Margarete Müller (born 18 February 1931) is a German retired politician who was a member of the

State Council of East Germany The State Council of East Germany (German: ''Staatsrat der DDR'') was the collective head of state of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1960 to 1990. Origins When the German Democratic Republic was founded in October 1949, its ...

and, between 1963 and 1989, of the Central Committee 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). She was a candidate member of the SED politburo until the end of the

one-party system A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

Life

Müller was born in Neustadt,

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

, into a working-class family. She was forced to move to

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, and became a tractor driver. In 1951 Müller joined the SED. She studied agricultural science in

Demmin Demmin () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Demmin. Geography Demmin lies on the West Pomeranian plain at the confluence of the rivers ...

and at the University of Leningrad until 1958. She then worked at an LPG collective farm near Galenbeck. In January 1963 Müller joined the Central Committee (ZK) of the SED and a candidate (non-voting member) of the politburo. She was also elected to the . Then, in 1971, she was appointed to the State Council, East Germany's

collective head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

. She held responsibility for agriculture, forestry and food production. She led a (1972–1976) and an (1976). Müller resigned along with the entire politburo in 1989 during the Peaceful Revolution, and resigned from the State Council and in January 1990. She was expelled from the SED-PDS.

Awards

Müller received several significant awards and honours: * Patriotic Order of Merit in Silver (1964) * Banner of Labor (1969) *

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 ...

(1974) * Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold (1981) *

Clara Zetkin Medal The Clara Zetkin Medal was a national award in the German Democratic Republic. It was created by the country's Council of Ministers on 18 February 1954 in order to honour the life and work of Clara Zetkin, whom the Marxist establishment regarded ...

* * in Gold

References

1931 births Living people People from Prudnik People from the Province of Upper Silesia Candidate members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Members of the State Council of East Germany Members of the 4th Volkskammer Members of the 5th Volkskammer Members of the 6th Volkskammer Members of the 7th Volkskammer Members of the 8th Volkskammer Members of the 9th Volkskammer Female members of the Volkskammer Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the Banner of Labor Recipients of the Medal of Merit of the GDR {{germany-SED-politician-stub