could take over all governmental power in times of crisis. Those reservations were to be executed by the Allied High Commission established on June 20 as the supreme state power. On November 22, 1949, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer signed the Petersberg Agreement, according to which it was recognized that the sovereignty of West Germany remained limited. The Agreement, however, extended the rights of the German Government vis-a-vis the powers provided for in the original version of the Occupation Statute.
Read more about this topic: Legal Status Of Germany
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