BERLIN — East Germany’s last communist prime minister, Hans Modrow, who oversaw democratic reforms that paved the way for German reunification, has died at 95. Modrow became prime minister on November 13, 1989, four days after the opening of the Berlin Wall that had separated East and West Germany for 28 years, promising to make East Germany a democratic state.
Although Modrow lost the country’s first free elections in March 1990, the reforms he initiated were successful and the two Germanys were united in October. He was a member of the German Parliament in 1990–94 and the European Parliament in 1999–2004.
Born in 1928 in the town of Jazenice, now part of Poland, Modrow joined the Nazi Voxtam at the age of sixteen. He was captured by the Soviet army at the age of seventeen and became attracted to communist ideas. When East Germany (GDR) was formed in 1949, he came home to work as a mechanic and earned a doctorate in economics. He grew up in politics through the Socialist Unity Party as a member of the Free German Youth Movement.
was head of the Communist Party in Dresden from 1973 to 1989; He was also a member of the East German Parliament for three decades. Known as a reformist communist, he did not use the luxurious residence provided by the party and lived in an ordinary apartment during his days in power.
English Summary: East Germany’s last Communist premier Hans Modrow passes away