Government

This page will detail the governments of Nordheim dating from it's independence from Germany until the present day.

Nordheim Soviet Republic (1919-1943)
The Nordheim Soviet Republic existed from 1919 to 1948. It was created in the aftermath of the German Revolution and was dissolved during World War 2. The country used a proportional representation system for its parliament, called the Volksversammlung, or People's Assembly. The Assembly was made up of 500 members, which would be elected every four years by a single nation-wide vote. The Chairman of the Volksstadt People's Council presided over the Assembly, and was responsible for breaking ties. The head of government was the Premier of the People's Assembly. The head of state was the Vorsitzende or Chairman of the Nationaler Volksrat, or National People's Council. The Council was made up of 25 deputies from the 25 cities of Nordheim. These deputies also dually served as the chairpeople for their local city council. The 26th city of Volksstadt was not included as it has special political status. The Chairman of the National People's Council would be elected through a simple majority vote among the deputies. These elections often had multiple rounds of voting through multiple sessions in order to determine the Chairman.

The People's Assembly was responsible for the day-to-day operation of the country, while the National People's Council acted in various roles, for example ministers. The Premier set the agenda and so on for the legislative, while the Chairman of the NPC served a ceremonial role for the country, but later became important for party politics.

Following the outbreak of war in 1940, elections and the legislature were both suspended until the end of the war. The government ended up falling to a military junta which dissolved the existing structure in 1943.

Parties
The major parties during this period were the Kommunistische Partei Nordheims (Communist Party of Nordheim), the Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Nordheims (Independent Social Democratic Party of Nordheim), and the Sozialdemokratische Partei Nordheims (Social Democratic Party of Nordheim). All governments during this period were dominated by a KPN majority.

Nordheim Junta Government (1943-1948)
The Nordheim Junta Government existed form 1943 to 1948. During World War 2, much of the country was occupied by Nazi invaders, and elections had been suspended. In 1943, the existing Premier and his cabinet had been killed, allowing for a military junta to come into power. Under the junta government, the legislative body (which had been suspended following the outbreak of war) was officially dissolved. The military ran all affairs in the nation. The executive was occupied by triumvirate of generals, although there was only one major figure amongst them.

There were no parties or elections during this time.

Republic of Nordheim (1948-1973)
The Republic of Nordheim existed from 1948 to 1973. In exchange for Allied assistance during the war, the previous junta government agreed to democratize and liberalize after the war. The country used a mixed election system for its legislature, consisting of both a proportional representation system as well as a FPTP constituency based system. The parliament was named der Kongress, or the Congress. The Congress was a unicameral body, and was elected in a nationwide vote every five years. The head of government was named the Agent der Demokratie or Agent of Democracy, often shortened to the Agent. The executive was elected directly as in a presidential system, and the head of state was named the Präsident or President. The President was elected in a nationwide vote every seven years. The President had no term limit restrictions, and had large ranging powers.

Parties
The major parties during this period were the Kommunistische Partei Nordheims (Communist Party of Nordheim), the Sozialdemokratische Partei Nordheims (Social Democratic Party of Nordheim), the Konservative von Nordheim (Conservatives of Nordheim), and the Alle Union Partei (All Union Party). All governments during this period were between SPD and KPN majorities, as well as SPD-KPN coalition governments.

People's Republic of Nordheim (1973-Present)
The People's Republic of Nordheim was created in 1973 and has existed to the present day. Following KPN takeover of both the legislature and the Presidency, the party reformed the government back into one resembling more socialist values. This included changing both the legislature and the executive. The legislature was renamed to the Volksversammlung, or People's Assembly. This unicameral body of 500 members is elected proportionally every four years on May 1st. The leader of this chamber is named the Premier. The presiding officer of the Assembly is the elected Mayor of Volksstadt. The executive is the Vorsitzende, or Chairman of the Nationaler Volksrat, or National People's Council, who serves as head of state. The NPC consists of 52 members, half of whom are appointed by the Assembly and the other half are directly elected, but the Chairman is elected amongst the council itself. The governmental rework saved many of the President's powers for the new head of state role of the Chairman, and so the Chairman has considerably more power than the Premier. The Chairman has the ability to veto any legislation any amount of times, and any legislation needs the Chairman's signature to pass. The election of Chairman is often a long and arduous process. Currently, election rules in the NPC allow for three rounds of voting, requiring a majority vote. After the third round, the plurality candidate is elected.

Additionally, a key instrument of governance in the PRN is the Communist Party itself. Although it holds no official government power, the internal structure, debate, and officers of the party are key to understanding the Nordheim government. The Communist Party has always had internal caucuses, but after 2009, these caucuses have become even more important. The Volkskomitee or People's Committee is the national governing organ of the KPN. It consists of 104 members elected from the 26 jurisdictions of Nordheim. Each jurisdiction is split four ways, resulting in 104 members. Only members of the party are eligible to vote, and vote for caucus members for their local jurisdiction. Party elections are held every two years, on January 1st. From these 104 members, the Generalsekretär or General Secretary is elected. The People's Committee is often very fractured ideologically, and so the General Secretary serves as a uniting role within the party, and once elected must renounce all connections to a caucus for their tenure.

The People's Committee is responsible for choosing who gets to be elected to the People's Assembly. As the only party capable of being elected to the VV is the KPN, the caucus make up of the VK decides the caucus make up of the VV. Each caucus gets a certain amount of members to list, depending on how many members they have on the VK. This apportionment is done by the General Secretary.

The Chairman of the National People's Council has far reaching powers due to the fact that the President post that existed before it had far reaching powers. The Chairman is not barred from holding multiple positions, so the Chairman may simultaneously be the Premier and the General Secretary of the Communist Party. This previously did not happen in the past, but under leadership of Heinrich Kohl, he has consolidated all three positions under him. The current Chairman is Heinrich Kohl and the current Premier is Johanna Posen.

The policies of the current government are located here: Policies

Local Government
Each city is divided into four quarters: the north west, north east, south east, and south west. These quarters are important for national level politics but are largely not used for local level policy due to their unrepresentative nature. Instead, each city is mandated to have between 10 and 20 city councillors, which are represented from that many districts in each city. The drawing of each district is managed by the People's Ministry of the Interior, and can be redrawn as often as needed to maintain enough representation. In addition to these councillors, each city also has ten representatives from the labor unions, one for each nationally recognized union. These members are selected by members of those unions living in a said town.

These councillors elect a mayor among themselves or from an outside source. If a mayor is selected from among the representatives, then the Mayor keeps their voting power as if they were a member of the council.

Constitution
The constitution was re-written in 2009 to fit the needs of the new government. At the moment, in order to amend the current constitution, there simply needs to be a majority vote in the People's Assembly, and it must be approved by the National People's Council, like any other legislation. The National People's Council is nominally selected to 'review' the document in order to make sure it is in guidelines with the values of the Nordheimer people. A new addition specifically since 1973 is that the constitution has to align with communist values, whatever those may be.

Parties
The only currently legal party in the PRN is the KPN. However, the party is fractured into many different caucuses which reflect different values and directions. In the past, there have been other legal parties, but starting in 2009 the KPN was announced as the only legal party. Other major parties that used to exist include the Sozialdemokratische Partei Nordheims (Social Democratic Party of Nordheim), Alle Union Partei (All Union Party), Arbeiter und Bauernpartei (Workers & Farmers Party), and Gewerkschaftsarbeiterpartei (Union Workers Party). These parties have largely folded into the KPN, creating its caucus system and fractured nature.

Ministries
The following is a list of current ministries of the People's Republic of Nordheim and their current chairs. All current ministers are members of the Communist Party of Nordheim.

People's Ministry for Defense
The People's Ministry for Defense oversees the armed forces and military operations of the People's Republic of Nordheim. The current minister is Alfred Voigt.

People's Ministry for State Integrity
The People's Ministry for State Integrity is responsible for maintaining state integrity through promotion of communist values, strengthening the image of the party, and rooting out suppressive persons who would seek to return Nordheim to the suffocating depths of capitalism. This ministry is also responsible for maintaining all domestic police forces & overseeing the courts. The current minister is Wolfram Krause.

People's Ministry for Food & Agriculture
The People's Ministry for Food & Agriculture oversees all agricultural production as well as consumer safety and regulations over all food production and consumption. This ministry also oversees all fisheries in Nordheim. The current minister is Nikolaus Straub.

People's Ministry for the Interior
The People's Ministry for the Interior is responsible for day-to-day administrative tasks in the country, such as development on a local level, overseeing elections, passports, immigration, postal service, and so on. The current minister is Manfred Fuchs.

People's Ministry for the Exterior
The People's Ministry for the Exterior oversees diplomacy with other nation states and is also responsible for maintaining a relationship with the European Union. The current minister is Walter Eisenbrucker.

People's Ministry for Economics & Finance
The People's Ministry for Finance is responsible for managing the economy and finances of Nordheim and also dealing with trade with other nation states. The current minister is Peter Taubert.

People's Ministry for Transportation
The People's Ministry for Transportation oversees the vast network of public transit that spans across Nordheim. This includes but is not limited to the street car networks, the high speed rail network, the highway system, and so on. It is also responsible for the upkeep of these systems and issuing licenses. The current minister is Renate Lichter.

People's Ministry for Telecommunications
The People's Ministry for Telecommunications is responsible for upkeep of Nordheim's vast telecommunications network, maintaining television, telephone, and internet connections across the nation. The current minister is Jule Küttner.

People's Ministry for Labor
The People's Ministry for Labor oversees all labor issues throughout the nation. It oversees social security, employment, workforce participation, and training. It also enforces production quotas and any central organizing plans that come from the government. All labor unions in the nation are expected to follow the guidelines of this ministry. The current minister is Wilhelm Himmelfarb.

People's Ministry for Health
The People's Ministry for Health is responsible for operation of the large nationalized health network of Nordheim. It is also responsible for disease prevention and treatment, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The current minister is Susanna Herzog.

People's Ministry for Energy, Environment, & Atomics
The People's Ministry for Energy, Environment, & Atomics oversees all energy production in Nordheim, and is responsible for the transition to a completely sustainable society. Most energy in Nordheim is already renewable, with a large amount coming from nuclear energy. The current minister is Paula Brickner.

People's Ministry for Technology, Education, & Youth
The People's Ministry for Technology, Education & Youth is responsible for operating all schools and universities in Nordheim, as well as managing the research and development of new techologies in Nordheim. Additionally, it oversees all youth affairs. The current minister is Claudia Stauffer.

People's Ministry for Minority Affairs
The People's Ministry for Minority Affairs oversees all affairs affecting minority groups in Nordheim. This includes but is not limited to LGBTQ+ issues, racial & ethnic minority issues, religious minority issues, and so on. The current minister is Kristine Honigsman.

People's Ministry for Propaganda & Press Affairs
The People's Ministry for Propaganda & Press Affairs is responsible for the creation of all propaganda that is to go out over all forms of media consumed by the public. It is also responsible for running national and local news agencies, and so on. The current minister is Thomas Peltzer.