Detailed description
Each authority is headed by a president who, as a senator, is a member of the senate, i.e. the state government. At the top of the administration of the authorities are the State Councillors. There are currently ten specialist authorities in Hamburg, which are divided into numerous offices and departments. In addition, there are two Senate offices, the Senate Chancellery and the Personnel Office, which have interdepartmental tasks. They are headed by the First Mayor.
Senator
The status of Hamburg's senators corresponds to that of ministers in other federal states. The members of the Senate assume responsibility for their respective political departments independently. However, they coordinate their policies with the mayor and the other members of the Senate and represent the entire government policy to the outside world.
The senators are appointed and dismissed by the mayor. In order to avoid conflicts of interest, senators are prohibited from pursuing any other professional activity. The constitution only permits the assumption of administrative and supervisory positions if the members of the government derive no material benefit from them.
Councilor of State
The office of the State Councilor corresponds to that of the State Secretary in non-city states. The task of the state councilors is to advise and support the state government. Although not part of the state government, the top political officials attend the weekly Senate meetings.
All state councilors are assigned to an authority or a senate office. In the hierarchy of authorities, they follow directly after the senator and the first mayor. The state councilors represent the senator within the authority. In their work, they are bound by the instructions of the Senate.
A high degree of agreement with the professional and political objectives of the senator is necessary for working as a state councilor. For this reason, the state councilors are among the political officials who can be retired immediately and without giving a reason.