Walter Ulbricht

Walter Ernst Paul Ulbricht was a German communist politician. Ulbricht played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and later in the early development and establishment of the German Democratic Republic. As the First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971, he was the chief decision-maker in East Germany. From President Wilhelm Pieck's death in 1960 on, he was also the East German head of state until his own death in 1973. As the leader of a significant Communist satellite, Ulbricht had a degree of bargaining power with the Kremlin that he used effectively. For example, he demanded the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 when the Kremlin was reluctant.

30 June 1893

Born on the same birth date (30 June 1893): Nellah Massey Bailey

Born on the same birth day (30 June): David Busst • Georg Benda • John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey • Kaye Vaughan • Monica Potter • Murray Cook • Saeed Akhtar Mirza • Tunku Ismail Idris

Born in the same month (June 1893): Aarre Merikanto • Alois Hába • August Zamoyski • Dorothy Fuldheim • Dorothy L. Sayers • Gaby Morlay • Hattie McDaniel • Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis • Roy O. Disney • Wilhelm Zaisser