Willi Stoph
Willi Stoph | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chairmanof the Council of Ministers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 29 October 1976 – 13 November 1989 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chairman of the State Council | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First Deputy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Horst Sindermann | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Hans Modrow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 21 September 1964 – 3 October 1973 Acting: November 1960 – 21 September 1964 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chairman of the State Council | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First Deputy |
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Preceded by | Otto Grotewohl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Horst Sindermann | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chairmanof theState Council | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 3 October 1973 – 29 October 1976 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Friedrich Ebert Jr.(acting) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Erich Honecker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Secretary for Economic Policy of the Central Committee Secretariatof theSocialist Unity Party | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 25 July 1950 – 26 July 1953 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First Secretary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Walter Ulbricht | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Gerhart Ziller(Economy) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Wilhelm Stoph 9 July 1914 Schöneberg,Berlin,Kingdom of Prussia,German Empire(nowGermany) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 13 April 1999 Berlin,Germany | (aged 84)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Socialist Unity Party (1946–1989) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other political affiliations | Communist Party of Germany(1928–1946) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation |
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Awards | Order of Karl Marx | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Central institution membership
Other offices held
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Wilhelm Stoph(9 July 1914 – 13 April 1999) was a German politician. He served asChairman of the Council of Ministersof the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1964 to 1973, and again from 1976 until 1989. He also served as chairman of theState Councilfrom 1973 to 1976.
Biography
[edit]Stoph was born inBerlinin 1914;[2]his father died the following year inWorld War I.In 1928, Stoph joined theYoung Communist League of Germany(Kommunistischer Jugendverband Deutschlands; KJVD) and in 1931 he joined theCommunist Party of Germany.He was conscripted into theWehrmachtfrom 1935 to 1937, and served duringWorld War IIfrom 1940 to 1945.
He was assigned to the293rd Infantry Division'sartillery regiment,[3]and was awarded theIron Cross2nd Class and rose to the rank ofUnteroffizier.As the war ended, according to historian Harris Lentz, "Stoph worked with the Communist-dominated Socialist Unity party and served on the party's executive committee from 1947."[4]
Following the establishment of the GDR in 1949, Stoph became a member of theSocialist Unity Party'sCentral Committeeand member of theVolkskammerin 1950. He was named to thePolitbüroin 1953. He served as Interior Minister from 9 May 1952 to 1 July 1955, and as East Germany's first Defense Minister from 18 January 1956 to 14 July 1960.[5][6]As defense minister, he was awarded the rank ofArmeegeneral.
After having served as first deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers (first Deputy Prime Minister) from 1960 to 1964, he was named Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Ministerrat), or Prime Minister, in 1964 after the death ofOtto Grotewohl.However, he had been serving as acting chairman of the council since October 1960 due to Grotewohl's poor health. He was initially thought to be the heir apparent to longtime party leaderWalter Ulbricht,but his ascendancy was checked byErich Honecker.[6][7]After Ulbricht's death in 1973, Stoph became Chairman of the Council of State—a post equivalent in rank to president of the GDR. After Volkskammer elections in 1976, Honecker re-arranged the state and party leadership structure. Believing that Stoph's successor as prime minister,Horst Sindermann,was too liberal on economic matters, Honecker replaced him with Stoph.
During his first stint as Prime Minister, Stoph began a series of negotiations withWest GermanChancellorWilly Brandtin 1970. It marked the first ever meeting between the leaders of East and West Germany.
Stoph was known as a man who could be trusted to carry out the directives of the SED's Politburo; indeed, Honecker tapped him for his second stint in the premiership for this reason.[6]For the most part, Stoph was a loyal supporter of Honecker. Although he nominally held the highest state post in the GDR, in practice he was outranked by Honecker, who derived most of his power from his post as general secretary of the SED.
However, Stoph joined the plot to remove Honecker in October 1989. At the Politburo meeting at which Honecker was voted out, Stoph made the motion to depose Honecker and replace him withEgon Krenz.[8]A month later, on 13 November, Stoph and his entire 44-member cabinet resigned in response to public pressure. Stoph was subsequently arrested for corruption in December 1989. Despite his role in pushing Honecker out, the SED expelled Stoph on December 3, the same day it expelled Honecker. He was later spared detention on grounds of ill health. In 1994, a court inBerlindecided that his seized savings of 200,000Deutsche Markwould not be returned to him.
Stoph died in Berlin at the age of 84 on 13 April 1999.[6]He was buried inWildau.
References
[edit]- ^Schmidt, Arthur."Volkskammer der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik 1986-1990,Seite 29 "(PDF).gvoon.de.Retrieved23 July2023.
- ^"Obituary: Willi Stoph".The Independent.21 April 1999.
- ^Rogers, Steven (2014). "Stoph, Willi (1914–1999)". In Zabecki, David T. (ed.).Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History.Vol. 3.ABC Clio.pp. 1244–1245.ISBN9781598849806.
- ^Harris M. Lentz (2014).Heads of States and Governments Since 1945.Routledge. p. 305.ISBN9781134264902.
- ^"East German ministries".Rulers.Retrieved28 April2013.
- ^abcdSaxon, Wolfang (22 April 1999)."Willi Stoph, 84, Premier, Twice, in East Germany".The New York Times.Retrieved28 April2013.
- ^Hoffman, Dierk .Otto Grotewohl 1894-1964: Eine politische Biographie(in German). Publications of the Soviet Occupation Zone/GDR-Institute of Contemporary History (Munich).2009. pp. 466–468.
- ^Sebestyen, Victor(2009).Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire.New York City:Pantheon Books.ISBN978-0-375-42532-5.
- Heads of state of East Germany
- Prime ministers of East Germany
- 1914 births
- 1999 deaths
- Politicians from Berlin
- Communist Party of Germany politicians
- Members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
- Deputy prime ministers of East Germany
- Ministers of National Defence (East Germany)
- Government ministers of East Germany
- Members of the State Council of East Germany
- Members of the Provisional Volkskammer
- Members of the 1st Volkskammer
- Members of the 2nd Volkskammer
- Members of the 3rd Volkskammer
- Members of the 4th Volkskammer
- Members of the 5th Volkskammer
- Members of the 6th Volkskammer
- Members of the 7th Volkskammer
- Members of the 8th Volkskammer
- Members of the 9th Volkskammer
- German atheists
- Red Orchestra (espionage)
- Army generals of the National People's Army
- German Army soldiers of World War II
- German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union
- Recipients of the Scharnhorst Order
- Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp)
- Heads of government who were later imprisoned
- Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd class