On 27 April 1955, East Germany and the Soviet Union signed an agreement by which Berlin Schönefeld Airport was transferred to civilian use (since 1945, it had been operated by the Soviet Army, with scheduled passenger flights having been operated by Aeroflot). As a consequence, the Council of Ministers of the GDR decided to set up a national East German airline, a move which was finalized on 1 July with the appointment of the company's initial management committee. Deutsche Lufthansa was chosen as name for the airline (previously, it had been used by Deutsche Luft Hansa, the German flag carrier from 1926 to 1945), even though the branding rights had been purchased by West German Lufthansa in 1954.