Hans Modrow

Hans Modrow
Modrow in 1989
Chairman of the Council of Ministers
In office 13 November 1989 – 12 April 1990
Head of state	Egon Krenz Manfred Gerlach Sabine Bergmann-Pohl (interim)
Deputy	Christa Luft Peter Moreth Lothar de Maizière
Preceded by	Willi Stoph
Succeeded by	Lothar de Maizière (as Minister-President)
First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party in Bezirk Dresden
In office 3 October 1973 – 15 November 1989
Second Secretary	Lothar Stammnitz
Preceded by	Werner Krolikowski
Succeeded by	Hansjoachim Hahn
Head of the Department for Agitation of the Central Committee
In office 19 June 1971 – 2 October 1973
Secretary	Werner Lamberz
Preceded by	Werner Lamberz
Succeeded by	Heinz Geggel
Parliamentary constituencies Member of the European Parliament for Germany In office 20 July 1999 – 20 July 2004 Preceded by multi-member district Succeeded by multi-member district Member of the Bundestag for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Volkskammer; 1990) In office 3 October 1990 – 10 November 1994 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by multi-member district Member of the Volkskammer for Neubrandenburg (Dresden-Süd, Dresden-West, Dresden-Mitte;[1] 1976–1990) (Berlin; 1957–1976) In office 5 April 1990 – 2 October 1990 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Constituency abolished In office 11 December 1957 – 5 April 1990 Preceded by Karl-Heinz Kniestedt Succeeded by Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	(1928-01-27)27 January 1928 Jasenitz, Pölitz, Pomerania, Prussia, Germany (now Jasienica, Poland)
Died	10 February 2023(2023-02-10) (aged 95) Berlin, Germany
Political party	The Left (2007–2023)
Other political affiliations	Party of Democratic Socialism (1989–2007) Socialist Unity Party (1949–1989)
Spouse	Annemarie Straubing ​ (m. 2003)​
Children	2
Alma mater	Party Academy Karl Marx Hochschule für Ökonomie Berlin Humboldt University of Berlin (Dr. rer. oec.)
Occupation	Economist Locksmith Politician
Central institution membership 1989: Full member, Politburo of the Central Committee 1967–1989: Full member, Central Committee 1958–1967: Candidate member, Central Committee Other offices held 1967–1973: Secretary for Agitation and Propaganda, Socialist Unity Party in Berlin 1961–1967: First Secretary, Socialist Unity Party in Berlin-Köpenick 1958: Chairman, Free German Youth in the Volkskammer 1953–1961: First Secretary, Free German Youth in Berlin
Leader of East Germany ← Krenz de Maizière→

Hans Modrow (German pronunciation: [ˈhans ˈmoːdʁo]; 27 January 1928 – 10 February 2023) was 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 of 1989 and 1990. He was a transitional figure, paving the way to the first and only free elections in East Germany and including many opposition politicians in his cabinet.

After the end of Communist rule and reunification of Germany, he was convicted of electoral fraud and perjury by the Dresden District Court in 1995, on the basis that he had been the Socialist Unity Party (SED) official nominally in charge of the electoral process. He was later convicted of the first charge and was given a nine-month suspended sentence. One of the few high-ranking former SED officials to not have been expelled, he was the honorary chairman of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)^[2] and was the president of the "council of elders" of the Left Party from 2007.^[3]