Siegfried Böhm
Siegfried Böhm | |
---|---|
Minister of Finance and Prize | |
In office 1966–1980 | |
Prime Minister | Willi Stoph Horst Sindermann Willi Stoph |
Preceded by | Willy Rumpf |
Succeeded by | Werner Schmieder |
Personal details | |
Born | 20 August 1928 Plauen |
Died | 4 May 1980 Berlin-Karlshorst | (aged 51)
Nationality | German |
Political party | Socialist Unity Party of Germany |
Siegfried Böhm (20 August 1928–4 May 1980) was an East German politician and long-term finance minister of East Germany. He was in office for nearly fourteen years between 1966 and 1980.
Biography
Böhm was born in Plauen on 20 August 1928.[1] In 1966 he was appointed the finance minister and his term lasted until 1980.[1] He was among the central committee members of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.[2] He was also a member of the Working Group Balance of Payments from 1974 to 1980.[1] Böhm was one of the first officials who alerted the East German authorities about the negative consequences of the indebtedness to the Western countries.[1][3] He also criticised the illegal currency and gold transactions carried out in the country.[4]
Böhm died at his home in Berlin-Karlshorst on 4 May 1980.[1][5] The East German officials reported on the next day that his wife shot him during a quarrel and then she committed suicide.[2][6] In 2003 it was revealed as a result of the investigations that Böhm was in fact killed by an East German hit squad due to his potential reports about the bankruptcy faced in East Germany.[6] His wife was also murdered by the squad to fabricate the official story of his death.[6]
Böhm was succeeded by Werner Schmieder as finance minister on 22 May 1980.[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Siegfried Böhm". European University Institute. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Rätsel um Tod eines DDR-Ministers". LR Online (in German). 26 November 2003. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ Angela Romano; Federico Romero (14 September 2020). European Socialist Regimes' Fateful Engagement with the West: National Strategies in the Long 1970s. Taylor & Francis. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-00-021035-4.
- ^ Andreas Förster (27 September 2003). "Bundesanwaltschaft ermittelt im Fall Siegfried Böhm / SED-Politiker war 1980 erschossen worden: DDR-Killerkommando soll Minister getötet haben". Berliner Zeitung (in German). Berlin. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ "Questions over death squad". news24. Berlin. 29 September 2003. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ a b c "East German leaders' hit squad revealed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 29 September 2003. Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
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timestamp mismatch; 27 February 2021 suggested (help) - ^ "Was War am 22. Mai 1980" (in German). Chroniknet. Retrieved 20 July 2021.