Otto Grotewohl

German politician

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June 29, 2026

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Otto Grotewohl was a German politician who served as the first premier of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1949 to 1964. He was a former Social Democrat who, under Soviet pressure, merged his party with the Communist Party to form the Socialist Unity Party (SED) in 1946. While nominally heading the government, Grotewohl held little real power, with ultimate authority resting with the SED and its leader, Walter Ulbricht. East Germany was established in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany in October 1949, following the formation of West Germany.12

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Germany
Formation of the German Democratic Republic
…installed the former Social Democrat Otto Grotewohl as premier at the head of a cabinet that was nominally responsible to the chamber. Although the German Democratic Republic was constitutionally a parliamentary democracy, decisive power actually lay with the SED and its boss, the veteran communist functionary Walter Ulbricht, who held…
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…installed the former Social Democrat Otto Grotewohl as premier at the head of a cabinet that was nominally responsible to the chamber. Although the German Democratic Republic was constitutionally a parliamentary democracy, decisive power actually lay with the SED and its boss, the veteran communist functionary Walter Ulbricht, who held…
Read More