Lothar Ahrendt (born 13 March 1936) is one of the former interior ministers of the German Democratic Republic.

Biography

Ahrendt was born on 13 March 1936 in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

. He was trained as a car mechanic. Ahrendt was a member of

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...

(SED) which he joined in 1957. He served as deputy interior minister until 18 November 1989 when he was appointed minister of interior, replacing

Friedrich Dickel Friedrich Dickel (9 December 1913 – 23 October 1993) was a German politician, who served as the interior minister of East Germany for nearly twenty-six years. Early life Dickel was born on 9 December 1913 in Wuppertal-Vohwinkel in the Pru ...

in the post. Ahrendt was part of interim and "reform-minded" cabinet formed by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Hans Modrow Hans Modrow (; born 27 January 1928) is a German politician best known as the last communist premier of East Germany. Taking office in the middle of the Peaceful Revolution, he was the ''de facto'' leader of the country for much of the winter ...

. Unlike previous East German interior ministers, Ahrendt was not the chief of the German People's Police (

Deutsche Volkspolizei The ''Deutsche Volkspolizei'' (DVP, German for "German People's Police"), commonly known as the ''Volkspolizei'' or VoPo, was the national police force of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1945 to 1990. The Volkspolizei was a h ...

). as for the first time since the DDR's establishment these two offices were divided. However, in February 1990 he was appointed to the post as an acting chief. In mid-January 1990, the Ministry of Interior declared that by 25 January all weapons from former secret police agents, including 124,000 pistols, 76,000 submachine guns, about 3,500 grenade-launchers and 342 anti-aircraft guns would be retrieved. Ahrendt's term ended on 12 April 1990.

Peter-Michael Diestel Peter-Michael Diestel (born 14 February 1952 in Prora) is a German lawyer and former politician (independent, formerly DSU, CDU). He was the last Interior Minister of East Germany, under Prime Minister Lothar de Maizière (1990). As such, he re ...

succeeded him as interior minister. Ahrendt was also dismissed from the post as the acting chief of the German People's Police in August 1990.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahrendt, Lothar 20th-century German politicians 1936 births Candidate members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Government ministers of East Germany Living people Politicians from Erfurt Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze