Erich Honecker

Erich Ernst Paul Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts of General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and Chairman of the National Defence Council; in 1976, he replaced Willi Stoph as Chairman of the State Council, the official head of state. As the leader of East Germany, Honecker was viewed as a dictator. During his leadership, the country had close ties to the Soviet Union, which maintained a large army in the country.

25 August 1912

Born on the same birth day (25 August): Alexander Mair • Allan Pinkerton • Allyre Sirois • Anya Monzikova • Cameron Mathison • George Wallace • Ian Falconer • Justin Upton • Karl Korte • Lane Smith (illustrator) • Monty Hall • Paul Herman Buck • Sean Connery • Stefan Wolpe • Tom Skerritt

Born in the same month (August 1912): Abbé Pierre • Barry Sullivan (American actor) • David Raksin • Gene Kelly • Gloria Guinness • Håkon Stenstadvold • Igor Troubetzkoy • Jorge Amado • Nancy Wake • Richard C. Miller • Ted Drake • Vladimir Žerjavić