Hans Modrow

Who is Hans Modrow?

Hans Modrow is a German politician, best known as the last communist premier of East Germany. He currently is the honorary Chairman of the Left Party.

Modrow was born in Jasenitz, Province of Pomerania, Germany, now Jasienica part of the town of Police, Poland. He briefly served in the Volkssturm, founded in 1944 by Adolf Hitler and was subsequently held as a prisoner of war. Upon release in 1949, he joined the Socialist Unity Party. Modrow had a long political career in East Germany, including periods as a member of the Volkskammer. From 1973 onward, he was the SED leader in Dresden, East Germany's third-largest city.

Modrow was widely reckoned as one of the few truly competent leaders in the East German hierarchy. He was prevented from rising any further than a local party boss, however, largely because he was one of the few SED leaders who dared to publicly criticise longtime SED chief Erich Honecker. Nonetheless, he developed some important contacts with the Soviet Union, including eventual Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. When Honecker was toppled in October 1989, Gorbachev hoped that Modrow would become the new leader of the SED. However, Egon Krenz was selected instead.