Uta Nickel (born 19 July 1941) is a German economist and one of the former

finance minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

s of

East Germany 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 ...

Early life and education

Nickel was born in Leipzig on 19 July 1941. She studied economics.

Career

Nickel joined the ruling party of East Germany, Socialist Unity, in 1960. She served as the councillor of finance of Leipzig in the period between 1963 and 1976. She was state secretary for finances and prizes from 1988 to 1989. She was appointed minister of finance and prizes on 18 November 1989, replacing

Ernst Höfner Ernst Höfner (1 October 1929 – 24 November 2009) was Finance Minister of the German Democratic Republic. Born in Berlin, Höfner graduated with a degree in business. In the 1960s, he was a secretary in the finance ministry. From 1970 to 1976 he ...

in the post. She was part of "reform-minded" cabinet formed by

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 ...

. She resigned from the office in January 1990 following the allegations that she was involved in illegal payments. Upon these accusations, she was investigated by the prosecutor general for financial breach of trust. Nickel denied any wrongdoing. Nickel's term officially ended on 12 April 1990 when Walter Siegert was appointed as acting finance minister. After retiring from politics Nickel worked as a consultant for two property development companies based in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nickel, Uta 20th-century German women politicians 1941 births Female finance ministers Finance ministers of East Germany German women economists Living people Women government ministers of East Germany Politicians from Leipzig Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians