Walter Ulbricht (30 June 1893 – 1 August 1973) was a German communist politician. He played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and later (spending the years of Nazi rule in exile in the Soviet Union) in the early development and establishment of East Germany (the German Democratic Republic). He was first secretary of the Socialist Unity Party, and as such the de facto leader of East Germany, from 1950 to 1971. From President Wilhelm Pieck's death in 1960 he was the East German head of state until his own death in 1973.
Read more about Walter Ulbricht: Early Years, First World War and Weimar Years, Nazi and War Years, Creation of The GDR, The New Economic System, Dismissal, Death and Legacy
Famous quotes containing the word walter:
“O eloquent, just, and mighty Death! whom none could advise, thou hast persuaded; what none hath dared, thou hast done; and whom all the world hath flattered, thou only hath cast out of the world and despised. Thou hast drawn together all the far-stretched greatness, all the pride, cruelty, and ambition of man, and covered it all over with these two narrow words, Hic jacet!”
—Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618)