Constitution of Prussia (1920)

During the National Socialist era, it was eroded to the point of irrelevance and following World War II lost legal force when the state of Prussia was abolished by the Allies in 1947.

Executive authority rested with the State Ministry, headed by a minister president who was elected by and responsible to the Landtag.

It established a constitutional monarchy with a two-chamber parliament and included a catalog of fundamental rights, but the king, who could veto any law, bypass the judiciary and had control of the military, remained the strongest power in the state.

The Constitution's most controversial feature, which Social Democrats in particular criticized during the lifetime of the German Empire, was the three-class franchise that weighted votes based on the amount of taxes paid.

The Prussian State Assembly, which was to draw up a new constitution for Prussia, was elected under the expanded franchise on 26 January 1919.

Hugo Preuß, who went on to write the draft version of the Weimar Constitution for the National Assembly, advocated splitting up the state of Prussia because of its size (almost two-thirds of both Germany's population and area) and therefore wanted to have the Prussian State Assembly meet only after fundamental decisions had been made at the national level.

[4] The early voting date was part of the interim Prussian government's attempt to prevent a breakup of the state.

It was the first statewide election in Prussia which was held under universal, equal and secret suffrage for men and women instead of the three-class system.

[6] In the initial debates, the conservative DNVP argued for a strong president at the head of the state as a counterweight to the parliament.

The minister president did not have the authority to issue directives as he did in the later, formal constitution, but his vote was decisive in the event of a tie in the cabinet.

In April 1920 the Assembly approved the formation of Greater Berlin, which greatly expanded the size and population of the Prussian capital.

[8] It was advantageous to the Prussian State Assembly that the practical experience gained from its interaction with the new government in Berlin could be incorporated into the drafting of the Constitution.

That the debate would not be easy was made clear by the MSPD spokesman, who put forward a series of amendments, including criticism of the government's planned right to dissolve the state parliament.

The deliberations in the constitutional committee began on 16 June 1920,[11] by which time the political environment at the national level had changed significantly as a result of the Kapp Putsch.

The parties of the Weimar Coalition (MSPD, DDP and Centre) lost a considerable number of seats in the Reichstag elections of 6 June to the political right (DNVP and DVP) and the more extreme left (USPD).

As a result, the coalition in the State Assembly felt pressured to compromise in order to stabilize the government in Prussia.

In a total of three committee deliberations, the coalition partners reached a compromise acceptable to all: a strictly parliamentary system without a president.

With a few restrictions, all German citizens over twenty years of age living in Prussia, both men and women, were allowed to vote.

In order for confidence to be withdrawn from the State Ministry as a whole or from individual ministers, at least half of the deputies had to agree in a roll call vote.