Werner Declaration
| Werner Declaration | |
|---|---|
 Chancellor Werner delivering the declaration to a plenary session of the Reichsthing on 10 January 1990 | |
| Created | December 1989–January 1990 |
| Ratified | 10 January 1990 |
| Location | Vierz National History Museum |
| Author(s) | Heinrich Werner and Wenzel Dahlke |
| Signatories | |
| Purpose | To announce the dissolution of the Vierz Empire and the formation of the Vierz Federation |
The Memorandum Regarding the Status of Political Affairs in the Vierz Empire (Vierz: Memorandum über den Status politischen Angelegenheiten im Vierzischen Reich), commonly known as the Werner Declaration (Vierz: Werner-Erklärung), was a document written by the Crown Council of Vierzland in late 1989 and early 1990 and issued on 10 January 1990. The document was authored primarily by Chancellor Heinrich Werner and his deputy Wenzel Dahlke. The declaration's origins began with the sudden abdication of Emperor Victor IV in October 1989 amid the Vierz Revolution.
The two-page brief declared the immediate dissolution of the Vierz Empire and its succession by the Vierz Federation. It also dissolved the imperial government, replacing it with a caretaker government to be headed by Chancellor Werner and supported by a constituent assembly, the National Assembly, which would be elected in February.
Text
The previous years have been ones of unprecedented and unimaginable turmoil and despair in our nation. We desperately require immediate, lasting, and logical change to secure the stability of our country in the face of overwhelming domestic and external problems.
The abdication of the Emperor in October was welcomed by my administration, but it is time to reform the system in the aftermath of his departure, as the pressing needs and demands of our people require immediate political change to remedy the issues at hand.
With the authority vested in me by the Constitution of the Vierz Empire and the legitimacy afforded to our administration by the democratic election of 1988, as well as unremitting support from the dearest members of the Reichsthing, I as Reich Chancellor issue the following edicts.
- The Vierz Empire as a sovereign political entity, and the constitution on which it was founded, are officially abolished and replaced by a federal, republican entity.
- The Crown Council is officially replaced by the Federal Council, which will serve as a caretaker government composed of its existing members.
- A constitutional assembly, composed of representatives elected from the existing districts, is to be formed following a national election to occur in February. They are tasked with authoring a new constitution for ratification within two years of the issuance of this declaration.
- The Reich Chancellor, with the advice and consent of members of the Federal Council, will rule by decree until the inauguration of a new, formal legislative body.