City Council of Dresden

The city council defines the basic principles of the municipality by decrees and statutes.

The Ortschaften (former boroughs) have even smaller councils, which can decide even more freely in local affairs.

As of 2019[update], the 70 seats of the city council were distributed as follows:[1] The Supreme Burgomaster is directly elected by the citizens for a term of seven years.

[3] The current holder of the office is Dirk Hilbert (Free Democratic Party); he was elected in July 2015 by 54 per cent of the vote.

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).

The long-term risks were a subject of discussion in national media as were the chances of such sales in other cities.