East Germany’s last communist leader dies at 95

During 16 years as communist party chief in Dresden, starting in 1973, Hans Modrow built a reputation as an anti-establishment figure

Modrow, a ‘combative socialist’, had a past under hardline communist rule that landed him in court several years after reunification

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Modrow, a reform-minded communist, took over East Germany shortly after the Berlin Wall fell and later invited opposition forces into the government, but could not slow the gathering momentum for German reunification. Photo: AP

Published: 10:25pm, 11 Feb 2023

Hans Modrow, who served as East Germany’s last communist leader during a turbulent tenure that ended in the country’s first and only free election, has died. He was 95.

Modrow died early Saturday, the Left party parliamentary group tweeted.

Modrow, a reform-minded communist, took over East Germany soon after the Berlin Wall fell and later invited opposition forces into the government, but could not slow the gathering momentum for German reunification.

“The entire peaceful course of establishing German unity was precisely a special achievement of his,” the Left wrote on Twitter. “That will remain his political legacy.”

In this file photo taken on December 19, 1989, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl (left) and East German Prime Minister Hans Modrow speak together at a joint press conference in Dresden. Photo: AFP

During 16 years as communist party chief in Dresden, starting in 1973, Modrow built a reputation as an anti-establishment figure. He rejected party perks and insisted on living in a normal flat.

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