This article lists the leaders of administrative divisions of East Germany , officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; German : Deutsche Demokratische Republik , DDR ). GDR was a country that existed from 1949 to 1990 , when the eastern portion of Germany was part of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War .[ 1]
Länder of the GDR, in red.
Until 1952,[ 2] GDR was divided into 5 states (German : Länder ), from north to south: Mecklenburg , Brandenburg , Saxony-Anhalt , Saxony and Thuringia .
Bezirke of the GDR, with their capitals in red.
From 1952 until 1990,[ 2] GDR was divided into 14 Regions (German : Bezirke ), each named after their capitals, from north to south: Rostock , Neubrandenburg , Schwerin , Potsdam , Frankfurt , Magdeburg , Cottbus , Halle , Leipzig , Erfurt , Dresden , Karl-Marx-Stadt (named Chemnitz until the 1953 Karl Marx Year [ 3] ), Gera and Suhl .
Due to its special status, East Berlin (German : Ost-Berlin ) was originally not counted as a Bezirk . In 1961, after the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and the construction of the Berlin Wall , East Berlin came to be recognised in GDR administration as the Bezirk Berlin , though it retained a special status until the adoption of the revised 1968 Constitution .[ 4]
Officeholders
Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED)
Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)
Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (LDPD)
German Democratic Party (DDP)
Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
States (Länder )
Mecklenburg
Location of Mecklenburg within the GDR.
Party leaders
State leaders
No.
Portrait
Name(Birth–Death)
Took office
Left office
Political party
President of the State Administration
1
Wilhelm Höcker (1886–1955)
9 July 1945
31 July 1945
SPD
President
1
Wilhelm Höcker (1886–1955)
31 July 1945
9 December 1946
SPD (until 1946)
SED (until 1946)
Ministers-President
1
Wilhelm Höcker (1886–1955)
9 December 1946
20 July 1951
SED
2
Kurt Bürger (1894–1951)
20 July 1951
28 July 1951†
SED
3
Bernhard Quandt (1903–1999)
24 August 1951
23 July 1952
SED
Brandenburg
Location of Brandenburg within the GDR.
Party leader
State leaders
No.
Portrait
Name(Birth–Death)
Took office
Left office
Political party
President of the Provisional Administration
1
Karl Steinhoff (1892–1981)
4 July 1945
20 December 1946
SPD
Ministers-President
2
Karl Steinhoff (1892–1981)
20 December 1946
5 December 1949
SPD (until 1946)
SED (until 1946)
2
Rudolf Jahn (1906–1990)
5 December 1949
23 July 1952
SED
Saxony-Anhalt
Location of Saxony-Anhalt within the GDR.
Party leaders
State leaders
No.
Portrait
Name(Birth–Death)
Took office
Left office
Political party
Ministers-President
1
Erhard Hübener (1881–1952)
20 July 1945
13 August 1949
LDPD
2
Werner Bruschke (1898–1995)
13 August 1949
23 July 1952
SED
Saxony
Location of Saxony within the GDR.
Party leaders
State leaders
No.
Portrait
Name(Birth–Death)
Took office
Left office
Political party
Ministers-President
1
Rudolf Friedrichs (1892–1947)
1 July 1945
13 June 1947†
SPD (until 1946)
SED (until 1946)
2
Max Seydewitz (1892–1987)
31 July 1947
23 July 1952
SED
Thuringia
Location of Thuringia within the GDR.
Thuringia SED building
Party leaders
State leaders
No.
Portrait
Name(Birth–Death)
Took office
Left office
Political party
Leader of the State Administration
1
Rudolf Paul (1893–1978)
16 July 1945
4 December 1946
DDP (until 1946)
SED (until 1946)
Ministers-President
1
Rudolf Paul (1893–1978)
4 December 1946
1 September 1947
SED
2
Werner Eggerath (1900–1977) [ a]
2 September 1947
23 July 1952
SED
Regions (Bezirke )
Rostock
Location of Bezirk Rostock within the GDR.
Party leaders
Government leaders
Neubrandenburg
Location of Bezirk Neubrandenburg within the GDR.
Party leaders
Government leaders
Schwerin
Location of Bezirk Schwerin within the GDR.
Party leaders
Government leaders
No.
Portrait
Name(Birth–Death)
Took office
Left office
Political party
Chairman of the Bezirk Commission
1
Wilhelm Bick (1903–1980)
1952
1952
SED
Chairmen of the Bezirk Council
1
Wilhelm Bick (1903–1980)
August 1952
June 1958
SED
2
Josef Stadler (1906–1984)
June 1958
July 1960
SED
3
Michael Grieb (1921–2003)
July 1960
April 1968
SED
4
Rudi Fleck (1930–2012)
April 1968
8 December 1989
SED
—
Siegfried Hempelt (born 1931) Acting Chairman
December 1989
June 1990
SED
Government Authorized Person (Regierungsbevollmächtigter )
1
Georg Diederich (born 1949)
June 1990
2 October 1990
CDU
Potsdam
Location of Bezirk Potsdam within the GDR.
Party leaders
Government leaders
Frankfurt
Location of Bezirk Frankfurt within the GDR.
Party leaders
Government leaders
Magdeburg
Location of Bezirk Magdeburg within the GDR.
Party leaders
Government leaders
No.
Portrait
Name(Birth–Death)
Took office
Left office
Political party
Chairman of the Bezirk Commission
1
Josef Hegen (1907–1969)
1952
1952
SED
Chairmen of the Bezirk Council
1
Josef Hegen (1907–1969)
August 1952
June 1953
SED
2
Paul Hentschel (1913–1959)
June 1953
20 November 1959
SED
—
Bruno Kiesler (1925–2011) Acting Chairman
1957
1958
SED
3
Kurt Ranke (1920–1999)
September 1960
June 1985
SED
4
Siegfried Grünwald (born 1938)
September 1985
June 1990
SED
Government Authorized Person (Regierungsbevollmächtigter )
1
Wolfgang Braun (1939–2016)
11 June 1990
2 October 1990
CDU
Cottbus
Location of Bezirk Cottbus within the GDR.
Party leaders
Government leaders
Halle
Location of Bezirk Halle within the GDR.
Former Bezirk Halle SED building, still known today as "Café Böhme" in local vernacular, in May 2006
Party leaders
Government leaders
Leipzig
Location of Bezirk Leipzig within the GDR.
Party leaders
Government leaders
No.
Portrait
Name(Birth–Death)
Took office
Left office
Political party
Chairmen of the Bezirk Council
1
Karl Adolphs (1904–1989)
August 1952
March 1959
SED
2
Erich Grützner (1910–2001)
April 1959
February 1974
SED
3
Rolf Opitz (1929–2006)
February 1974
December 1989
SED
4
Joachim Draber (born 1939)
December 1989
June 1990
SED
Government Authorized Person (Regierungsbevollmächtigter )
1
Rudolf Krause (born 1939)
June 1990
2 October 1990
CDU
Erfurt
Location of Bezirk Erfurt within the GDR.
Party leaders
Government leaders
No.
Portrait
Name(Birth–Death)
Took office
Left office
Political party
Chairman of the Bezirk Commission
1
Willy Gebhardt (1901–1973)
26 July 1952
1 August 1952
SED
Chairmen of the Bezirk Council
1
Willy Gebhardt (1901–1973)
1 August 1952
9 October 1962
SED
2
Richard Gothe (1928–1985)
9 October 1962
17 January 1985
SED
—
Horst Lang (born 1938) Acting Chairman
17 January 1985
5 March 1985
SED
3
Arthur Swatek (1932–1990)
6 March 1985
4 February 1990
SED
—
Horst Lang (born 1938) Acting Chairman
5 February 1990
8 June 1990
SED
Government Authorized Person (Regierungsbevollmächtigter )
1
Josef Duchac (born 1938)
8 June 1990
2 October 1990
CDU
Dresden
Location of Bezirk Dresden within the GDR.
Party leaders
Government leaders
Karl-Marx-Stadt
Location of Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt within the GDR.
Party leaders
Government leaders
No.
Portrait
Name(Birth–Death)
Took office
Left office
Political party
Chairman of the Bezirk Council
1
Max Müller (1899–1977)
August 1952
March 1960
SED
2
Werner Felfe (1928–1988)
March 1960
September 1963
SED
3
Heinz Arnold (1920–2000)
1963
January 1981
SED
4
Lothar Fichtner (born 1934)
February 1981
June 1990
SED
Government Authorized Person (Regierungsbevollmächtigter )
1
Albrecht Buttolo (born 1947)
11 June 1990
2 October 1990
CDU
Gera
Location of Bezirk Gera within the GDR.
Former Bezirk Gera SED building in March 2012
Party leaders
Government leaders
Suhl
Location of Bezirk Suhl within the GDR.
Party leaders
Government leaders
No.
Portrait
Name(Birth–Death)
Took office
Left office
Political party
Chairman of the Bezirk Commission
1
Fritz Sattler (1896–1964)
26 July 1952
1 August 1952
SED
Chairmen of the Bezirk Council
1
Fritz Sattler (1896–1964)
1 August 1952
29 November 1958
SED
2
Wilhelm Behnke (1914–1975)
29 November 1958
26 July 1967
SED
3
Arnold Zimmermann (1922–2015)
26 July 1967
16 May 1990
SED
—
Helmuth Vierling (born 1945) Acting Chairman
16 May 1990
8 June 1990
SED
Government Authorized Person (Regierungsbevollmächtigter )
1
Werner Ulbrich (born 1939)
8 June 1990
2 October 1990
CDU
SDAG Wismut
Locations of Wismut in Saxony and Thuringia
Former SDAG Wismut SED building in Chemnitz in August 2008
General Director
No.
Portrait
Name(Birth–Death)
Took office
Left office
General Director of SDAG Wismut
1
Wassilij Sobko
?
?
2
Semjon Nikolajewitsch Woloschtschuk(1911–?)
1961
1986
3
Horst Bellmann(1949–2012)
1986
1989
4
Horst Richter(1938–)
1989
1 January 1991
Party leaders
East Berlin
Location of East Berlin within the GDR.
Boroughs of East Berlin (1987).
Map of East Berlin (1989).
Party leaders
Government leaders
See also
Notes
^ Acting to 8 October 1947.
^ Acting to 8 November 1965.
^ Acting from 1 June 1990.
^ Provisional to 17 October 1954.
References
External links