German politician (died 1994)

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.

Born

1912

August 25

Died

1994

Era

1910s

Country

—

About

Erich, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1912 Born
1994 Died

Also on August 25

What else happened on this day, through history

766 Emperor Constantine V humiliates nineteen high-ranking officials, after discovering a plot against him. He executes the leaders, Constantine Podopagouros and his brother Strategios.
1248 The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III, the Archbishop of Utrecht.
1258 Regent George Mouzalon and his brothers are killed during a coup headed by the aristocratic faction under Michael VIII Palaiologos, paving the way for its leader to ultimately usurp the throne of the Empire of Nicaea.
1270 Philip III, although suffering from dysentery, becomes King of France following the death of his father Louis IX, during the Eighth Crusade. His uncle, Charles I of Naples, is forced to begin peace negotiations with Muhammad I al-Mustansir, Hafsid Sultan of Tunis.

See all of August 25 →

The world in 1912

When Erich arrived

april 10 RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton, UK, on her maiden and only voyage.
april 14 The British passenger liner RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic and begins to sink.
april 15 The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,224 passengers and crew on board survive.
april 16 Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.

Read the year 1912 →

Same-day contemporaries

Also born on August 25

Alexander Mair 1889–1969 Australian politician, 26th Premier of New South Wales (died 1969) Althea Gibson 1927–2003 American tennis player and golfer (died 2003) Azmin Ali 1964– Malaysian mathematician and politician Brian Moore 1921–1999 Northern Irish-Canadian author and screenwriter (died 1999) Derek Sherinian 1966– American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer Elvis Costello 1954– English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer George Stubbs 1724–1806 English painter and academic (died 1806) George Wallace 1919–1960 American lawyer, and politician, 45th Governor of Alabama (died 1998) Hans Adolf Krebs 1900–1981 German physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1981)

See everything on August 25 →

Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1912

Arsenio Lacson 1912–1962 Filipino journalist and politician, Mayor of Manila (born 1912) Chien-Shiung Wu 1912–1997 Chinese-American physicist and academic (born 1912) Danny Thomas 1912–1991 American actor, producer, and humanitarian (born 1914) David Brower 1912– American environmentalist, founder of the Sierra Club Foundation (died 2000) Eleanor Powell 1912–1982 American actress and dancer (born 1912) Georg Solti 1912–1997 Hungarian-English conductor and director (died 1997) Habib Elghanian 1912– Iranian businessman (died 1979) Jackson Pollock 1912–1956 American painter (born 1912) Jacques Ellul 1912–1994 French philosopher and critic (died 1994)

Read about the year 1912 →

Keep going

More to explore

Erich's birthday August 25 Erich's zodiac Virgo When Erich arrived 1912