Günter Schabowski

Günter Schabowski
Günter Schabowski
	Schabowski in 1982
Secretary for Information of the; Central Committee Secretariat
	In office; 6 November 1989 – 3 December 1989
General Secretary	Egon Krenz;
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Secretary for Agitation of the; Central Committee Secretariat
	In office; 30 October 1989 – 3 December 1989
General Secretary	Egon Krenz
Preceded by	Joachim Herrmann
Succeeded by	Position abolished
First Secretary of the; Socialist Unity Party in Berlin
	In office; 22 November 1985 – 10 November 1989
Second Secretary	Helmut Müller;
Preceded by	Konrad Naumann
Succeeded by	Heinz Albrecht
Editor-in-chief of ; Neues Deutschland
	In office; 15 March 1978 – 26 November 1985
Deputy	Hajo Herbell; Sander Drobela; Günter Kertzscher; Wemer Micke; Herbert Naumann;
Preceded by	Joachim Herrmann
Succeeded by	Herbert Naumann
Preceded by
Parliamentary constituencies
Member of the Volkskammer ; for Berlin-Marzahn, Berlin-Lichtenberg, Berlin-Hellersdorf; (Brandenburg-Stadt, Brandenburg-Land, Belzig, Rathenow; 1981-1986)
	In office; 25 June 1981 – 11 January 1990
Preceded by	Gerhard Grüneberg
Succeeded by	Gabriele Günzel
Personal details
Born	4 January 1929; Anklam, Province of Pomerania, Free State of Prussia, Weimar Republic (now Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany)
Died	1 November 2015 (aged 86); Berlin, Germany
Political party	SED-PDS; (1989–1990)
Other political; affiliations	Socialist Unity Party; (1952–1989)
Spouse	Irina Schabowski
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Leipzig
Occupation	Politician; Journalist;
Awards	Patriotic Order of Merit; Banner of Labor; Order of Friendship of Peoples; Order of Karl Marx;
Signature
	Central institution membership 1984–1989: Full member,; Politburo of the Central Committee ; 1981–1984: Candidate member,; Politburo of the Central Committee ; 1981–1989: Full member,; Central Committee ; Other offices held 1978–1985: Member,; Commission for Agitation and Propaganda at the Politburo ; 1974–1978: First Deputy Editor-in-chief,; Neues Deutschland ; 1968–1974: Deputy Editor-in-chief,; Neues Deutschland ; 1953–1967: Deputy Editor-in-chief,; Tribüne ;

Günter Schabowski ([ˈɡʏntɐ ʃaˈbɔfski]; 4 January 1929 – 1 November 2015) was a German politician who served as an official of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands abbreviated SED), the ruling party during most of the existence of East Germany. After climbing up the party ladder, he became the regime's unofficial spokesman. He gained worldwide fame in November 1989 when he improvised a slightly mistaken answer to a press conference question about the future of the Berlin Wall, that seemed to announce the Wall's immediate end and raised popular expectations much more rapidly than the government planned. Massive crowds gathered at the Wall the same night, which forced its opening after 28 years. Soon afterward, the entire inner German border was opened; not much later, East Germany ceased to exist.