Günther Maleuda (20 January 1931 – 18 July 2012) was an

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

politician. From November 1989 to April 1990 he was the President of the

People's Chamber __NOTOC__ The Volkskammer (, ''People's Chamber'') was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic (colloquially known as East Germany). The Volkskammer was initially the lower house of a bicameral legislature. The upper house ...

(East German Parliament).

Early years

He was born in Alt Beelitz, (today Stare Bielice,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

). In 1950 he joined the

Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany The Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany (german: Demokratische Bauernpartei Deutschlands, DBD) was an East German political party. The DBD was founded in 1948. It had 52 representatives in the Volkskammer, as part of the National Front. The DBD ...

''(Demokratische Bauernpartei Deutschlands)''. From 1952 to 1955 he studied

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

Career

From 1958 to 1967 Maleuda was a member of the district council of

Königs Wusterhausen Königs Wusterhausen () is a town in the Dahme-Spreewald district of the state of Brandenburg in Germany a few kilometers outside Berlin. Geography Geographical location Königs Wusterhausen – or "KW" () as it is often called locally – lie ...

, from 1967 to 1976 a member of the district council of

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

and from 1976 to 1982 he was a member of the district council of

Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hall ...

. In 1981 he was elected as a member of the

. From 1977 to 1990 he was a member of the Presidium of the

(DBD). On 27 March 1987 Maleuda became chairman of the DBD and at the same time a deputy chairman of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

. On 13 November 1989 he was the successor of

Horst Sindermann Horst Sindermann (; 5 September 1915 – 20 April 1990) was a Communist German politician and one of the leaders of East Germany. He became Chairman of the Council of Ministers in 1973, but in 1976 he became President of the Volkskammer, ...

as President of the

(until March 1990). Maleuda supported the reforms and took part in the round table negotiations. Although his party merged with the CDU in October 1990, Maleuda refused to be a member of the Christian Democratic Union. In 1994 he was elected as a (non-party) member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

(German Parliament) on the

PDS PD, P.D., or Pd may refer to: Arts and media * ''People's Democracy'' (newspaper), weekly organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) * ''The Plain Dealer'', a Cleveland, Ohio, US newspaper * Post Diaspora, a time frame in the ''Honorverse'' ...

list. He remained a member until 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maleuda, Gunther 1931 births 2012 deaths People from Strzelce-Drezdenko County People from the Province of Brandenburg Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany politicians Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) politicians Members of the State Council of East Germany Presidents of the Volkskammer Members of the 8th Volkskammer Members of the 9th Volkskammer Members of the 10th Volkskammer Members of the Bundestag for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Members of the Bundestag 1994–1998 Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Members of the Bundestag for the Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)