Social Democratic Party in the GDR [SEP] chairperson
[{"answer": "Markus Meckel", "provenance": [{"wikipedia_id": "12273600", "title": "Social Democratic Party in the GDR", "start_paragraph_id": 5, "start_character": 0, "end_paragraph_id": 5, "end_character": 142, "bleu_score": 1.0, "meta": {}, "section": "Section::::History.:Foundation.\n"}]}]
Social Democratic Party in the GDR


The Social Democratic Party in the GDR () was a reconstituted Social Democratic Party existing during the last phase of the East German state. Slightly less than a year after its creation it merged with the West German Social Democratic Party of Germany. What became East Germany was traditionally the heartland for the SPD in united Germany. In 1946, the Soviet occupation authorities forced the eastern branch of the SPD to merge with the eastern branch of the Communist Party of Germany to form the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). Within
3355602
Social Democratic Party in the GDR


and the southern parts of the country, assembled at the vicarage of Schwante, a town near Berlin, and founded the Social Democratic Party in the GDR. The party chose the abbreviation SDP to avoid associations with the SPD that had merged into the SED, and also to brand itself as independent of the West German SPD. Stephan Hilsberg, a programmer, was elected as the first party spokesman, while Ibrahim Böhme became manager. Between October and December, local groups of the SDP were formed in different towns. From 7
3355605
Wolfgang Thierse


Thierse joined the opposition group New Forum and in January 1990 the Social Democratic Party in the GDR, whose leader he became in June. In August 1990, under Thierse’s leadership, the East German Social Democratic Party quit the governing coalition, apparently denying the coalition, which was led by Christian Democrats, a ruling majority. With regard to German reunification Thierse was in favour of a gradual process, but he realized soon that the majority of the population of the GDR wanted to join the West German state as quickly as possible
1328169
Gertrud Månsson


in Vasastaden. Gertrud Månsson educated herself through autodidacticism and engaged herself in politics and the Swedish Social Democratic Party. On 11 June 1892, she became one of the co-founders of the "Stockholms allmänna kvinnoklubb", which was the first women's branch of the Swedish Social Democratic Party. She became a member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party the same year, and served as the chairperson of the Stockholms allmänna kvinnoklubb three times: 1892–1895, 1897–1898, and 1906–1908. Between 1897 and 1900, she served as chairperson of
16445047
Social Democratic Party in the GDR


a short time, however, the few independent-minded members from the SPD side of the merger had been pushed out, and the SED became a full-fledged Communist party–essentially the KPD under a new name. Early in 1989, the Protestant theologians Markus Meckel and Martin Gutzeit took the initiative to revive a Social Democratic Party in the GDR. The two made organisational preparations and in April 1989 produced the first draft of the foundation appeal. In August, the appeal was presented at the "Golgathagemeinde" parish in
3355603
Social Democratic Party in the GDR


Berlin. The appeal was signed by Meckel, Gutzeit, director and human rights advocate Ibrahim Böhme and theologian Arndt Noack. Calling for the foundation of a political party outside of the system of the National Front was a direct challenge to the political system of the GDR and especially to the SED, whose basis was undermined by the mere existence of a Social Democratic Party. The SED based its claim to power on being the sole representative of the working class. On 7 October 1989, forty or fifty people, mostly from Berlin
3355604
Regine Hildebrandt


demonstrated by iconic (western) SPD figures from the recent past such as Kurt Schumacher and Willy Brandt. A year later, following reunification, in October 1990 the party would merge formally with the West German Social Democratic Party (SDP). 1990 was the year in which, for rather less than a year, she became an important Social Democratic participant in the national politics of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). National elections in the GDR had traditionally operated according to a single list system which offered the voters only one
21751944
Social Democratic Party in the GDR


. When the new parliament constituted itself, Social Democrat Reinhard Höppner was elected vice-president of the People's Chamber. After internal debates the party members agreed to coalition talks with the winner of the election, the centre-right "Alliance for Germany", consisting of the CDU, the DSU and Democratic Awakening, as well as with the "Alliance of Free Democrats", an alliance of liberal parties. On 12 April, Lothar de Maizière of the CDU formed a grand coalition cabinet including six Social Democrats, among
3355609
Karel Rüütli


). He has been from 2005 to 2008 the Vice-Chairperson of the Party Council. From November 2008 to 28 May 2010 he was the Chairperson of the Party being the youngest chairs of parties represented in the national parliament. He left the ERL with Jaanus Marrandi, Jaan Õunapuu and Rein Randverd on 14 June 2010 and they subsequently joined the Social Democratic Party of Estonia after the failed merger attempt with Social Democrats. Karel is a member of Estonian Society of Foresters ("Eesti Metsaüliõpilaste Selts"), the Alumni Club
7546507
Social Democratic Alliance


The party then regained support in the 2017 election under the leadership of chairperson Logi Már Einarsson where it again became the third largest party and largest opposition party. The Social Democratic Alliance is the largest party in the Reykjavík City Council, where it is led by Mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson. The Social Democratic Alliance was born in the run-up to the parliamentary elections of 1999 as an alliance of the four left-wing parties that had existed in Iceland up till then: the Social Democratic Party, the People's Alliance,
18249783
The Left (Germany)


The Left (), also commonly referred to as the Left Party (, ), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. It is considered to be left-wing populist by some researchers. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and the Electoral Alternative for Labour and Social Justice (WASG). Through the PDS, the party is the direct descendant of the ruling party of the former East Germany (GDR), the Marxist-Leninist
628676
Social Democratic Party (Moldova)


Co-Chairpersons. Initially, the Social-Democratic Party of Moldova fought for the independence of the Moldovan SSR. That was the first party to promote the values of European social democracy in Moldova. At the third congress of the party, 25–26 February 1995, Anatol Țăranu was elected as a new head of the party. On the eve of 1996 presidential elections, Social Democrats were the only ones to openly support Petru Lucinschi. During 1996-1998, the party underwent some internal problems generated from within by controversial opinions on
10772572
Heinz Kessler


GDR law and meant to preserve the existence of the GDR. However, his appeal was denied largely on the basis that the GDR's policies violated international human rights. Kessler served his sentence in Berlin-Hakenfelde prison from November 1996 to October 1998, and was released early. Kessler was expelled from the Party of Democratic Socialism (SED) in 1990. In 2009, he joined the German Communist Party (DKP). He was an unsuccessful DKP candidate in the 2011 Berlin state election. Kessler died on 2 May 2017
6961799
Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)


and the third strongest in four others, all but Saarland in the former GDR, (Saarland, Berlin, Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). It was the only party to win over protest voters broadly across Germany's political spectrum: nearly one million Social Democratic voters defected to the Left while the Christian Democrats and Greens together lost half a million votes to the resurgent party. Exit polls showed the Left had a unique appeal to non-voters: 390,000 Germans who refused to support any party in 2002 returned to the ballot
3722676
Social Democratic Party in the GDR


also elected an executive board, with Böhme serving as party chairman and Meckel as one of his deputies. The election yielded disappointing results for the Social Democrats. Instead of gaining an absolute majority, as they had expected, they won 21.9% of the vote, resulting in 88 seats and second place. The party fared best in the districts of Berlin (34.9%), Potsdam (34.4%) and Frankfurt (Oder) (31.9%), and by far worst in the district of Dresden (9.7%)
3355608
Social Democratic Party of Austria


. In state assembly elections of 1999, the SPÖ received 12.9%, but was able to raise its share of votes in the elections of 2004 by 3.9% and ended up with 16.8%. The chart below shows a timeline of the social democratic chairpersons and the Chancellors of Austria. The left bar shows all the chairpersons ("Bundesparteivorsitzende", abbreviated as "CP") of the SPÖ, and the right bar shows the corresponding make-up of the Austrian government at that time. The red (SPÖ)
9350225
Katja Kipping


Katja Kipping (born 18 January 1978) is a German politician who is chairperson of The Left and a member of the Bundestag (German Parliament). Kipping was born on 18 January 1978 in Dresden, then part of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). After completing her Abitur in 1996 at Annen-Gymnasium, Kipping spent a voluntary social year in Gatchina, Russia. Following this, she completed a degree in Slavic studies with a minor in American studies and public law at the Dresden University of Technology, from
18826507
Walter Scheel


for the successful Social Democratic candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, Gustav Heinemann, in 1969.” In 1969, he led his party to form a new coalition with the Social Democrats. Under Chancellor Willy Brandt, Scheel became Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor. Under their leadership, West Germany pursued a course of rapprochement and détente with the Soviet block and officially recognized the existence of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). This policy caused a massive public debate, with various Free and Social Democrats switching sides to the opposition
7190572
History of the Social Democratic Party of Germany


to 1967; he'd reportedly been blackmailed into supporting the merger by using his father's role in the schism of 1918 against him. During the fall of Communist rule in 1989, the SPD (first called SDP) was re-established as a separate party in East Germany (Social Democratic Party in the GDR), independent of the rump SED, and then merged with its West German counterpart upon reunification. Despite remaining out of office for much of the postwar period, the SPD were able to gain control of a
18716904
Seeheimer Kreis


Social Democrats about the direction of the party, the Seeheim Circle opposed the alliance between the Social Democrats and Alliance '90/The Greens. The Seeheimers also distinguished themselves during this period from other currents within the SPD by supporting reunification with East Germany as a political goal. After reunification with East Germany in 1990, the Seeheimers added two prominent Social Democrats from the former GDR to their ranks, Stephan Hilsberg and Markus Meckel. During the 1998–2005 chancellorship of Gerhard Schröder, the Seeheimers supported his changes to social services. The Circle
15135236
East Germany


in the Soviet controlled zone. However, the SED quickly transformed into a full-fledged Communist party as the more independent-minded Social Democrats were pushed out. The Potsdam Agreement committed the Soviets to supporting a democratic form of government in Germany, though the Soviets' understanding of "democracy" was radically different from that of the West. As in other Soviet-bloc countries, non-communist political parties were allowed. Nevertheless, every political party in the GDR was forced to join the National Front of Democratic Germany,
12769459
Social Democratic Youth of Denmark


and also the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson and the Secretary General. They are elected at the convention too. The Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson and the Secretary General are receiving an economic compensation/fee for their jobs. Above the national executive committee, DSU has a kind of "second chamber", the major council "Hovedbestyrelsen", which consists of the national executive committee (13 members) and 29 local representatives, elected in the 10 regions. The Social Democrats and Frit Forum, the Social Democrats'
7301962
Socialist Equality Party (United States)


, headed by Tim Wohlforth, which emerged out of a split with the Socialist Workers Party, in opposition to the latter's support for Castroism. According to the party's website, the SEP "seeks not to reform capitalism, but to create a socialist, democratic and egalitarian society through the establishment of a workers' government and the revolutionary transformation of the world economy. We seek to unify workers in the United States and internationally in the common struggle for socialism—that is, for equality and the rational and democratic utilization
5683644
Social Democratic Party (Moldova)


Party Chairperson, Oazu Nantoi, attended in November 1999 the 21st Paris Congress of the Socialist International. At the seventh congress of the party, 1 February 2004, Oazu Nantoi came with a proposition for Ion Mușuc (famous businessman in telecommunications) to take over the party leadership and refused he himself to be designated. In 1999 Social Democrats insisted on Ion Muşuc candidacy for the position of Mayor of Chișinău. At the legislative elections on March 6th, 2005, the party won 2.9% of the popular vote, but no seats
10772574
Manfred Gerlach


1993, Gerlach resigned his FDP party membership. In politics, his views thereafter became close to those of the Party of Democratic Socialism (the former SED). Gerlach was a signatory of the "Berliner Alternatives Geschichtsforum", which promoted more positive views on GDR history. Critics of the former communist regime have described these publications co-authored by former GDR high functionaries (e.g. Gerlach, Gerald Götting, Hans Modrow etc.) as whitewashing the SED dictatorship and working on the image of current Germany by using antifascist rhetoric.
224652
Association of Free Democrats


The Association of Free Democrats () was a liberal coalition formed in East Germany on 12 February 1990. It originally consisted of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Free Democratic Party (GDR) and the German Forum Party. In the Volkskammer election of the 18 March 1990 the Association of Free Democrats polled 5.28% of the votes and gained 21 seats. It then participated in the last GDR government led by Lothar de Maizière. On 27 March 1990 the Association of Free Democrats absorbed the National Democratic Party of Germany. Finally,
4019816
Socialist Unity Party of Germany


Marxist–Leninist party. To distance itself from its repressive past, the party added "Party of Democratic Socialism" (PDS) to its name. On 4 February 1990, what remained of the party was renamed solely as the PDS. On 18 March 1990, the PDS was roundly defeated in the first—and as it turned out, only—free election in the GDR; the Alliance for Germany coalition, led by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), won on a platform of speedy reunification with the west
15263725
Sergiu Cunescu


Party led by Tudor Mohora, Alexandru Athanasiu was elected as an executive chairperson, and Sergiu Cunescu became the honorary chairperson of the party. In 2000, he resigned from the position and left the party. His resignation came shortly after merging by absorption of PSDR by PDSR, the former FSN, which became the Social Democratic Party. Sergiu Cunescu succeeded to join the PSDR to the Socialist International. Initially an observer party and afterwards with the a consultative role, the party eventually became a full-fledged member. Sergiu Cunescu was
5250127
Communist Party of Austria


although not in the state "Landtag". In the remaining 21 districts mandates were narrowly missed. Notes: Notes: The chart below shows a timeline of the communist chairpersons and the Chancellors of Austria. The left bar shows all the chairpersons ("Bundesparteivorsitzende", abbreviated as "CP") of the KPÖ, and the right bar shows the corresponding make-up of the Austrian government at that time. The red (Social Democratic Party) and black (Austrian People's Party) colours correspond to which party led
3979669
Karl-Heinz Schröter


. Subsequently he served until 1975, his Military service. Schroeter studied at the University of Rostock, and graduated in 1980 as a graduate engineer with a degree in Agricultural Engineering. Then he was up to 1990 working in the maintenance of agricultural engineering, most recently as Technical Director in the Volkseigenes Gut Animal Production Berlin. Schröter 1989 was a member of the Social Democratic Party in the GDR, now Social Democratic Party (SPD), and a year later became chairman of the SPD District Association Oranienburg. In May 1990,
18584390
Christianity in East Germany


their activities in 1945, including the Communist Party of Germany led by Walter Ulbricht, the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Christian CDUD and the liberal LDPD. The first two parties merged into the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) in 1946, which won the first regional elections and gradually managed to erode the significance of the other parties. The SED party congress formed a Popular Council in 1948, which declared itself a provisional parliament on 7 October 1949, adopted a constitution and proclaimed the German Democratic Republic (GDR
1351756
Markus Meckel


in Naumburg and Berlin. Meckel had already been involved with domestic opposition to the East German Communist regime since the 1970s. In October 1989, he initiated the establishment of the Social Democratic Party in the GDR (SDP) together with Martin Gutzeit. From 23 February 1990 up to the merger with the West German SPD on 27 September 1990, he was deputy SDP party chairman. After the resignation of Ibrahim Böhme, he was acting chairman from 26 March to 10 June 1990. In the GDR's first free elections in March
2174307
Merger of the KPD and SPD into the Socialist Unity Party of Germany


of the German Democratic Republic in 1949; by then, it had become a full-fledged Communist Party–for all intents and purposes, the KPD under a new name. It developed along lines similar to other Communist Parties in what became the Soviet Bloc. The SED would be the de facto sole party of the GDR until 1989. Among circles of the workers' parties KPD and SPD there were different interpretations of the reasons for the rise of the Nazis and their electoral success. A portion of the Social Democrats blamed
18364341
Scottish Democratic Alliance


Norway to promote tourism. The Scottish Enterprise Party was a centre-right political party in Scotland which supported Scottish independence and withdrawal from the European Union. It was formed in July 2004 to provide an alternative to the largely social democratic Scottish National Party for centre-right voters who support independence. The party opposed Scottish membership of the European Union and any prospective membership of the euro; it supported the principle of a constitutional monarchy and elections conducted through the Single Transferable Vote. The SEP backed the constitutional view that parliamentary sovereignty does
19320804
Economy of Dresden


. During GDR times, the same offices produced the newspapers "Die Union" (the regional press organ of the Christian Democratic Union), the "Sächsisches Tageblatt" (the regional press organ of the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany and the "Sächsische Neueste Nachrichten" (the press organ of the National Democratic Party of Germany). All these newspapers were controlled by Socialist censorship between 1949 and 1990. "Die Union" was the first newspaper in the GDR that reported about the Monday demonstrations in GDR realistically and freely.
3529374
Soviet occupation zone


were all required to work together under an alliance known as the "Democratic Bloc" (later the National Front). In April 1946, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) merged to form the Socialist Unity Party which later became the governing party of the GDR. The SMAD set up ten "special camps" for the detention of Germans, making use of some former Nazi concentration camps. In 1945, the Soviet occupation zone consisted primarily of the central portions of
12681352
Socialist Unity Party of Germany


The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the governing Marxist–Leninist political party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany) from the country's foundation in October 1949 until its dissolution after the Peaceful Revolution in 1989. The party was established in April 1946. The GDR was a one-party state but other institutional popular front parties were permitted to exist in alliance with the SED, these parties being the Christian Democratic Union, the Liberal Democratic
15263671
Katarina Barley


. From 2008 to 2013 she was an adviser on bioethics to the Rhineland-Palatinate State Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection. She left this position when she was elected to Parliament in 2013. Barley joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 1994. In her parliamentary work, Barley represents the constituency of Trier for the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Barley served as a member of the parliament’s Council of Elders, which – among other duties – determines daily legislative agenda items and assigning committee chairpersons based on party representation.
10158202
Mette Frederiksen


the 2005 general election loss, Frederiksen became her party's spokesperson for social affairs. Following the election, she also served as the vice-chairperson of the parliamentary group of the Social Democrats. In the 2007 general election which saw the Social Democrats losing two more seats, Frederiksen obtained 27,077 votes, placing her in seventh place in the ranking of the ten Danish politicians with the most votes. In May 2010, it was revealed that Frederiksen's daughter, along with the children of several other prominent Social Democrat politicians, was
6224251
Social Democratic Party in the GDR


December 1989, two representatives of the party participated in the "Round Table" talks between Prime Minister Hans Modrow, who had become the de facto leader of East Germany after the SED surrendered its monopoly of power a week earlier, and various opposition groups. The talks resulted in representatives of the opposition groups joining Modrow's cabinet as ministers without portfolio until free elections to the People's Chamber could be held. On 29 January, Walter Romberg became the first Social Democrat appointed to the cabinet. On 13 January 1990, the
3355606
History of the Democratic Alliance (South Africa)


also quoted the first Progressive Party leader, Jan Steytler, that in 1959 had stated that South Africa wanted to "face the future, not with fear, but with confidence that we can live together in harmony in a multi-racial country." Leaders of the Democratic Alliance, and its predecessor parties: Parliamentary leaders of the Democratic Alliance and its predecessor parties, in the absence of a sitting party leader in Parliament: Federal chairpersons (sometimes referred to as 'national chairpersons') and chairpersons of the party's federal
17047123
Socialist patriotism


party statutes. The SED expanded on this by emphasizing a "socialist national consciousness" involving a "love for the GDR and pride in the achievements of socialism. However the GDR claimed that socialist patriotism was compatible with proletarian internationalism and stated that it should not be confused with nationalism that it associated with chauvinism and xenophobia. The Derg and the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia under Mengistu Haile Mariam advocated socialist patriotism. The Derg declared that "socialist patriotism" meant "true love for one's motherland...[and]...free[dom]
2641826
Conciliator faction


war rejoined the KPD and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and some joined the SPD. After the war, the German word for conciliator, "versöhnler", was used in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to refer to anti-Marxist tendencies. The term had been previously used by Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin to vilify certain party members. The third party convention of the SED continued the attack on Social Democratism, with propaganda including the fight against all liberalism and conciliatory tendencies as essential
1782111
Trade unions in Germany


independent social-democratic union members were dimissed and had to flee to West Germany. After the failed uprising in the GDR on June 17, 1953, the remaining independent unionists were considered to be "reenlistee" (German: "Kapitulanten") or western agents and were dimissed from their office. This included the leader of the "IG Bau Holz", Franz Jahn, and almost all members of its board. The FDGB thus finally became a mass organization in the GDR controlled by the governing party. Even in 1989
11178415
Liberals (Sweden)


, for which it has been opposed by the governing Social Democrats. In its policy on integration, the party supports more open immigration combined with measures to help new arrivals to integrate into Swedish society. The party has a youth organization called Liberal Youth of Sweden (Liberala ungdomsförbundet, LUF), which has its own platform and maintains a separate organisation from the party. Since 2016 its chairperson is Joar Forssell. There is also a women's organization called Liberal Women (Liberala Kvinnor, LK, chairperson Cecilia Elving) and immigrants
3320948
Anna Sjödin


Sjödin was first elected chairperson for the Social Democratic Youth League in Västerbotten, and in 2001 was elected in to the board of the Social Democratic Youth League. In August 2005 Sjödin was unanimously elected as the new chairperson of the Social Democratic Youth League after Ardalan Shekarabi who chose not to stand for re-election after several scandals and divisive battles. In December 2006 she had to resign from the chairperson position after found guilty of behaving bad when drunk. See below. Later she has taken a position as a headmaster of a
5383420
Björn Böhning


Björn Böhning (born 2 June 1978, Geldern, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German politician, representative of the Social Democratic Party. From 2004 to 2007 he was the chairperson of the Young Socialists in the SPD ("Jusos"), the youth organization of the German Social Democratic Party. Böhning grew up in Lübeck. He studied political science at the Otto Suhr Institute (OSI) of the Free University of Berlin from 1999 until 2004. From 15 February 2008 Böhning served as spokesperson of the "Forum Demokratische
15185148
19th Parliament of Turkey


The 19th Grand National Assembly of Turkey existed from November 6, 1991, to December 24, 1995, with most members having been elected in the 1991 election. The True Path Party of Süleyman Demirel gained a majority of seats in the Assembly, being followed by the Motherland Party, the Social Democratic Populist Party, the Welfare Party, and the Democratic Left Party in decreasing order. On 2 March 1994, Parliament lifted the immunity of Hatip Dicle, an MP from (and chairperson of) the Democracy Party who was among
6270798
Charlotte Bischoff


. When the volume later appeared she was frequently identified in it but only as the "representative of the Central Committee". Her own contribution to the volume and the collected supporting documents remained unacknowledged during the GDR years. The writer Eva-Maria Siegel thinks this was probably because she included various corrections to the official historical ideology, notably in respect of the contribution of . As the end approached for the German Democratic Republic, the ruling SED (party) prepared for change, renaming itself as the Party of Democratic Socialism (
20599266
International Youth and Students for Social Equality


The International Youth Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) is the student organization of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) and the International Committee of the Fourth International, an international Trotskyist organization. Launched in 2006, the IYSSE aims to build an international socialist movement of students and workers opposing militarist violence, social inequality and attacks on democratic rights. The IYSSE continues the work of its predecessor the Students for Social Equality and the International Students for Social Equality, with student clubs at Universities and High Schools worldwide. Chapters of the IYSSE
5411395
2014 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election


The Democratic Party leadership election was held on 14 December 2012 for the 30-member 11th Central Committee of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong, including chairperson and two vice-chairperson posts. Incumbent Chairperson Emily Lau secured her post against three other candidates after two rounds of election. The Central Committee was elected by the party congress. All public office holders, including the members of the Legislative Council and District Councils, are eligible to vote in the party congress. The electoral method changed in this election, the eligibility of members electing a
13886530
Wolfgang Harich


neutralized and united, democratic socialist Germany. His beliefs and principles were driven by self-transformation, and he was mostly interested in Marxist philosophy. Harich was looking for a "third way" between Stalinism and capitalism, he wanted a "humanistic socialism" in a reunified Germany. He established and engaged his friends, opponents, and social democrats in controversy in West Germany to argue that the GDR should make reforms to further the reunion of Germany. His sweeping reform proposals represented the only Party attempt at the internal restructuring of
5047191
Social Democratic Party in the GDR


party's first "Conference of Delegates" assembled in Berlin and decided to change the short form of the party name to SPD, to conform with (and profit from association with) the West German SPD. At the same time, party organisation was created at the level of districts and regions. Elections were scheduled for 18 March. Three weeks before that date, the SPD held its first party congress from 22 to 25 February 1990 in Leipzig. The congress decided on a basic manifesto and a statute of the party and
3355607
United Left (East Germany)


The United Left () was an alliance of several leftist opposition groupings in the German Democratic Republic. Among them were Christian Socialists, Trotskyists, adherents of the Titoistic system of self-management and some Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) members, who were critical of their party's policy. Founded on October 2, 1989, only a few weeks before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the United Left demanded a reformation of socialism with the stated goal of creating a free and democratic GDR. At the end of
15843039
Lied von der blauen Fahne


entity that had defeated National Socialism. This official state myth thus enabled the growth of a strong patriotism in the east whereas the FRG had and still has a difficult relationship to its own national identity. As the GDR still wanted to reunify Germany in its early years, patriotic and propaganda songs constantly mentioned the country as a whole. Especially in the 1950s, patriotic songs praising Germany, German unity and the future of a new, democratic nation were produced and promoted by the GDR government, the socialist party and its sub-
17705974
Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany


The Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany (, DBD) was an East German political party. The DBD was founded in 1948. It had 52 representatives in the Volkskammer, as part of the National Front. The DBD participated in all GDR cabinets (with exception of the last GDR cabinet). The founding of the DBD was an attempt by the SED to weaken the influence of CDU/LDPD in the rural community by establishing a party loyal to the SED. The leadership cadre came mainly from the ranks of the SED
19734260
Democratic Party of Connecticut


The Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee (CT Dems) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Connecticut. The state chair of the party is Nancy Wyman. The Democratic Party controls both chambers of the state legislature, all constitutional state offices and all five of Connecticut's seats in the House and both of its Senate seats. In Connecticut, there are Democratic Town Committees in many of the towns and cities. They consist of an elected Chairperson, Co-Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer. The Town Committees have
17205292
Fumihiro Himori


, Himori ran for 13th district in Saitama and lost, but won his first election at the Proportional North Kanto block. He was defeated in the 2003 Japanese general election, as well as the 2004 Japanese House of Councillors election. He ran as an independent candidate in the North Kanto block in the 2005 Japanese general election and won. In December 2007 he took office as chairperson of party parliamentary countermeasure chairperson at the Social Democratic Party convention. He lost in the 2009 Japanese general election. After he lost the 2010 Japanese House
21093494
Viorel Badea


National Liberal Party. In the legislature 2008-2012, Viorel Riceard Badea was a member of the Friendship Parliamentary Groups with the Italian Republic, the Republic of Iraq, the Republic of Serbia, Albania and the Kingdom of Spain. In his parliamentary activity, Viorel Riceard Badea was a member of the commission for foreign policy – Deputy Chairperson(until March 2011), Romanians Everywhere Committee - Chairperson and also, at the Committee for privatization and administration of state assets (Mar. - Sep. 2011). Viorel Riceard Badea also initiated 41 legislative
18605342
Sara Skyttedal


was part of the 2014 general election for the Kronoberg constituency. Skyttedal has been the chairperson of Young Christian Democrats since 11 May 2013 and a member of the Christian Democrats party executive board. She was previously first vice chairperson for the Young Christian Democrats. From May 2011 to May 2015, she was the vice chairperson for the Youth of the European People's Party (YEPP). In October 2015, Skyttedal became the pivotal factor in the Christian Democrats' decision to pull out of the controversial December Agreement. In July 2016
12817716
Hans Modrow


SED, which later changed its name to the Party of Democratic Socialism (SED-PDS), had abandoned power two days earlier. On 7 December 1989, Modrow accepted the proposal of the East German Round Table opposition groups for free elections on 6 May 1990. He mostly ignored the rest of the Round Table's recommendations and attempted to rule through the undemocratic Volkskammer. He regarded talks with the democratic socialist Round Table opposition parties as a means of delaying and preferably blocking political change in the GDR. Modrow and the left
15585305
New states of Germany


Russia in the West, 66% of the population of the former Soviet satellite state want better relations with Russia after 28 years (and above all the stronger parties in the East: AfD 74% and the Left 71%). The socialist party The Left ("Die Linke", successor to the "Party of Democratic Socialism", the GDR state party's successor) has been successful throughout eastern Germany, perhaps as a result of the continued disparity of living conditions and salaries compared with western Germany, and high
1040706
Wolfgang Albers (politician)


until May 2008, he sat on the Berlin Doctors' Council ("Berliner Ärztekammer") as an elected delegate. In June 2005, Albers ran for office as a member of the Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative, and in May 2006, he became a member of the Party of Democratic Socialism ("Linkspartei.PDS"). A year later, in June 2007, the merged PDS and Linkspartei became simply the Left Party. Beginning July 2007, he has been deputy chairperson of the Left Party
4483326
Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten


produced the newspapers "Die Union" (the regional press organ of the Christian Democratic Union), the "Sächsisches Tageblatt" (the regional press organ of the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany and the "Sächsische Neueste Nachrichten" (the press organ of the National Democratic Party of Germany). All these newspapers were controlled by Socialist censorship between 1949 and 1990. "Die Union" was the first newspaper in the GDR that reported about the Monday demonstrations in GDR realistically and freely. In 1990 the newspapers joined back together again
16268830
1990 East German general election


Legislative elections were held in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) on 18 March 1990. It was the only free parliamentary election in the GDR and the first truly free election held in that part of Germany since 1932. Four hundred deputies were elected to the Volkskammer. The largest bloc was the Alliance for Germany, led by the East German branch of the Christian Democratic Union and running on a platform of speedy reunification with the West. The runner-up was the East German branch of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
7547461
Social Democratic Party in the GDR


them Markus Meckel (foreign affairs), Regine Hildebrandt (social issues) and Walter Romberg (finance). The SPD initially supported de Maizière's policy of speedy reunification with West Germany, but left the cabinet on 20 August. Ibrahim Böhme was slated to have been a senior minister in the government. However, during the coalition talks he had been unmasked as a longtime Stasi informer by the West German news magazine "Der Spiegel". Though Böhme failed to acknowledge this, he agreed to suspend his party functions (he
3355610
Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market


Slovenia, Belgium and Hungary either abstained from voting or voted against the proposal. However, MEPs of each of those countries' governing parties went on to largely or wholly support the directive in parliament. German politician Kevin Kühnert, federal chairperson of the Social Democratic Party's youth organisation, has voiced opposition to Article 13, claiming that it violates the coalition agreement between the SDP and the CDU/CSU. Petra Sitte, vice-chair of the democratic socialist party The Left, also stated that the effective endorsement of upload filters
16438070
Dietmar Bartsch


), the GDR's ruling party, co-founding the Committee of Young Comrades (AGJG) in 1989. Following German reunification, Bartsch served as the Party of Democratic Socialism's (PDS) Federal Treasurer and was later elected federal whip. In 2002, he ran as one of four leading candidates for the PDS in the general elections. After the party failed to overcome the constitutionally-defined 5-percent-clause, sending only two representatives to the Bundestag, Bartsch's political rivals asked for his resignation as federal whip.
14714852
Lon Johnson


. On February 5, 2013, Johnson announced his intentions to become Michigan Democratic Party Chairperson. The two-year position was voted on during the Michigan Democratic Party Convention at Cobo Hall in Detroit on February 23, 2013. Johnson's main opponent was Mark Brewer. Brewer was the longest-serving Democratic Party chairperson in the US, having first been elected to the position in 1995. All seven Democrats in Michigan’s congressional delegation signed a letter sent to party members on February 5, 2013 which announced their collective endorsement of
5745751
David McReynolds


active internationally, both in War Resisters' International of which he was chairperson for the term 1986–88, and in the International Confederation for Disarmament and Peace which eventually merged into the International Peace Bureau. The SPA was renamed the Social Democrats USA by a majority vote at the 1972 convention. Michael Harrington resigned and then formed the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (now the Democratic Socialists of America, DSA) with the purpose of "realignment" strengthening the role of labor unions and other progressive organizations in the Democratic Party to pull it to
17716712
Mátyás Eörsi


2010. In 1997 he was appointed Political State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a period of almost two years. In parliament, he served as Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Chairperson of the European Affairs Committee, and he was leader of the Parliamentary Group of the party, SZDSZ as well. Eörsi was born in Budapest. His grandmother, Ernőné Hajdu Fanni, Auer was a Social democrat member of parliament in 1945-1948. She was arrested and tortured by the Ferenc Szálasi regime in the final months
20730774
Social Democratic Party in the GDR


was later expelled from the party in 1992). On 8 April 1990, Meckel was chosen as the interim chairman, until an extraordinary meeting in Halle (Saale) on 9 June 1990 elected Wolfgang Thierse as the new party chairman. At the same time, Willy Brandt, former Chancellor of West Germany and honorary chairman of the West German SPD, was elected as honorary chairman of the East German SPD as well. With German reunification approaching on 3 October 1990, the East German SPD held a final party congress on 26
3355611
German reunification


While the GDR transferred its financial policy sovereignty to West Germany, the West started granting subsidies for the GDR budget and social security system. At the same time, many West German laws came into force in the GDR. This created a suitable framework for a political union by diminishing the huge gap between the two existing political, social, and economic systems. The Volkskammer, the Parliament of East Germany, passed a resolution on 23 August 1990 declaring the accession ("Beitritt") of the German Democratic Republic to the Federal
15431132
Friedrich Schorlemmer


later to be found out to have been a collaborator of the "Stasi") and Rainer Eppelmann increasingly worked together with the Christian Democratic Union, Schorlemmer and some other members left it. Schorlemmer joined the East German Social Democrats in the beginning of 1989. The largest mass meeting in the history of the GDR took place on Alexanderplatz (Alexander Square) in East Berlin on 4 November 1989. Many East Germans were no longer prepared to accept the dictatorship of the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany ("SED").
19531735
French Communist Party


-George Buffet, the PCF turned away from parliamentary strategy and sought broader social alliances. To maintain a presence in parliament after 2007 the party's few remaining deputies had to join others in the Democratic and Republican Left group (GDR). Subsequently a broader electoral coalition, the Left Front (FG), was formed including the PCF, the Left Party (PG), United Left, and others. The FG has brought the French communists somewhat better electoral results. Pierre Laurent was leader from 2010 to 2018. The
14122368
Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)


in Baden-Württemberg, Ulrich Maurer. When the votes were counted, the party doubled its federal vote from 1.9 million (PDS result in 2002) to more than 4 million—including an electoral breakthrough in industrial Saarland where, for the first time in a western state, it surpassed the Greens and FDP due, in large part to Lafontaine's popularity and Saarland roots. It is now the second strongest party in three states, all of them in the former GDR, (Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia)
3722675
Ibrahim Böhme


He was a cofounder of the Social Democratic Party in the GDR in October 1989, and was elected its first full-time chairman at the party's first regular congress in January 1990. He led the party to second place in East Germany's first and only free election, on 18 March 1990, and was slated to be a senior minister in the grand coalition led by Lothar de Maizière. While coalition talks were underway, the weekly magazine "Der Spiegel" reported on 24 March 1990 that Böhme had been an informer
7772139
Stalin Note


a "test" would have significant disadvantages: All in all, Adenauer, his ministers, the opposing Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the population at large were in agreement: Stalin’s proposal was not sincere and the demand for free elections had to be maintained. However, there was still some uneasiness that the FRG could not do anything against the division of Germany. In the GDR, the note was officially received with excitement. The party organ of the SED, "Neues Deutschland" ("New
9099714
2006 Democratic Progressive Party chairmanship election


The Democratic Progressive Party chairmanship by-election of 2006 was held on January 15, 2006 in Taiwan. It was the tenth chairmanship election conducted by the party. In December 2005, chairperson Su Tseng-chang resigned as a result of failing to win ten of the twenty-three positions in the 2005 local elections. There were many hopefuls that publicly expressed their desire for the chairmanship. These politicians withdrew after acting chairperson Annette Lu withdrew her campaign. Only three candidates formally announced their bids for chairperson: Yu won the race
11493185
Birte Weiss


joined politics and became a member of the Danish parliament for the social democrats for two terms; from 1971 to 1973 and from 1975 to 2001. She was the chairperson of the council of Denmark’s Radio/TV from 1981 yo 1986. She served as the deputy chairperson of the social democrats from 1994 to 1996 and first vice-chairperson of the Folketing from 1998 to 1999. She assumed varied cabinet positions. Her first ministerial post was the minister of interior and she served from 1993 to 1997. She resigned from office
19721079
Democratic Party (United States)


decent amount of Democratic elected officials have self-declared as being centrists. Some of these Democrats are former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, Senator Mark Warner, former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, former senator Jim Webb, Vice President Joe Biden, congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick and former congressman Dave McCurdy. The New Democrat Network supports socially moderate, fiscally conservative Democratic politicians and operates the congressional New Democrat Coalition in the House and Senate. Congressman Ron Kind is the chairperson of the coalition and former Senator and 2016 Democratic presidential
20046047
Anna Johansson-Visborg


Svenska bryggeriarbetareförbundet") from 1904–1953; chairperson of the Cooperative Women's Association ("Kooperativa Kvinnogillesförbundet") from 1907–1938; chairperson of the Stockholm central worker's unions women's branch from 1911–1953; member of the Stockholm City Council from 1916–1950; member of the board of the Social-Democratic Women's Association from 1920–1924; member of the board of the Stockholm Municipality from 1929–1933. She was also a leading force in the Social Democratic women suffrage movement, which was driven by Social Democratic women alongside the National Association for Women's
449961
Detlev Karsten Rohwedder


Detlev Karsten Rohwedder (October 16, 1932 – April 1, 1991) was a German manager and politician, as member of the Social Democratic Party. He was manager of the Treuhandanstalt. Rohwedder was born in Gotha. While responsible for the privatisation of state-owned property in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), he was assassinated by a sniper while standing at the window of his highly protected house in Düsseldorf. The West German far-left militant group Red Army Faction (RAF) has claimed responsibility for this
19629886
Irene Ellenberger


later said that her move into politics reflected an urge to take care of the people of Weimar, her home town. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, the East German General Election in March 1990 offered voters more than one list of candidates. The Social Democratic Party in the GDR, which had renamed itself the SPD in Thuringia, invited Ellenberger to place her name on the party's list for the national election in order to help ensure the party met a quota requirement for female candidates that had been
13994300
Socialist Unity Party of Germany


policy adhered to by all members of the Warsaw Pact under Soviet direction. Until the 11th Party Congress, East German leaders had maintained that small and medium states had a significant role to play in international affairs. As a result of Soviet pressure, such statements disappeared from East German commentary on foreign policy. On the day of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the GDR, 7 October 1989, the old Social Democratic Party was (illegally) refounded. The rest of October saw widespread protests across the country, including in
15263719
Nurhayati Ali Assegaf


Nurhayati Ali Assegaf, M.Si., M.P. (born 17 July 1963, in Solo) is the Chairperson of Democratic Party Faction in the People's Representative Council (lower house) of the Republic of Indonesia and Deputy Chairperson of Democratic Party for 2013 - 2015. She used to be the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation. A member of the People's Representative Council since 2004, she was re-elected in 2009. During her first term (2004-2009) Dr. Assegaf was appointed Special
14338533
Waldsiedlung


Waldsiedlung (German for "Forest settlement") was the secure housing zone for the leaders of the German Democratic Republic in Bernau bei Berlin, Brandenburg from 1960 to 1989. Waldsiedlung housed the most senior party members of the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany in relative luxury near Wandlitz, north of East Berlin, with surrounding areas off-limits to all ordinary citizens. The German Democratic Republic (GDR) was established in 1949 as a communist state from the Soviet Zone of Occupation. The GDR was "de facto" ruled
13907579
The Greens – The Green Alternative


four seats and ended up with 21 seats and became the third largest party in Parliament, however did not have enough mandates to form a coalition government with either the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) or Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and became the largest opposition party, while the SPÖ and ÖVP formed a grand coalition government. As of 2018, the Greens have no seats in the Nationalrat or official group status in the Bundesrat. The chart below shows a timeline of the Green chairpersons and the Chancellors of Austria. The
16420879
Jana Vaľová


Jana Vaľová (born 8 July 1965) is a politician of the Slovak Republic. She has been a member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, a district chairperson of the social-democratic political party Direction – Social Democracy, and Mayor of Humenné. Vaľová received a general certificate of secondary education from the Medzilaborce agricultural technical secondary school. In 2008, V received a master's degree from the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at the University of Trnava. She received a doctorate degree in social work from the St.
7957709
Walburga Habsburg Douglas


more than 660 Germans from the GDR escape from the east. This was the largest number of escapees since the Berlin Wall was built and is seen by many as one of the main symbols of the fall of Eastern European Communism. Since 2003 she is the chairperson of the local branch of the Swedish Moderate Party in Flen and on the board of the regional organisation of the party in Södermanland. She is a member of the board of the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation since 2005, a foundation closely linked to the Moderate Party. In
422261
Önay Alpago


Alpago. She is mother of two. Alpago entered politics from the 1983-established Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP), and served two terms as the first ever chairwoman of the party's district branch. She later became a member of the central executive board and vice chairperson of the SHP. Alpago was appointed from outside the parliament Minister of State responsible for "women, Family and Social Policies" on July 27, 1994 succeeding Türkân Akyol. She served at this post in the 50th government led by female Prime Minister of Turkey
2927006
2018 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election


The Democratic Party leadership election was held on 2 December 2018 for the 30-member 13th Central Committee of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong, including chairperson and two vice-chairperson posts. Incumbent chairman Wu Chi-wai was re-elected uncontested with 189 confidence votes with incumbent vice-chairman Lo Kin-hei re-elected and former vice-chairman Andrew Wan retook the post from Li Wing-shing. The Central Committee was elected by the party congress. All public office holders, including the members of the Legislative Council and
16318448
Morning Star (British newspaper)


in 1989, under a headline reading "GDR unveils reforms package", the newspaper commented that "The German Democratic Republic is awakening", and quoting material supplied by East Germany’s ruling Socialist Unity Party: "A revolutionary people’s movement has set in motion a process of serious upheaval . . . The aim is dynamically to give socialism more democracy". Soviet bulk orders ended abruptly in 1989 (the Communist Party of the Soviet Union had still been buying 6,000 copies every day), and the termination of this order
13278629
Peaceful Revolution


consciously formed themselves not as political parties but instead used terms like forum, league or movement, which placed themselves within the concept of a civil movement. They placed value on basic democracy, openness and transparency in decision-making, in which interested non-members should also be able to participate. The reformation of the Social Democratic Party on 7 October 1989, the 40th anniversary of the GDR's founding, which soon came under the leadership of the evangelical theologians Martin Gutzeit and Markus Meckel, was also of note. The
22093656
Feminism in Germany


abortion reform as an "unqualified party commitment", and as more feminists became part of the Party leadership, women's rights were brought to prominence by the mid-1980s. West Germany's most well-known feminist, the "mediagenic" Alice Schwarzer, founded the popular feminist magazine EMMA in 1977, and remains its Editor-in-Chief. State socialism in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) ostensibly meant equality between the sexes. Marxist writers such as Frederick Engels, August Bebel, and Clara Zetkin had written of the
89853
Mariya Ahmed Didi


far to be elected as Chairperson of a major political party in the Maldives. She was elected as Chairperson of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the largest political party in the Maldives. It was under her chairmanship that the party won the first ever multiparty democratic presidential elections held in the Maldives in 2008. On 7th February 2012, the then President of Maldives resigned suddenly in what his supporters called a “coup d'état”. On the day of the President’s resignation and on the day after, Mariya Didi was very
15060089
Nadja Hirsch


In 2009 Hirsch was elected to the European Parliament as the leading candidate of the Free Democratic Party in Bavaria and number 9 on the Federal list of candidates. A member of the parliamentary group Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, she served as vice-chairperson of the European Parliament Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and as substitute in the Committee on Culture and Education. In addition to her committee assignments, Hirsch was a member of the Delegation for relations with the US, the Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula and
21430870
2016 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election


The Democratic Party leadership election was held on 4 December 2016 for the 30-member 12th Central Committee of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong, including chairperson and two vice-chairperson posts. Incumbent chairwoman Emily Lau, former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong who retired in October 2016 announced her retirement from the post and was succeeded by Wu Chi-wai, member of the Legislative Council for Kowloon East, who was elected unopposed, which made it the first uncontested leadership election since 2010. The Central Committee was elected by the
12444288
Yvonne Ploetz


she became a member of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), the political successor of the Socialist Unity Party, which dominated East German politics. In 2007, the PDS merged with other left parties to become The Left. In November 2005, Ploetz founded the local chapter of The Left in Blieskastel, and she has been the chairperson of this chapter ever since. From 2006 to 2008, she was the spokesperson for education in the Saarbrücken statewide chapter of The Left. Since 2008, she has been a member of
13489573
Hans-Henning Adler


Socialist German Student Union ("Sozialistische Deutsche Studentenbund") and the Spartacus Marxist Student Group ("Marxistische Studentenbund Spartakus"). Until he left the party in 1989, he belonged to the German Communist Party. In 1990 he became a founding member of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) for Lower Saxony, becoming the long-running state chairperson. For several years, he was a member of the Rules Committee for the PDS, and since 1996, he has belonged to the City Council of Oldenburg, where
22135889