Lothar de Maizière (; born 2 March 1940) is a German former politician of the Christian Democratic Union. In 1990, he served as the head of the first and only democratically elected government of

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, holding this office during the final months before

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

. Subsequently he briefly served as a minister in the new government of the unified Federal Republic of Germany until his past as a Stasi informant was revealed.

Family background

Maizière belongs to a Huguenot family which takes its name from Maizières-lès-Metz and fled France for asylum in

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

in the late 17th century; the Maizière family attended French-language schools and Huguenot churches in Berlin until the beginning of the 20th century. He is the son of lawyer Clement de Maizière. His uncle

Ulrich de Maizière Karl Ernst Ulrich de Maizière (; 24 February 1912 – 26 August 2006) was a German general. He served in the army of three German states: the '' Reichswehr'' of the Weimar Republic, the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany, and the German Army of W ...

was Inspector General of the West German ''

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

''. His cousin Thomas de Maizière was a close advisor to Former

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Angela Merkel and served as the Federal Minister of the Interior from 17 December 2013 to 14 March 2018 in Merkel's third cabinet.

Early life and education

Lothar de Maizière was born in

Nordhausen, Thuringia Nordhausen () is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Nordhausen (district), Nordhausen district and the urban centre of northern Thuringia and the southern Harz region; its population is 42,000. Nordhausen is located approxima ...

, and attended the ancient Berlinisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster, where he was one of the last pupils before the school closed in 1958. He next studied viola at the Hanns Eisler College of Music in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

from 1959 to 1965. He played in the Berlin Symphony Orchestra before studying law by distance learning through the

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

from 1969 to 1975.Derek Lewis & Ulrike Zitzlsperger, Historical Dictionary of Contemporary Germany, Rowman & Littlefield, 18 October 2016 p.412

Career

A longtime member of the East German Christian Democratic Union, Maizière helped oust the party's pro-Communist leadership after the fall of the Berlin Wall. He was elected the party's chairman in November 1989. In the first and only free election held in East Germany, which the Christian Democratic Union and its allies won, Maizière was elected to the '' Volkskammer.'' One month later, he succeeded Hans Modrow as Premier and held this position from 12 April until 2 October 1990, heading the de Maizière cabinet. Having run on a platform of speedy reunification with West Germany, Maizière signed the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, which ended the World War II Allies' rights and responsibilities in Berlin and Germany and preceded

. The treaty provided that it would be signed by the four Allies and the two Germanies but ratified following reunification. In accordance with that treaty, East Germany ceased to exist on 3 October, and its territory was annexed by the Federal Republic. After German reunification, he was appointed Minister for Special Affairs in the CDU government of chancellor

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...

, until his resignation on 17 December 1990 after it became known that he had worked for the East German Stasi as an informant codenamed "IM Czerni".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maiziere, Lothar de 1940 births Living people German untitled nobility People from Nordhausen, Thuringia Lothar Leaders of East Germany Christian Democratic Union (East Germany) politicians Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians Members of the 10th Volkskammer Foreign ministers of East Germany Prime ministers of East Germany Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Members of the Bundestag for Berlin Members of the Bundestag for Brandenburg Stasi informants