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Lothar de Maizière

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Article Genealogy
Parent: German Democratic Republic Hop 4
Expansion Funnel Raw 53 → Dedup 14 → NER 7 → Enqueued 6
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2. After dedup14 (None)
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Lothar de Maizière
NameLothar de Maizière
CaptionLothar de Maizière in 1990
OfficeMinister President of the German Democratic Republic
Term start12 April 1990
Term end2 October 1990
PredecessorHans Modrow
SuccessorOffice abolished
Office1Deputy Minister President of Germany
Term start13 October 1990
Term end119 December 1990
Chancellor1Helmut Kohl
Predecessor1Office established
Successor1Jürgen Möllemann
PartyCDU (East), CDU (Germany)
Birth date2 March 1940
Birth placeNordhausen, Prussia, Nazi Germany
Alma materHumboldt University of Berlin
ProfessionLawyer, Musician

Lothar de Maizière was a German lawyer, musician, and politician who served as the first and only democratically elected Minister President of the German Democratic Republic. A member of the East German CDU, he led the government during the critical final months of the German Democratic Republic and played a central role in negotiating the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany and the German reunification process. Following unification, he briefly served as Deputy Minister President of Germany under Chancellor Helmut Kohl before his political career was curtailed by controversy.

Early life and education

Lothar de Maizière was born on 2 March 1940 in Nordhausen, Thuringia, into a family of Huguenot descent with a notable political lineage; his uncle, Ulrich de Maizière, was a former Inspector General of the Bundeswehr. He spent his childhood in the East Berlin district of Pankow and attended the Evangelical Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster. Due to a chronic spinal condition, he was exempted from service in the National People's Army. He subsequently studied the viola at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music before switching to law at the Humboldt University of Berlin, graduating in 1969.

After completing his legal studies, de Maizière worked as a defense attorney in East Berlin, often representing clients in politically sensitive cases, including members of the Protestant church and conscientious objectors. Concurrently, he maintained an active career as a musician, performing as a violist in various chamber ensembles and with the prestigious Berlin Symphony Orchestra. This dual professional life provided him with a unique network outside official SED circles, particularly within the cultural and church communities of the German Democratic Republic.

Political career in East Germany

De Maizière entered politics in the wake of the Peaceful Revolution of 1989, joining the East German CDU, which had historically been a bloc party subordinate to the SED. He quickly rose to prominence as a reformist figure, becoming party chairman in February 1990. In the first and only free election for the Volkskammer in March 1990, he led the Alliance for Germany coalition to victory, campaigning on a platform of rapid reunification with the Federal Republic of Germany.

Role in German reunification

On 12 April 1990, de Maizière was elected Minister President of the German Democratic Republic, heading a grand coalition that included the SPD and the Association of Free Democrats. His government's primary task was to dismantle the German Democratic Republic and manage its accession to the Federal Republic of Germany under Article 23 of the Basic Law. He worked closely with Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble to negotiate the Unification Treaty and the critical Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany with the Four Powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France.

Post-reunification activities and controversies

Following reunification on 3 October 1990, de Maizière served as Deputy Minister President of Germany and Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the cabinet of Helmut Kohl. His tenure was short-lived; he resigned in December 1990 amid allegations of past collaboration with the Ministry for State Security (Stasi). Although a subsequent investigation by the Gauck Authority cleared him of being an official informant, the controversy effectively ended his national political career. He later served as an advisor on legal and constitutional matters for the governments of several federal states in eastern Germany.

Personal life

Lothar de Maizière is married and has three children. He is a Protestant and his political outlook was significantly shaped by his involvement with the Evangelical Church in Germany. Since leaving high-profile politics, he has maintained a lower public profile, occasionally commenting on constitutional and historical issues related to the unification process. He resides in Berlin.

Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:Government ministers of the German Democratic Republic Category:Deputy Chancellors of Germany Category:Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians