Egon Krenz

Egon Rudi Ernst Krenz (German pronunciation: [ˈeːgɔn ˈkʁɛnts]; born 19 March 1937) is a German former politician who was the last Communist leader of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) during the Revolutions of 1989. He succeeded Erich Honecker as the General Secretary of the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) but was forced to resign only weeks later when the Berlin Wall fell.

Throughout his career, Krenz held a number of prominent positions in the SED. He was Honecker's deputy from 1984 until he succeeded him in 1989 amid protests against the regime. Krenz was unsuccessful in his attempt to retain the Communist regime's grip on power due to the chaotic management of travel policies at the time and prolonged popular discontent. The SED gave up its monopoly of power some weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Krenz was forced to resign shortly afterward. He was expelled from the SED's successor party on 21 January 1990.

In 2000, he was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for manslaughter for his role in the Communist regime. After his release from prison in 2003, he retired to the small town of Dierhagen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. He remained on parole until the end of his sentence in 2006. Krenz, Karel Urbánek from Czechoslovakia and Gombojavyn Ochirbat from Mongolia are the last three former General Secretaries and leaders from the Eastern Bloc still alive.