Erich Honecker

A building worker by trade, he joined German Communist Party (KPD) in 1929.  He was among the leadership of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from its founding in 1949, became its head of state in 1976 and held the post until its dissolution in 1989.

Honecker was imprisoned by Nazis in 1937, and released by Red Army in 1945.  He was leader of the East German communist youth movement 1949-58.  In 1958 he served as deputy to  First Secretary Walter Ulbricht, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED).

Honecker himself later ascended to First Secretary of the SED Central Committee in 1971, and to President of the GDR in 1976.  He opposed the Perestroika reforms initiated by Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev and was caught by surprise by the events that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the opening of the GDR's borders.  Honecker resigned his post  in October 1989 in the face of huge popular demonstrations.

He then fled to the Soviet Union in order to avoid prosecution in the newly-reunified Germany, but was extradited following the dissolution of the USSR.  He was tried for the deaths of 192 people killed while illegally trying to cross into West Berlin during his tenure, and for High Treason.  He was freed due to poor health, and died of liver cancer in Chile in May of 1994.

1972: Constructive GRD Policy for Peace and Security

1974: Interview Granted to "Unsere Zeit", German Communist Party (DKP) Newspaper

1975: Address to the Third Stage of the Conference on Security and Co-Operation in Europe

1977: Message to the Chairman of the UN Anti-Apartheid Committee on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

1977: Message of greetings to the World Conference Against Apartheid, Racism, and Colonialism in Southern Africa held in Lisbon

1977: Message of greetings to the World Conference for Action Against Apartheid held in Lagos

1979: Welcoming Address to the Special Session of the World Peace Council

1980: Letter to Leonid Brezhnev on the Situation in Poland

1980: Speech at the Meeting of Party and State Leaders of the Warsaw Pact

1983: Speech at the International Theoretical Conference of the SED Central Committee on "Karl Marx and Our Time: The Struggle for Peace and Social Progress"

1983: Letter to Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization

1984: Speech at the Banquet Given in Honour of Comrade Kim Il Sung

1984: Speech at the GDR-DPRK Friendship Mass Meeting

1984: Speech at the Banquet Given by Comrade Kim Il Sung