Created in 1947 in the
Trizone as a successor to the
Deutsche Reichspost (German Imperial Post), until 1950 the enterprise was called
Deutsche Post (German Post). Until 1989, the
Deutsche Bundespost was a state-owned operation.
Organization of
Deutsche Bundespost in
Rottweil The
Bundespost was developed according to a three-tier principle common in
public administration in the
Federal Republic of Germany. The upper stage consisted of the
Federal Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. The middle stage consisted of regional directorates (
Bundespostdirektionen) and the state post office management (
Landespostdirektion) under western Allied authority in
West Berlin (see
Deutsche Bundespost Berlin) as of 1949/1955). The post office technical central office, telecommunication engineering central office, postal administration social office, and post offices) were on an equal level with the directorates. The lower stage consisted of post office branches, postal
giro (akin to a checking account) savings bank offices and telecommunications office branches.
Legal basis The legal basis for the administrative activity of the
Bundespost was the postal administration act (
Postverwaltungsgesetz, abbreviated
PostVwG). A central goal of public administrative policy after 1924 was financial self-sufficiency. Political goals, however, often superseded this goal. According to the
PostVwG, the federal postal system was to be administered "according to the principles of the policy of the FRG, in particular trade, economic, financial and social policies" and "the interests of the German national economy." The
Deutsche Bundespost was the largest employer in the Federal Republic, employing some 543,200 people as of 1985.
Reforms with an old
post horn logo with flashes from the
Deutsche Bundespost; above, the new stylised post horn logo from
Deutsche Post AG In the first post office reform implemented on 1 July 1989, the
Bundespost was divided into three divisions (also called public enterprises): •
Deutsche Post AG from the postal service •
Deutsche Telekom AG from the communications service •
Deutsche Postbank AG from the postal bank The federal ministry for post office and telecommunications (
Bundesministerium für Post und Telekommunikation) retained oversight responsibility for postal services and telecommunications. After the dissolution of that ministry on 1 January 1998, those tasks were taken over by a new federal network regulatory agency (
Bundesnetzagentur, formerly
RegTP) under the federal ministry for economics and technology. Other functions (such as the issuance of postage stamps) were taken over by the federal ministry of finance. Some telecommunications functions (including BOS radio) were turned over to the federal ministry of the interior. For certain official and legal purposes (including certain financial, medical and other services for former postal civil servants), a "federal institution for post and telecommunication" (
Bundesanstalt für Post und Telekommunikation) was created. == See also ==