Federal Ministry of Post and Telecommunications
| Bundesministerium für Post und Telekommunikation | |
.svg) | |
 The former headquarters of the ministry on the banks of the Rhine in Bonn from 1954–1988, now the seat of the Federal Audit Office | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 20 September 1949 |
| Preceding agency | |
| Dissolved | 31 December 1997 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | Federal Government of Germany |
| Headquarters | Bonn |
| Minister responsible |
|
| Child agencies | |
The Federal Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (German: Bundesministerium für Post und Telekommunikation) was established in 1949 under the name Federal Ministry of Telecommunications Affairs (German: Bundesministerium für Angelegenheiten des Fernmeldewesens and renamed the Federal Ministry of Post and Telecommunications on April 1, 1950. It was subsequently mostly referred to as the Federal Postal Ministry; within the postal service, the abbreviation BPM was generally used. The ministry was headquartered in the building of the Federal Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in Bonn from 1954 to 1988, before moving to a new building.[1] In 1989, as part of the first stage of postal reform, the world Telecommunications in the ministry's name was changed from Fernmeldewesen to the more internationally-derived word Telekommunikation.[2]
As a result of the privatization of posts and telecommunications, it was dissolved on December 31, 1997.[3] During its existence, the ministry was the highest authority within the German Federal Post Office. The postal directorates and other central intermediate authorities such as Central Postal Services Office, Central Telecommunications Services Office, Social Welfare Office of the German Federal Post Office were directly subordinate to it.
The Federal Ministry of Post and Telecommunications performed tasks in the field of postal and telecommunications services. It consisted of Policy, Strategy and Targets, Competition Control, Regulation, Licensing, Authorizations, Radio Frequency Matters, Standardization and Central Department.
The Federal Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications's area of responsibility included the following subordinate federal authorities:
- Deutsche Bundespost, headquartered in Bonn;
- Federal Office for Approvals in Telecommunications (BZT) in headquartered Saarbrücken;
- Federal Office for Posts and Telecommunications (BAPT), headquartered in Mainz.
With its dissolution on December 31, 1997, its responsibilities were divided between various agencies: the Federal Ministry of Finance took over the responsibility for issuing postage stamps, exercising voting rights attached to shares, and filling supervisory board mandates in public limited companies and managing the Federal Printing Office. and the Federal Ministry of Economics was responsible for representing German interests in the European Union, international frequency matters with effect from January 1, 1998. Responsibilities relating to the personnel of the former German Federal Post Office were transferred to the Federal Office for Posts and Telecommunications, including, in particular, the related institutions of the former German Federal Post Office such as the Postal Officials' Health Insurance Fund, the Recreation Fund of the German Federal Post Office, or the Postal Clothing Fund and the Accident Insurance Fund for Posts and Telecommunications. The non-sovereign part of the former Federal Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Federal Office for Posts and Telecommunications were merged to form the Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications and Posts, which continues its responsibilities today as the Federal Network Agency responsible for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Posts and Railways.
Ministers
[edit]| No. | Image | Name | Party | Term start | Term end | Cabinet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Minister for Telecommunications Affairs | ||||||
| 1 | 
|
Hans Schuberth | CSU | 20 September 1949 | 1 April 1950 | Adenauer I |
| Federal Minister of Posts and Telecommunications | ||||||
| 1 |
|
Hans Schuberth | CSU | 1 April 1950 | 9 December 1953 | Adenauer I Adenauer II |
| 2 | .jpg)
|
Siegfried Balke | CSU (from 1954) | 10 December 1953 | 16 October 1956 | Adenauer II |
| 3 | 
|
Ernst Lemmer | CDU | 15 November 1956 | 29 October 1957 | Adenauer II |
| 4 | .jpg)
|
Richard Stücklen | CSU | 29 October 1957 | 30 November 1966 | Adenauer III Adenauer IV Adenauer V Erhard I Erhard II |
| 5 | 
|
Werner Dollinger | CSU | 1 December 1966 | 21 October 1969 | Kiesinger |
| 6 | 
|
Georg Leber | SPD | 22 October 1969 | 7 July 1972 | Brandt I |
| 7 | 
|
Lauritz Lauritzen | SPD | 7 July 1972 | 15 December 1972 | Brandt I |
| 8 | 
|
Horst Ehmke | SPD | 15 December 1972 | 16 May 1974 | Brandt II |
| 9 | 
|
Kurt Gscheidle | SPD | 16 May 1974 | 28 April 1982 | Schmidt I Schmidt II Schmidt III |
| 10 | .jpg)
|
Hans Matthöfer | SPD | 28 April 1982 | 1 October 1982 | Schmidt III |
| 11 | 
|
Christian Schwarz-Schilling | CDU | 4 October 1982 | 30 June 1989 | Kohl I Kohl II Kohl III |
| 11 |
|
Christian Schwarz-Schilling | CDU | 1. July 1989 | 17 December 1992 | Kohl III Kohl IV |
| − | Günther Krause (kommissarisch) |
CDU | 17 December 1992[4] | 25 January 1993[5] | Kohl IV | |
| 12 | 
|
Wolfgang Bötsch | CSU | 25 January 1993[5] | 31 December 1997 | Kohl IV Kohl V |
References
[edit]- ^ "Federal Ministry of Post and Telecommunications 1953/54–1988". wegderdemokratie.de. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ "1988/1989: Vorbereitung auf die Reform" (in German). Post und Telekommunikation. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ BGBl. I vom 20. Januar 1998, S. 68.
- ^ www.post-und-telekommunikation.de. "Post und Telekommunikation, Allgemeines Januar bis Dezember 1992". Post und Telekommunikation. Archived from the original on 2010-06-05. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
- ^ a b www.post-und-telekommunikation.de. "Post und Telekommunikation, Allgemeines Januar bis Dezember 1993". Post und Telekommunikation. Archived from the original on 2013-07-09. Retrieved 2013-10-07.