View source for Willi Stoph

{{Short description|German politician (1914–1999)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[Army general (East Germany)|Army General]]
| name = Willi Stoph
| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R0430-0305, Willi Stoph.jpg
| caption = Willi Stoph in 1976

| office = Head, Department for Economic Policy of the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany#Central Committee|Central Committee]] (1948–1950)
| term_start = 1948
| term_end = 1950

| office1 = Secretary for Economic Policy of the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany#Central Committee Secretariat|Central Committee Secretariat]] (1950–1953)
| term_start1 = 25 July 1950
| term_end1 = 26 July 1953
| 1blankname1 = [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany#General Secretaries of the Central Committee of the SED|First Secretary]]
| 1namedata1 = [[Walter Ulbricht]]

| office2 = Member of the [[Volkskammer]] for Dresden-Nord, Dresden-Ost (1950–1989)
| term_start2 = 22 February 1950
| term_end2 = 16 November 1989
| predecessor2 = [[Wilhelm Pieck]]
| successor2 = [[Horst Buder]]
| constituency2 = Dresden-Nord, Dresden-Ost<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gvoon.de/art/dokumente/1986/volkskammer-ddr-9-wahlperiode-1986-1990/pdf/volkskammer-ddr-9-wahlperiode-1986-1990-seite_029.pdf |title=''Volkskammer der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik 1986–1990'', p. 29 |last=Schmidt |first=Arthur |website=gvoon.de |access-date=23 July 2023}}</ref>

| office3 = [[Ministry of the Interior (East Germany)|Minister of the Interior]] (1952–1955)
| term_start3 = 6 May 1952
| term_end3 = 1 July 1955
| 1blankname3 = Chairman
| 1namedata3 = [[Otto Grotewohl]]
| predecessor3 = [[Karl Steinhoff]]
| successor3 = [[Karl Maron]]

| office4 = [[Minister of National Defence (East Germany)|Minister of National Defence]] (1956–1960)
| term_start4 = 1 March 1956
| term_end4 = 14 July 1960
| 1blankname4 = Chairman
| 1namedata4 = Otto Grotewohl
| predecessor4 = Position established
| successor4 = [[Heinz Hoffmann]]

| office5 = [[Council of Ministers of East Germany#Chairmen of the Council of Ministers|First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers]] (1962–1964)
| term_start5 = 4 July 1962
| term_end5 = 24 September 1964
| 1blankname5 = Chairman
| 1namedata5 = Otto Grotewohl
| predecessor5 = [[Walter Ulbricht]] {{small|(1960)}}
| successor5 = [[Alfred Neumann (East German politician)|Alfred Neumann]] {{small|(1968)}}

| office6 = [[Council of Ministers of East Germany#Chairmen|Chairman of the Council of Ministers of East Germany]] (1964–1973)
| term_start6 = 21 September 1964
| term_end6 = 3 October 1973
| predecessor6 = Otto Grotewohl
| successor6 = [[Horst Sindermann]]
| 2blankname6 = {{nowrap|First Deputy}}
| 2namedata6 = {{ubl|Alfred Neumann|Horst Sindermann}}

| office7 = [[Head of state of East Germany|Chairman of the State Council of East Germany]] (1973–1976)
| term_start7 = 3 October 1973
| term_end7 = 29 October 1976
| predecessor7 = [[Friedrich Ebert Jr.]] {{small|(acting)}}
| successor7 = [[Erich Honecker]]

| office8 = Chairman of the Council of Ministers of East Germany (1976–1989)
| term_start8 = 29 October 1976
| term_end8 = 13 November 1989
| predecessor8 = Horst Sindermann
| successor8 = [[Hans Modrow]]
| 2blankname8 = {{nowrap|First Deputy}}
| 2namedata8 = {{ubl|[[Werner Krolikowski]]|[[Alfred Neumann (East German politician)|Alfred Neumann]]|[[Günther Kleiber]]}}

| birth_name = Wilhelm Stoph
| birth_date = {{birth date|1914|7|9|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Schöneberg]], [[Berlin]], [[Kingdom of Prussia]], [[German Empire]] {{small|(now Germany)}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1999|4|13|1914|7|9|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Berlin]], Germany
| party = [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]] {{small|(1946–1989)}}
| otherparty = [[Communist Party of Germany]] {{small|(1928–1946)}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Politician|Engineer|Bricklayer}}
| awards = [[Order of Karl Marx]]
| module2 = {{collapsible list
 | title = Central institution membership
 | bullets = on
 | 1953–1989: Full member, [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany#Politburo of the Central Committee|Politburo of the Central Committee]]<br />
 | 1950–1989: Full member, [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany#Central Committee|Central Committee]]
 }}
----
{{collapsible list
 | title = Other offices held
 | bullets = on
 | 1964–1973; 1976–1989: Deputy Chairman, [[State Council of East Germany|State Council]]<br />
 | 1963–1989: Member, State Council<br />
 | 1960–1989: Member, [[National Defence Council (East Germany)|National Defence Council]]<br />
 | 1954–1963: Deputy Chairman, Council of Ministers
 }}
}}

'''Wilhelm Stoph''' (9 July 1914 – 13 April 1999) was an East German politician and longtime member of the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]] (SED). A close associate of [[Walter Ulbricht]] and later [[Erich Honecker]], he held several of the highest offices in the [[German Democratic Republic]] (GDR). Stoph served as [[Council of Ministers of East Germany|Chairman of the Council of Ministers]] (prime minister) from 1964 to 1973 and again from 1976 to 1989, and as [[State Council of East Germany|Chairman of the State Council]] from 1973 to 1976. During his tenure, he played a key role in enforcing SED policies, including political repression, restrictions on civil liberties, and the militarization of the East German state.

==Biography==
Stoph was born in [[Berlin]] in 1914;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-willi-stoph-1088591.html|title=Obituary: Willi Stoph|date=21 April 1999|website=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> his father died the following year in [[World War I]]. In 1928, Stoph joined the [[Young Communist League of Germany]] (Kommunistischer Jugendverband Deutschlands; KJVD) and in 1931 he joined the [[Communist Party of Germany]]. He was conscripted into the [[Wehrmacht]] from 1935 to 1937, and served during [[World War II]] from 1940 to 1945.

He was assigned to the [[293rd Infantry Division|293rd Infantry Division's]] artillery regiment,<ref>{{Cite book |author=Rogers |first=Steven |title=Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History |publisher=[[ABC Clio]] |year=2014 |isbn=9781598849806 |editor-last=Zabecki, David T. |volume=3 |pages=1244–1245 |chapter=Stoph, Willi (1914–1999)}}</ref> and was awarded the [[Iron Cross]] 2nd Class and rose to the rank of [[Unteroffizier]]. As the war ended, according to historian Harris Lentz, "Stoph worked with the Communist-dominated Socialist Unity party and served on the party's executive committee from 1947."<ref>{{cite book|author=Harris M. Lentz|title=Heads of States and Governments Since 1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6HKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA305|date= 2014|publisher=Routledge|page=305|isbn=9781134264902}}</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-44786-0002, Empfang von NVA-Offizieren durch Wilhelm Pieck.jpg|thumb|Stoph (right) in [[National People's Army|NVA]] [[colonel-general]] uniform, 1957]]
[[Image:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F031406-0017, Erfurt, Treffen Willy Brandt mit Willi Stoph.jpg|thumb|Meeting West German Chancellor [[Willy Brandt]] (on his right), 1970]]

Following the establishment of the GDR in 1949, Stoph became a member of the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Socialist Unity Party]]'s [[Socialist_Unity_Party_of_Germany#Central_Committee|Central Committee]] and member of the [[Volkskammer]] in 1950. He was named to the [[Politburo|Politbüro]] in 1953. He served as Interior Minister from 9 May 1952 to 1 July 1955, and as East Germany's first Defense Minister from 18 January 1956 to 14 July 1960.<ref name=rulers>{{cite web|title=East German ministries|url=http://rulers.org/egergovt.html|publisher=Rulers|access-date=28 April 2013}}</ref><ref name=saxon1999/> As defense minister, he was awarded the rank of [[Armeegeneral]].

After having served as first deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers (first Deputy Prime Minister) from 1960 to 1964, he was named Chairman of the Council of Ministers ([[Ministerrat]]), or Prime Minister, in 1964 after the death of [[Otto Grotewohl]]. However, he had been serving as acting chairman of the council since October 1960 due to Grotewohl's poor health. He was initially thought to be the heir apparent to longtime party leader [[Walter Ulbricht]], but his ascendancy was checked by [[Erich Honecker]].<ref name=saxon1999/><ref>{{ill|Dierk Hoffman|lt=Hoffman, Dierk|de}}. {{cite book|title=Otto Grotewohl 1894-1964 : Eine politische Biographie|language=de|date=2009|publisher=Publications of the Soviet Occupation Zone/GDR-[[Institute of Contemporary History (Munich)]]|pages=466–468}}</ref> After Ulbricht's death in 1973, Stoph became Chairman of the Council of State—a post equivalent in rank to president of the GDR. After Volkskammer elections in 1976, Honecker re-arranged the state and party leadership structure. Believing that Stoph's successor as prime minister, [[Horst Sindermann]], was too liberal on economic matters, Honecker replaced him with Stoph.

[[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-N1227-404, Neujahrsansprache Stoph.jpg|thumb|Stoph delivering New Year's Eve address to the East German people, 1974]]

During his first stint as Prime Minister, Stoph began a series of negotiations with [[West Germany|West German]] Chancellor [[Willy Brandt]] in 1970. It marked the first ever meeting between the leaders of East and West Germany.

Stoph was known as a man who could be trusted to carry out the directives of the SED's Politburo; indeed, Honecker tapped him for his second stint in the premiership for this reason.<ref name=saxon1999/> Although he nominally held the highest state post in the GDR, in practice he was outranked by Honecker, who derived most of his power from his post as general secretary of the SED.

For the most part, Stoph was a loyal supporter of Honecker.  However, Stoph joined the plot to remove Honecker in October 1989.  At the Politburo meeting at which Honecker was voted out, Stoph made the motion to "release" Honecker and replace him with [[Egon Krenz]].<ref name="Revolution1989">{{cite book |author-last=Sebestyen |author-first=Victor |author-link=Victor Sebestyen|title=Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire|publisher=[[Pantheon Books]]|location=New York City|year=2009|isbn=978-0-375-42532-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/revolution1989fa00sebe}}</ref>  A month later, on 13 November, Stoph and his entire 44-member cabinet resigned in response to public pressure. Stoph was subsequently arrested for corruption in December 1989. Despite his role in pushing Honecker out, the SED expelled Stoph on December 3, the same day it expelled Honecker. He was later spared detention on grounds of ill health. In 1994, a court in [[Berlin]] decided that his seized savings of 200,000 [[Deutsche Mark]] would not be returned to him.

Stoph died in Berlin at the age of 84 on 13 April 1999.<ref name=saxon1999>{{cite news|last=Saxon|first=Wolfang|title=Willi Stoph, 84, Premier, Twice, in East Germany|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/22/world/willi-stoph-84-premier-twice-in-east-germany.html|access-date=28 April 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=22 April 1999}}</ref> He was buried in [[Wildau]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before= [[Karl Steinhoff]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Council of Ministers of East Germany|Minister of the Interior of the German Democratic Republic]]|years=1952–1955}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Karl Maron]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before= none (position established)}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of National Defence (East Germany)|Minister of National Defense of the German Democratic Republic]]|years=1956–1960}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Heinz Hoffmann]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Otto Grotewohl]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of the [[Council of Ministers of East Germany|Council of Ministers]]|years=1964–1973}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Horst Sindermann]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Walter Ulbricht]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of the [[State Council of the German Democratic Republic]]|years=1973–1976}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Erich Honecker]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Horst Sindermann]]}}
{{s-ttl|title= Chairman of the [[Council of Ministers of East Germany|Council of Ministers]]|years=1976–1989}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Hans Modrow]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{portalbar|East Germany}}
{{Heads of state of the German Democratic Republic}}
{{Heads of government of the German Democratic Republic}}
{{Interior Ministers of Germany|state=collapsed}}
{{Defence Ministers of Germany}}
{{Heads of State of Germany}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoph, Willi}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:Politicians from Berlin]]
[[Category:Communist Party of Germany politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany]]
[[Category:Heads of state of East Germany]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of East Germany]]
[[Category:Deputy prime ministers of East Germany]]
[[Category:Ministers of national defence (East Germany)]]
[[Category:Government ministers of East Germany]]
[[Category:Members of the State Council of East Germany]]
[[Category:Members of the Provisional Volkskammer]]
[[Category:Members of the 1st Volkskammer]]
[[Category:Members of the 2nd Volkskammer]]
[[Category:Members of the 3rd Volkskammer]]
[[Category:Members of the 4th Volkskammer]]
[[Category:Members of the 5th Volkskammer]]
[[Category:Members of the 6th Volkskammer]]
[[Category:Members of the 7th Volkskammer]]
[[Category:Members of the 8th Volkskammer]]
[[Category:Members of the 9th Volkskammer]]
[[Category:German atheists]]
[[Category:Red Orchestra (espionage)]]
[[Category:Army generals of the National People's Army]]
[[Category:German Army soldiers of World War II]]
[[Category:German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Scharnhorst Order]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp)]]
[[Category:Heads of state and government who were later imprisoned]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd class]]
[[Category:People from East Berlin]]