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): Allyre Sirois • Arthur Wood (cricketer, born 1898) • Camille Pin • Caris LeVert • Catriona Matthew • Debbie Graham • Eddie Ilarde • Fatih Akin • François de la Chaise • Hans Krebs (biochemist) • Ivan Koloff • Jim Smith (cricketer, born 1906) • Marvin Harrison • Michael Zorc • Monty Hall • Nikolay Zinin • Patrick F. McManus • Robert Horry • Stacey Farber • Stepas Butautas • Tom Kiely • Virginia Euwer Wolff
Born in the same month (August 1912): Abbé Pierre • Ben Hogan • David Brand • David Raksin • Gene Kelly • Gloria Guinness • Herb Narvo • John H. Michaelis • Jorge Amado • Raoul Wallenberg • Raphael Blau • Toe Blake