Bergmann-Pohl, Sabine (1946–)

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Bergmann-Pohl, Sabine (1946–)

East German politician and head of state. Born Sabine Schulz, April 20, 1946, in Eisenach, Thuringia; m. twice (surname is a result of 2 marriages).

The last head of state of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), began career as a physician, specializing in respiratory diseases; joined Christian Democratic Union (CDU, 1981), a satellite controlled by the ruling Socialist Unity Party; earned a reputation for competence in her medical area as well as in the field of social welfare; following the collapse of the Communist dictatorship (1989), made a strong showing in Mar 1990 elections to Volkskammer ("People's Chamber"), coming in 2nd to the new prime minister, Lothar de Maziere; a month later, was elected president of the Volkskammer, in effect, becoming head of state of the German Democratic Republic, the only democratically elected one in its 40-year history; after unification of the 2 German states, entered the Bundestag, joining Chancellor Helmut Kohl's cabinet as minister without portfolio (1990).

See also memoirs, Abschied ohne Tränen: Rückblick auf das Jahr der Einheit (Departure without Tears: A Look Back at the Year of Unity, 1991); and Women in World History.

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