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East Germany Politburo
The Politburo is the party's highest decision-making body. It
addresses the fundamental political problems of the party, state,
economy, and culture, and it is responsible for formulating
domestic, foreign, military, and security policies. The Politburo
normally meets once a week, and although its meetings are
conducted in secret, other members of the Central Committee, the
Secretariat, and members of the Presidium of the Council of
Ministers are admitted to the proceedings. Meetings are chaired
by General Secretary Honecker, and decisions are arrived at by a
consensus vote, although certain individuals within the
Politburo, particularly long-standing members, play a major or
even dominant role in determining the positions and decisions of
the executive body. The Politburo is required to inform the
Central Committee about the various personnel and policy issues
and problems discussed during its weekly sessions. At the regular
plenums of the Central Committee, held at least once every six
months, one or more members of the Politburo report on issues
discussed in Politburo sessions. These reports are subsequently
discussed by the Central Committee membership and are then
published in an abbreviated form in the SED official daily,
Neues Deutschland.
The Politburo is composed of the highest officials of the
party, the state, the security organs, the largest mass
organizations and, unlike the Politburo of the CPSU, all ten
members of the Secretariat, which directs the party apparatus
through the Central Committee departments. Between 1976 and early
1984, the only additions to the ranks of the Politburo were
Günter Schabowski, then the chief editor of Neues
Deutschland, who became a candidate member at the Tenth Party
Congress in 1981; and Egon Krenz, who was appointed in 1983 and
made a Central Committee secretary at the same time. Krenz, as
the youngest member of the Politburo, replaced Paul Verner as the
unofficial number two man in the party leadership. After his
induction into the two top party organs, Krenz became
increasingly visible at Honecker's side, fueling speculation that
the SED chief had already designated him as the heir apparent. In
May 1984, four high-ranking officials, three of whom were already
candidates, were made full members of the Politburo: Werner
Jarowinsky, deputy minister of trade and supply; Günther Kleiber,
deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers and an expert on
agriculture and an occasional emissary to the Middle East;
Schabowski, editor-in-chief of Neues Deutschland; and
Herbert Haber, the SED's expert on relations with West Germany.
In contrast to Jarowinsky, who had served as a candidate for
twenty-one years, Haber became a full member directly, bypassing
candidate status. The promotion of Jarowinsky and Kleiber raised
the level of economic expertise in the Politburo. Also named to
the Secretariat was Konrad Naumann, a full member of the
Politburo and then head of the SED's East Berlin party
organization. It was announced that Verner, veteran member of
both the Politburo and the Secretariat, was relinquishing his
post because of illness. Three weeks later, Krenz and Günter
Mittag were made deputy chairmen of the Council of State, East
Germany's "collective presidency," chaired by Honecker.
These new appointments significantly strengthened Honecker's
position as undisputed leader of the party and appeared intended
to strengthen his commitment to détente with West Germany.
However, at the Eleventh SED Central Committee Plenum on November
22-23, 1985, it was announced that Naumann and Haber had been
dropped from the Politburo and the Secretariat "for reasons of
health." Although Haber departed largely because of health
problems, Naumann's removal was probably politically motivated.
Known for his opposition to Honecker in several key areas of
domestic and foreign policy, Naumann enjoyed backing from Moscow
and possessed a long record as a hardliner in his approach to
relations with West Germany and his opposition to the SED's
policies on culture and religion. Naumann's political demise
continued when three days later he was replaced by Schabowski as
East Berlin's party chief. Naumann's removal eliminated
Honecker's chief rival and further strengthened the East German
leader's position. In November 1986, the Politburo consisted of
twenty-two full and five candidate members. The Politburo also
included the head (Erich Mückenberger) of the Central Party
Control Commission, an appeals board for issues related to SED
membership rights. The mass organizations have been represented
in the
Politburo by the head of the labor unions and the head of the
youth organization, both having considerable experience as party
officials.
At the Eleventh Party Congress in April 1986, there were few
surprises among those elected to join the ranks of the Politburo.
The decisive changes had already been made at the party's
Eleventh Central Committee plenum in November 1985, when Naumann
and Haber were dropped from the Politburo and Secretariat.
Although there were no further dismissals at the congress, four
new full members were added: Heinz Kessler, minister of defense
and a Honecker confidant, and three regional secretaries, Werner
Eberlein, Siegfried Lorenz, and Hans-Joachim Böhme, all
experienced technocrats. These moves, as well as CPSU general
secretary Mikhail S. Gorbachev's strong political endorsement of
Honecker at the congress, helped the East German party chief
reinforce his strong position in the top party ranks. In 1987 the
first secretaries of two district party organizations (Berlin and
Cottbus) were members of the Politburo. As a result of the
personnel changes, six districts were represented in the
Politburo by their party heads; the three new district
representatives were Schabowski and Politburo candidates Gerhard
Müller (Erfurt), and Werner Walde (Cottbus). Rejuvenation of the
ranks of the Politburo was clearly in progress. However, the only
two women members, Ingeborg Lange and Margaret Müller, candidates
for thirteen and twenty-three years, respectively, were not
selected to full membership.
Data as of July 1987
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