Willi Stoph

Willi Stoph
Prime Minister of East Germany
In office 21 September 1964 – 3 October 1973
President	Walter Ulbricht
Preceded by	Otto Grotewohl
Succeeded by	Horst Sindermann
In office 29 October 1976 – 7 November 1989
President	Erich Honecker
Preceded by	Horst Sindermann
Succeeded by	Hans Modrow
Chairman of the State Council of the German Democratic Republic
In office 3 October 1973 – 29 October 1976
Prime Minister	Horst Sindermann
Preceded by	Walter Ulbricht
Succeeded by	Erich Honecker
Personal details
Born	(1914-07-09)9 July 1914 Berlin, Germany
Died	13 April 1999(1999-04-13) (aged 84) Berlin, Germany
Political party	Communist Party (before 1946) Socialist Unity Party (1946–1990)
Profession	Engineer
Religion	none (atheist)

Willi Stoph (German pronunciation: [ˈvɪli ˈʃtoːf]; 9 July 1914 – 13 April 1999) was an East German politician. He served as Prime Minister (Chairman of the Council of Ministers) of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1964 to 1973, and again from 1976 until 1989.

Biography

Stoph was born in Berlin in 1914; his father died the following year in World War I. In 1928, Stoph joined the Communist Youth League of Germany (Kommunistischer Jugendverband Deutschlands; KJVD) and in 1931 he joined the Communist Party of Germany. He also served in the Wehrmacht from 1935 to 1937, and again during World War II from 1940 to 1945. He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and rose to the rank of Unteroffizier.

Stoph (right) in uniform of a NVA Colonel-general in 1957

Meeting Chancellor Willy Brandt in 1970.

Following the establishment of the GDR in 1949, Stoph became a member of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and member of the Volkskammer in 1950. He served as Interior Minister from 9 May 1952 to 1 July 1955, and Defense Minister from 18 January 1956 to 14 July 1960. Stoph was the first defense minister of East Germany. As such, he was awarded the rank of Armeegeneral.

From 1964 to 1973, he was Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Ministerrat). After the death of Walter Ulbricht in 1973, Stoph became Chairman of the Council of State, and thus, head of state of the GDR. After Volkskammer elections in 1976, the state and party leadership structure was re-arranged, and Stoph once again became Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

Stoph in 1974.

As Prime Minister, Stoph began a series of negotiations with West German Chancellor Willy Brandt in 1970. It marked the first ever meeting between the leaders of East and West Germany.

Following the ousting of Erich Honecker in October 1989, Stoph and all 44 members of his cabinet resigned on 7 November in response to public pressure. On 8 November, the Central Committee of the SED nominated Hans Modrow as Stoph's replacement. Stoph was subsequently arrested for corruption in December 1989. He was later spared detention due to health reasons. In 1994, a court in Berlin decided that he should not get back his seized savings of 200,000 DM.

Stoph died in Berlin at the age of 84 on 13 April 1999. He was buried in Wildau.

References

Political offices
Preceded by Otto Grotewohl	Prime Minister of East Germany 1964–1973	Succeeded by Horst Sindermann
Preceded by Walter Ulbricht	Chairman of the State Council of the German Democratic Republic 1973–1976	Succeeded by Erich Honecker
Preceded by Horst Sindermann	Prime Minister of East Germany 1976–1989	Succeeded by Hans Modrow