Willi Stoph
Wilhelm Stoph (9 July 1914 – 13 April 1999) was a German politician. He served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1964 to 1973, and again from 1976 until 1989. He also served as chairman of the State Council (head of state) from 1973 to 1976.
Willi Stoph | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Stoph in 1976 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chairman of the Council of Ministers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 29 October 1976 – 13 November 1989 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chairman of the State Council | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First Deputy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Horst Sindermann | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Hans Modrow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 21 September 1964 – 3 October 1973 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chairman of the State Council |
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First Deputy |
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Preceded by | Otto Grotewohl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Horst Sindermann | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chairman of the State Council | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 3 October 1973 – 29 October 1976 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Friedrich Ebert Jr. (acting) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Erich Honecker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Secretary for Economic Policy of the Central Committee Secretariat of the Socialist Unity Party | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 25 July 1950 – 26 July 1953 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First Secretary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Walter Ulbricht | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Gerhart Ziller (Economy) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Wilhelm Stoph 9 July 1914 Schöneberg, Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (now Germany) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 13 April 1999 84) Berlin, Germany | (aged||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Socialist Unity Party (1946–1989) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other political affiliations | Communist Party of Germany (1928–1946) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation |
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Awards | Order of Karl Marx | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Central institution membership
Other offices held
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Biography
Stoph was born in Berlin in 1914;[2] his father died the following year in World War I. In 1928, Stoph joined the Young Communist League of Germany (Kommunistischer Jugendverband Deutschlands; KJVD) and in 1931 he joined the Communist Party of Germany. He was conscripted into the Wehrmacht from 1935 to 1937, and served during World War II from 1940 to 1945. He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and rose to the rank of Unteroffizier. As the war ended, according to historian Harris Lentz, "Stoph worked with the Communist-dominated Socialist Unity party and served on the party's executive committee from 1947."[3]
![](../I/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-44786-0002%252C_Empfang_von_NVA-Offizieren_durch_Wilhelm_Pieck.jpg.webp)
![](../I/Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-F031406-0017%252C_Erfurt%252C_Treffen_Willy_Brandt_mit_Willi_Stoph.jpg.webp)
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 was named to the Politbüro in 1953. He served as Interior Minister from 9 May 1952 to 1 July 1955, and as East Germany's first Defense Minister from 18 January 1956 to 14 July 1960.[4][5] As defense minister, he was awarded the rank of Armeegeneral.
After having served as first deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers (first Deputy Prime Minister) from 1960 to 1964, he was named Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Ministerrat), or Prime Minister, in 1964 after the death of Otto Grotewohl. However, he had been serving as acting chairman of the council since October 1960 due to Grotewohl's poor health. He was initially thought to be the heir apparent to longtime party leader Walter Ulbricht, but his ascendancy was checked by Erich Honecker.[5][6] After Ulbricht's death in 1973, Stoph became Chairman of the Council of State—a post equivalent in rank to president of the GDR. After Volkskammer elections in 1976, Honecker re-arranged the state and party leadership structure. Believing that Stoph's successor as prime minister, Horst Sindermann, was too liberal on economic matters, Honecker replaced him with Stoph.
![](../I/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-N1227-404%252C_Neujahrsansprache_Stoph.jpg.webp)
During his first stint 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.
Stoph was known as a man who could be trusted to carry out the directives of the SED's Politburo; indeed, Honecker tapped him for his second stint in the premiership for this reason.[5] For the most part, Stoph was a loyal supporter of Honecker. Although he nominally held the highest state post in the GDR, in practice he was outranked by Honecker, who derived most of his power from his post as general secretary of the SED.
However, Stoph joined the plot to remove Honecker in October 1989. At the Politburo meeting at which Honecker was voted out, Stoph made the motion to depose Honecker and replace him with Egon Krenz.[7] A month later, on 13 November, Stoph and his entire 44-member cabinet resigned in response to public pressure. Stoph was subsequently arrested for corruption in December 1989. Despite his role in pushing Honecker out, the SED expelled Stoph on December 3, the same day it expelled Honecker. He was later spared detention on grounds of ill health. In 1994, a court in Berlin decided that his seized savings of 200,000 Deutsche Mark would not be returned to him.
Stoph died in Berlin at the age of 84 on 13 April 1999.[5] He was buried in Wildau.
References
- Schmidt, Arthur. "Volkskammer der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik 1986-1990, Seite 29" (PDF). gvoon.de. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
- "Obituary: Willi Stoph". The Independent. 21 April 1999.
- Harris M. Lentz (2014). Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. Routledge. p. 305. ISBN 9781134264902.
- "East German ministries". Rulers. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- Saxon, Wolfang (22 April 1999). "Willi Stoph, 84, Premier, Twice, in East Germany". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- Dierk Hoffmann (2009). Otto Grotewohl 1894-1964 : Eine politische Biographie. Veröffentlichungen zur SBZ-/DDR-Forschung im Institut für Zeitgeschicht. pp. 466–468.
- Sebetsyen, Victor (2009). Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire. New York City: Pantheon Books. ISBN 978-0-375-42532-5.