Editing President of Germany (section)

=== German Democratic Republic ("East Germany") ===
{{main|President of East Germany}}
The [[East Germany|German Democratic Republic]] established the office of a head of state with the title of President of the Republic (German: ''Präsident der Republik'') in 1949, but abandoned the office with the death of the first president, [[Wilhelm Pieck]], in 1960 in favour of a [[State Council of East Germany|collective head of state]] closely [[Sovietization|modelled]] on [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet|its Soviet counterpart]]. All government positions of the country, including the presidency, were appointed by the ruling [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]] on the approval of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]. Following the end of communist rule due to the [[Peaceful Revolution]], the head of state became the [[Volkskammer|parliamentary speaker]] with [[1990 East German general election|new, fair elections]]. Later that year, a draft constitution was written that would have restored the presidency, but ultimately this never materialised.