Bundesarchiv Bild 183-91852-0010, Berlin, 22

Willy Rumpf (4 April 1903 – 8 February 1982) was a German communist politician and

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", " ...

in 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 ...

. Rumpf was born 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 ...

. During 1917–1920, he was educated as an insurance assessor, and worked until 1932 as an accountant, cashier and a foreign trade correspondent. In 1920 he joined the German Communist Youth Association, and in 1925 the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...

. From 1933 to 1938, he was arrested in penitentiary and detained at the

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

. After that he returned to work, and was a member of the resistance group Robert Uhrig. During 1944–1945, he was again in custody. From 1945 to 1947 he was deputy leader of the finance department of the magistrate of greater Berlin, from 1947 to 1948 leader of the trust administration of Berlin, from 1948 to 1949 leader of the central administration for finances of the

German Economic Commission The German Economic Commission (german: Deutsche Wirtschaftskommission; DWK) was the top administrative body in the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany prior to the creation of the German Democratic Republic (german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik). ...

. In 1946. Rumpf became a member of the

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). During 1949–1967, he was a delegate of the ''

Volkskammer __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 ...

'', from 1950 as a candidate and from 1963 as a member of the central committee of the SED. He was from 1955 to 1966 Finance Minister and member of the cabinet council, and from 1963 its president. Rumpf received the

Order of Merit for the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

in 1958, in 1963 the

Order of Karl Marx The Order of Karl Marx () was the most important order in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The award of the order also included a prize of 20,000 East German marks. The order was founded on May 5, 1953 on the occasion of Karl Marx's 135th ...

, and in 1978 the Star of Friendship of Nations.

References

1903 births 1982 deaths Politicians from Berlin Communist Party of Germany politicians Members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Finance ministers of East Germany Government ministers of East Germany Members of the Provisional Volkskammer Members of the 1st Volkskammer Members of the 2nd Volkskammer Members of the 3rd Volkskammer Members of the 4th Volkskammer Communists in the German Resistance Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp) Recipients of the Banner of Labor {{Germany-SED-politician-stub