option of approving or rejecting a single "united list" of NF candidates. Elections were not secret and voters that rejected the National Front list or struck candidates from the list faced consequences. Two of the block parties were formerly independent (CDU and LDPD/LDP) and two others were established on the instigation of the SED (NDPD and DBD). The Volkskammer also included representatives from the mass organisations like the Free German Youth (Freie Deutsche Jugend or FDJ), or the Free German Trade Union Federation. In an attempt to include women in the political life in East Germany, there was even a Democratic Women's Federation of Germany with seats in the Volkskammer. The SED members on the list were always the majority because many candidates of the mass organizations were also SED members. Non-parliamentary mass organizations which nevertheless played a key role in East German society included the German Gymnastics and Sports Association (Deutscher Turn- und Sportbund or DTSB) and People's Solidarity (Volkssolidarität, an organisation for the elderly). Another society of note was the Society for German-Soviet Friendship. State Apparatus State Council Designated as an organ of the People's Chamber, the Council of State (Staatsrat der DDR) was largely a creation of Walter Ulbricht during his tenure as first secretary of the SED. After Ulbricht was forced to relinquish that position in 1971, the prestige and authority of the council correspondingly began to decline. However, although it was no longer the de facto supreme executive organ, Erich Honecker's assumption of the chairmanship of the Council of State in October 1976 represented a renewal of its importance. A similar move was made in the Soviet Union when Leonid Brezhnev became head of state. It is reasonable to assume that given East Germany's close adherence to Soviet practices, the increased invisibility of the Council of State since the late 1970s can be traced at least in part to parallel developments in the Soviet Union. Related to the takeover of the council's chairmanship by Honecker is the fact that after 1977 the number of individuals who were simultaneously members of the council and of the SED's Central Committee Secretariat increased. In referring to the Council of State, the Constitution declared that it consisted of the chairman, deputy chairmen, members, and secretary; it did not specify the number of deputy chairmen and members. In 1987, under the chairmanship of Honecker, there were eight deputy chairmen and