History of Germany (1945–90) German exodus was continuing apace; more than 117,000 left in January and February 1990. In early February 1990, the Modrow government's proposal for a unified, neutral German state was rejected by Chancellor Kohl, who affirmed that a unified Germany must be a member of NATO. Finally, on 18 March, the first free elections were held in East Germany, and a government led by Lothar de Maizière (CDU) was formed under a policy of expeditious unification with West Germany. The freely elected representatives of the "Volkskammer" held their first session on 5 April, and East Germany peacefully evolved from a communist
Vice-Chancellor of Switzerland Vice-Chancellor of Switzerland The Vice-Chancellor of Switzerland was initially named Federal Secretary ("Bundesschreiber"). The title of the Vice-Chancellor was established in 1851, first as Federal Chancellor Deputy, then formally as Vice-Chancellor in 1881. In order to provide a balance between languages and geographical representation, it became custom since 1895 to name a second Vice-Chancellor from a French-speaking canton if both the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor were Swiss-German. The second Vice-Chancellor became a permanent position in 1967. Unlike the Federal Chancellor, Vice-Chancellors are appointed by the Federal Council directly. After both Vice-Chancellors retired in 2005, a row erupted over language representation when