Manfred Höppner (born 16 April 1934 in

Weinböhla Weinböhla is a municipality in the district of Meißen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 7 km east of Meißen, and 17 km northwest of Dresden. The municipality can be reached from Dresden by Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe Dresdner Ver ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) served as the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

's (

GDR 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 ...

) top sports doctor. He and

Manfred Ewald Manfred Ewald (17 May 1926 – 21 October 2002) served as German Democratic Republic's (GDR) Minister of Sport (1961–1988) and president of his country's Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund, Olympic committee (1973–1990). He was convicted for h ...

, the GDR's minister of sport (1961–1988) and president of the country's Olympic committee from 1973 to 1990, are considered the architects of the GDR's state-sponsored system of the illicit use of

performance-enhancing drugs Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

, believed to account for the GDR's Olympic successes between 1972–1988. Höppner allegedly had ties to the East German secret police, the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the Intelligence agency, state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maint ...

Doping scandal

On July 18, 2000, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Höppner and Ewald were convicted as accessories to the intentional bodily harm of athletes, including minors. Both received probation. During the trial, Höppner testified that they had received approval from the highest levels of government. However, unlike his colleague, Höppner expressed remorse in his role and told the court, "I beg those athletes who suffered ill health to accept my apologies."

References

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External links

Entry
at Britannica Online Encyclopedia (requires subscription) 1934 births Living people People from Meissen (district) Socialist Unity Party of Germany members East German physicians German sports physicians People of the Stasi Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany Sportspeople from Saxony {{Germany-sport-bio-stub