The Modrow government refers to the final socialist government of the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

(GDR), which was led by Socialist Unity Party (SED) official

Hans Modrow Hans Modrow (; born 27 January 1928) is a German politician best known as the last communist premier of East Germany. Taking office in the middle of the Peaceful Revolution, he was the ''de facto'' leader of the country for much of the winter ...

from November 1989 until East Germany's first democratically elected government took power on 18 March 1990.

Background

Spurred on by the liberal policies of

Glasnost ''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...

and Perestroika in the Soviet Union, and Mikhail Gorbachev's apparent tolerance of liberal reforms in other countries in the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...

, protests began to spread in the German Democratic Republic in 1989. This culminated in a large increase in citizens escaping from the country during the summer of 1989 after Hungary dismantled its portion of the Iron Curtain. At the same time opposition to the incumbent SED was growing - on 9 October 1989, for example, 70,000 people took part in a demonstration in Leipzig calling for free elections and other democratic rights which had been denied to East German citizens since the founding of the GDR. On 18 October 1989

Erich Honecker Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the post ...

was ousted as leader by his Politburo as a result of his unwillingness to confront the societal problems which had led to the mass exodus and political protest. The relatively youthful

Egon Krenz Egon Rudi Ernst Krenz (; born 19 March 1937) is a German former politician who was the last Communist leader of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) during the Revolutions of 1989. He succeeded Erich Honecker as the General Secreta ...

who was chosen as successor proved to be ineffective, and on 9 November 1989 the Berlin Wall was opened, becoming a symbol of the SED's complete loss of power. Within the first four days of the Wall's opening, 4.3 million people or 25% of the East German population had made the trip across the border to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

with many choosing to remain there to take advantage of the higher quality of life. Since 8 November a new Politburo had been in power when the previous one had unanimously resigned. Amongst the new members was former First Secretary of the SED in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

Hans Modrow. Despite the personnel change the new government was unable to bring stability to the situation, with increased absenteeism through emigration and citizens taking trips to West Germany placing higher pressure on the East German economy.

Formation

Round Table

As a result of the increasingly fragmented nature of the East German political landscape

Government of National Responsibility

Ministers

* Acting Foreign Secretary:

Harry Ott Harry Ott (15 October 1933 – 24 June 2005) was a German diplomat who became a politician towards the end of his professional career. Between 1974 and 1981 he served as the ambassador of the German Democratic Republic to the Soviet Union. In ...

* Chairman of the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative autho ...

and Chairman of the National Defence Council:

(until 6 December 1989), thereafter

Manfred Gerlach Manfred Gerlach (8 May 1928 – 17 October 2011) was a German jurist and politician, and the longtime leader of the East German Liberal Democratic Party. He served as ''Chairman of the Council of State'' and was thus head of state of East ...

* Chairman of the State Planning Commission: Gerhard SchürerChilds p.103 * Deputy Chairpersons: Christa Luft,

Lothar de Maizière Lothar de Maizière (; born 2 March 1940) is a German Christian Democratic politician. In 1990, he served as the only premier of the German Democratic Republic to be democratically elected freely and fairly by the people. He was also the last ...

and Peter Moreth * General of the People's Police: Lothar Arendt * Head of the Office for National Security:

Wolfgang Schwanitz Wolfgang Schwanitz (26 June 1930 – 1 February 2022) was a German intelligence official, who was the last head of the Stasi, the East German secret police. It was officially renamed the "Office for National Security" on 17 November 1989. Unl ...

* Minister for Economic Questions: Christa Luft * Minister for Work and Wages:

Hannelore Mensch Hannelore Mensch (born Hannelore Bosch; 16 June 1937 in Neu Zachun) is a former East German politician. She served as the German Democratic Republic's Minister for Work and Wages in 1989/90. Life Hannelore Bosch was born in the north of what w ...

Ministers Without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...

Wolfgang Ullmann Wolfgang Ullmann (18 August 1929 – 30 July 2004) was a German journalist, theologian, politician. Life Wolfgang Ullmann was born in Bad Gottleuba near Dresden. From 1948 to 1954 he studied Protestant theology and also philosophy, first ...

Rainer Eppelmann Rainer Eppelmann () (born 12 February 1943 in Berlin), is a German politician. Known for his opposition in the German Democratic Republic, he became Minister for Disarmament and Defense in the last cabinet. He is now a member of the CDU. The ...

, Sebastian Pflugbeil, Gerd Poppe,

Walter Romberg Walter Romberg (27 December 1928 – 23 May 2014) was a German politician and finance minister of East Germany. Early life and education Romberg was born in Schwerin on 27 December 1928. From 1947 he studied physics and mathematics. He held a Dr ...

, Tatjana Böhm,

Klaus Schlüter Klaus is a German, Dutch and Scandinavian given name and surname. It originated as a short form of Nikolaus, a German form of the Greek given name Nicholas. Notable persons whose family name is Klaus *Billy Klaus (1928–2006), American base ...

and

Matthias Platzeck Matthias Platzeck (born 29 December 1953) is a German politician. He was Minister President of Brandenburg from 2002 to 2013 and party chairman of the SPD from November 2005 to April 2006. On 29 July 2013 Platzeck announced his resignation fr ...

* Secretary of State: Wolfgang Rauchfuß

References