The last communist prime minister of East Germany died at the age of 95 – #communist #prime #minister #East #Germany #died #age
BERLIN, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Hans Modrov, who oversaw democratic reforms that paved the way for German reunification as East Germany’s last communist prime minister, has died at the age of 95.
The party, which is the successor to the East German Communist Party, said in a statement: “Hans Modrov left us last night at the age of 95. With this, our party is losing its important identity.”
Modrov said he would help East Germany become a democracy when he became prime minister of the communist-led transitional government on November 13, 1989, four days after the opening of the Berlin Wall that had separated East and West Berlin for 28 years. .
After Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union, demonstrators across East Germany demanded democracy and freedom, echoing calls for change in Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe, and the previous communist leadership was ousted.
Modrov in March 1990, the first and only in the country known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR). free announced the election, although it is his Prime Minister resulted in his termination.
Latest NewsEurope categoryPolish president needed for EU funds court reform law wants draft revised, article with gallery, GalleryEurope categoryNorthern Ireland union members protocol agreement near EU, Great Britain as a historical choice, pictorial article
See 2 more stories
Although he carried out reforms, which occurred in October 1990 by opponents political was accused of trying to delay change and reunification. He is also the Stasi security police cancellation was criticized for trying to rebrand instead.
Although Modrov was found guilty of electoral fraud in the municipal elections held in May 1989 in 1993, imprisonment and charges have not been made political said that he was motivated.
He continued to serve in the German parliament from 1990 to 1994, representing the predecessor of Die Linke, the PDS, and from 1999 20By 04 Europe He was a member of the Parliament.
Modrov saw himself as a reformer who wanted to change the Communist Party from within and make it more democratic. In 1999, he told Reuters that he did not want to bring back the old GDR, but that its achievements should be recognized.
“In foreign relations, during the period of the ADR, the cold war did not turn into a hot war. “And after the violence of World War II, we managed to befriend Poland.”
LET’S RISE WITH THE PARTY RANKS
Modrov was born in 1928 in what was then Jasenice, Germany – now Jasienica, Poland – and worked as a machinist. education got it.
During World War II, he served as a youth fire brigade platoon leader and toward the end of the conflict became a member of the Volkssturm, a Nazi militia that drafted men aged 16 to 60 in a final bid for victory.
At the age of 17, Modrov by Soviet troops captive was taken and taken as a prisoner of war to the Soviet Union, where he attended anti-fascist classes and became a staunch communist.
When he returned to his homeland in 1949, the year of the founding of the GDR, he found work as a machinist and social sciences and then economics education and received a Ph.D.
Modrov, joined by almost all East German youth Free He was a functionary of the German Youth movement and in 1973-1989 judge Through the Socialist Unity Party (SED), he rose to the position of regional party leader in Dresden. He also served in East Germany. for over three decades parliament.
After Egon Krenz resigned as head of the SED on December 5, 1990, Modrow became the de facto leader of East Germany, and Modrow held the highest state post.
Prime Minister as he earned respect for living more modestly than his communist predecessors. He initially tried to dampen enthusiasm for reunification, but in February 1990 he announced his plan to unite East and West Germany.
Presenting his reunification plan in 1990, he called for Germany to be “again for all citizens of the German nation unit should become a homeland’, he said, but said that union could only be achieved on terms that calmed the fears of its neighbours.
20Since 2007, Modrow has served as president of the board of elders for Die Linke, in which role he has focused on the party’s development and history.
Reporting by Michelle Adair and Riham Alkousaa Editing by Timothy Heritage, Frances Kerry and David Holmes
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
2023-02-11 17:13:02
Source – reuters
Translation“24 HOURS”