Foundation Board

The Foundation Board is the supreme political decision-making organ of the Foundation. The federal government and all sixteen federal states are represented on it. It elects the President and approves the annual budget.

The Foundation Board meets twice a year in Berlin as a rule. The President, Vice President, the directors of the SPK institutions, and specific employees of the Foundation’s central administration take part in its meetings. The tasks and composition of the Foundation Board are stipulated in its rules of procedure and in the statutes of the Foundation. Two committees prepare the meetings and decisions of the Foundation Board.

Tasks

The Foundation Board elects the President and the Vice President and appoints the directors of the five SPK institutions, the individual museums and the departments of the Staatsbibliothek. It approves the Foundation’s budget, decides basic issues and supervises the management of the Foundation.

Composition

The Foundation Board is composed of representatives of the federal government and of all sixteen federal states. In accordance with the statutes, the federal government and the two largest federal states donors – Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia – send two representatives, the other federal states one each. The federal government and the federal states which have two seats each can therefore send a representative from their respective Ministries of Culture as well as from their respective financial departments.

The Foundation Board elects its Chairperson and Vice Chairpersons for a term of three years. The chairpersons can be re-elected. Traditionally, the member of the federal government responsible for culture – since 1998 this has been the Commissioner for Culture and the Media – is elected chairperson. The member of the State of Berlin responsible for culture is regularly elected as the first Vice Chairperson.

Deliberative Committees

The meetings and decisions of the Foundation Board are discussed in advance by a board of deputies. All of the members of the Foundation Board are represented on this committee by staff from their department.

Matters relating to building are discussed in advance by the Arbeitsgruppe Bau (Working Group on Construction Issues, AG Bau) of the Foundation Board. It is composed of the responsible departments of the federal government and the State of Berlin. The AG Bau also has decision-making authority over the multiyear construction program that is the responsibility of the Foundation Board.

The President, Vice President, the directors of the institutions, and specific employees of the Foundation’s Central Administration and of the institutions also take part in the meetings of the deliberative committees.