Paul Merker

Paul Merker
Paul Merker
	Stasi photograph of Merker issued with his arrest warrant, 1952
Secretary for Agriculture of the; Party Executive of the Socialist Unity Party
	In office; 23 April 1946 – 24 January 1949
Chairman	Wilhelm Pieck; Otto Grotewohl;
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Kurt Vieweg
Secretary for Health Policy of the; Party Executive of the Socialist Unity Party
	In office; 23 April 1946 – 24 January 1949 Serving with Helmut Lehmann
Chairman	Wilhelm Pieck; Otto Grotewohl;
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Paul Wessel
Secretary for Employment and Social Welfare of the Party Executive; of the Socialist Unity Party
	In office; 23 April 1946 – 24 January 1949
Chairman	Wilhelm Pieck; Otto Grotewohl;
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Helmut Lehmann
National Leader of the; Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition
	In office; December 1929 – May 1930
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Fritz Emrich
Preceded by
Parliamentary constituencies
Member of the; Provisional Volkskammer
	In office; 18 March 1948 – 19 October 1950
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Multi-member constituency
Member of the Landtag of Brandenburg
	In office; 20 October 1946 – 7 July 1950
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Multi-member constituency
Member of the Landtag of Prussia; for Düsseldorf East
	In office; 5 January 1925 – 25 May 1932
Preceded by	Multi-member constituency
Succeeded by	Multi-member constituency
Party Executive Committee Central Secretariat responsibilities
1949–1950	Agriculture
Personal details
Born	1 February 1894; Oberlößnitz, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire
Died	13 May 1969 (aged 75); Eichwalde, Bezirk Potsdam, East Germany
Political party	USPD (1918–1920); KPD (1920–1946); SED (1946–1950, after 1956)
Spouse	Margarete
Occupation	Politician; Trade Unionist; Party Functionary;
Military service
Allegiance	German Empire
Branch/service	Imperial German Army
Years of service	1914–1918
Unit	Luftstreitkräfte
Battles/wars	World War I Eastern Front; ;
	Central institution membership 1949–1950: Full member,; Politburo of the Central Committee ; 1946–1950: Full member,; Central Committee ; 1935–1939: Full member,; KPD Politburo ; 1928–1930: Candidate member,; KPD Politburo ; 1927–1930, 1934–1945: Full member,; KPD Central Committee ;

Paul Merker (1 February 1894 – 13 May 1969) was a German trade unionist and politician of the Communist Party of Germany who later became a leading official of East Germany's ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany.

Merker featured for several years in the show trial culture of the time, placed under a lengthy investigation process that formally began in 1950, and jailed for eight years as a spy in 1955. Released less than a year later, he appeared as a reluctant witness against his friend Walter Janka at another show trial in 1957.