Leadership of East Germany

Leadership of East Germany
National emblem of East Germany
Last General Secretary Egon Krenz 18 October 1989 – 6 December 1989
Residence	Schönhausen Palace Majakowskiring Waldsiedlung
Formation	7 October 1949
First holder	Wilhelm Pieck Otto Grotewohl (first Party Chairmen) Wilhelm Pieck (first head of state) Otto Grotewohl (first head of government)
Final holder	Egon Krenz (last General Secretary) Sabine Bergmann-Pohl (last head of state) Lothar de Maizière (last head of government)
Abolished	6 December 1989 / 18 March 1990 (Communist rule ended) 3 October 1990 (German reunification)

The political leadership of East Germany was distributed between several offices. The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and its leader held ultimate power and authority over state and government.

Prior to the proclamation of an East German state, the Soviets established the German Economic Commission (DWK) in 1948 as a de facto government in their occupation zone. Its chairman was Heinrich Rau.

On 7 October 1949 an East German state, called the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was proclaimed and took over governmental functions from the DWK, largely with the same leading figures.

Until autumn of 1989, the most important position in the GDR was that of the General Secretary of the (SED), titled as the First Secretary between 1953 and 1976. The GDR Constitution contained a section granting the SED a monopoly on power, making the General Secretary the de facto leader of the country. He and the party Politburo, which he headed, set all policy, with both cabinet and parliament acting as a rubber stamp implementing the decisions.

The formal head of state was originally the President of the German Democratic Republic. After the death of incumbent Wilhelm Pieck in 1960, the office was replaced by a collective body as head of state, the State Council. The position of chairman was commonly held by the party leader.

Government was headed by the Council of Ministers and its chairman, sometimes colloquially called Prime Minister. However, all the decisions were made by the party, with the cabinet implementing them. Indeed, the SED Central Committee had committees mirroring the cabinet departments.

Other important institutions included the People's Chamber, the legislature whose sessions were chaired by a President of the People's Chamber, and, since 1960, the National Defense Council, which held supreme command of the GDR's armed forces and had unlimited authority over the State in time of war. The Council was composed exclusively of members of the SED's Central Committee and Politburo, with the party leader serving as Chairman of the National Defense Council.

The political landscape was completely changed by the Peaceful Revolution late in 1989, which saw the SED having to relinquish its monopoly on political power and the National Defense Council and the State Council being abolished. The remaining institutions were the People's Chamber, whose President became head of state by default for the remainder of the GDR's existence, and the Council of Ministers, both now constituted on basis of the country's first and only democratic elections in March 1990. The GDR joined the Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990

Leaders of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED)

File:Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands Logo.svg

Logo of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany

№		Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Party
Joint Chairmen of the Socialist Unity Party Vorsitzende der Sozialistischen Einheitspartei Deutschlands
.		Pieck, WilhelmWilhelm Pieck (1876–1960)	22 April 1946	25 July 1950		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
.		Grotewohl, OttoOtto Grotewohl (1894–1964)	22 April 1946	25 July 1950		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
General Secretary of the Central Committee (First Secretary of the Central Committee 1953–1976) Generalsekretär/Erster Sekretär des Zentralkommitees
1		Ulbricht, WalterWalter Ulbricht (1893–1973)	25 July 1950	3 May 1971		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
2		Honecker, ErichErich Honecker (1912–1994)	3 May 1971	18 October 1989		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
3		Krenz, EgonEgon Krenz (born 1937)	18 October 1989	6 December 1989		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
(Honorary) Chairman of the Central Committee Vorsitzender des Zentralkommitees
1		Ulbricht, WalterWalter Ulbricht (1893–1973)	3 May 1971	1 August 1973 †		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]

On 1 December 1989, the People's Chamber removed the section of the East German Constitution granting the SED a monopoly of power—thus ending Communist rule in East Germany. Before the month was out, the SED transformed from a Leninist cadre party into a democratic socialist party, renaming itself first to Socialist Unity Party — Party of Democratic Socialism and later in the same year, to Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS). Hence, the party's subsequent leaders were no more leaders of East Germany than the leaders of other parties.

Heads of state

№		Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Party
President of the Republic Präsident der Republik
–		Dieckmann, JohannesJohannes Dieckmann (Acting) (1893–1969)	7 October 1949	11 October 1949		[[Liberal Democratic Party of Germany|Template:Liberal Democratic Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
1		Pieck, WilhelmWilhelm Pieck (1876–1960)	11 October 1949	7 September 1960 †		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
–		Dieckmann, JohannesJohannes Dieckmann (Acting) (1893–1969)	7 September 1960	12 September 1960		[[Liberal Democratic Party of Germany|Template:Liberal Democratic Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
Chairman of the State Council Vorsitzender des Staatsrats
1		Ulbricht, WalterWalter Ulbricht (1893–1973)	12 September 1960	1 August 1973 †		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
–		Ebert Jr., FriedrichFriedrich Ebert Jr. (Acting) (1894–1979)	1 August 1973	3 October 1973		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
2		Stoph, WilliWilli Stoph (1914–1999)	3 October 1973	29 October 1976		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
3		Honecker, ErichErich Honecker (1912–1994)	29 October 1976	24 October 1989		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
4		Krenz, EgonEgon Krenz (born 1937)	24 October 1989	6 December 1989		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
5		Gerlach, ManfredManfred Gerlach (1928–2011)	6 December 1989	5 April 1990		[[Liberal Democratic Party of Germany|Template:Liberal Democratic Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
President of the People's Chamber Präsident der Volkskammer
–		Bergmann-Pohl, SabineSabine Bergmann-Pohl (Acting) (born 1946)	5 April 1990	2 October 1990		CDU

Heads of government

№		Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Party
Minister-President Ministerpräsident
1		Grotewohl, OttoOtto Grotewohl (1894–1964)	12 October 1949	21 September 1964 †		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
Chairman of the Council of Ministers Vorsitzender des Ministerrats
2		Stoph, WilliWilli Stoph (1914–1999)	21 September 1964	3 October 1973		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
3	Horst Sindermann	Sindermann, HorstHorst Sindermann (1915–1990)	3 October 1973	29 October 1976		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
(2)		Stoph, WilliWilli Stoph (1914–1999)	29 October 1976	13 November 1989		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
4		Modrow, HansHans Modrow (1928–2023)	13 November 1989	12 April 1990		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]] PDS
Minister-President Ministerpräsident
5	Lothar de Maizière	de Maizière, LotharLothar de Maizière (born 1940)	12 April 1990	2 October 1990		CDU

Heads of parliament

№		Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Party
President of the People's Chamber Präsident der Volkskammer
1		Dieckmann, JohannesJohannes Dieckmann (1893–1969)	7 October 1949	22 February 1969 †		[[Liberal Democratic Party of Germany|Template:Liberal Democratic Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
2		Götting, GeraldGerald Götting (1923–2015)	12 May 1969	29 October 1976		CDU
3	Horst Sindermann	Sindermann, HorstHorst Sindermann (1915–1990)	29 October 1976	13 November 1989		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
4	Günther Maleuda	Maleuda, GüntherGünther Maleuda (1931–2012)	13 November 1989	5 April 1990		[[Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany|Template:Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
5		Bergmann-Pohl, SabineSabine Bergmann-Pohl (born 1946)	5 April 1990	2 October 1990		CDU

Heads of the military

File:Flag of the Chairman of the National Defence Council of East Germany.svg

Standard of the Chairman of the National Defence Council

№		Chairman of the National Defence Council Vorsitzender des Nationalen Verteidigungsrates	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Party
1		Ulbricht, WalterWalter Ulbricht (1893–1973)	10 February 1960	3 May 1971		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
2		Honecker, ErichErich Honecker (1912–1994)	3 May 1971	18 October 1989		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]
3		Krenz, EgonEgon Krenz (born 1937)	18 October 1989	6 December 1989		[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Template:Socialist Unity Party of Germany/meta/shortname]]

See also

• List of German monarchs
• President of Germany
• President of Germany (1919–1945)
• List of presidents of Germany
• Chancellor of Germany
• List of chancellors of Germany

External links

• World Statesmen – East Germany