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.
