chancellor predecessor successor birth_place president nationality party office profession primeminister birth_date term_start image article_title term_end name
helmut kohl hans -rrb- günther kleiber alfred neumann klaus gysi -lrb- as minister modrow of church-affairs of east germany -rrb- position created -lrb- as prime minister of east germany helmut reichenbach herbert schirmer -lrb- as minister of culture of east kohl germany -rrb- office abolished -lrb- as chancellor of germany -rrb- klaus nordhausen , germany sabine krenz manfred gerlach sabine bergmann-pohl richard von weizsäcker bergmann-pohl egon krenz manfred gerlach sabine bergmann-pohl egon german christian democratic union -lrb- east germany -rrb- prime east germany -lrb- with christa luft and peter moreth -rrb- minister minister of church-affairs of east germany minister for special affairs of of germany -lrb- with rudolf seiters , hans klein , east sabine bergmann-pohl , günther krause , rainer ortleb and hansjoachim germany walther -rrb- deputy prime minister of musician , lawyer , politician hans modrow hans modrow 2 march 1940 12 3 october 1990 april 1990 18 november 1989 18 november 1989 lothar de maizière 2011.jpg lothar de maizière
 2 december 17 , 1990 october 1990 12 april 1990 12 april 1990 lothar de maizière
lothar de maizière

lothar de maizière -lrb- ; born 2 march 1940 -rrb- is a german christian democratic politician .
in 1990 , he served as the only democratically elected prime minister of the german democratic republic , and as such was the last leader of an independent east germany .
de maizière was born in nordhausen , thuringia , and attended the ancient berlinisches gymnasium zum grauen kloster , where he was one of the last pupils before the school closed in 1958 .
he next studied viola at the hanns eisler college of music in east berlin from 1959 to 1965 .
he played in the berlin symphony orchestra before going on to study law -lrb- by distance learning , through the humboldt-universität zu berlin -rrb- from 1969 to 1975 .
a longtime member of the east german christian democratic union , de maizière helped oust the party 's pro-communist leadership after the fall of the berlin wall .
he was elected the party 's chairman in december .
in the first -- and as it turned out , only -- free election held in east germany , de maizière was elected to the `` volkskammer . ''
one month later , he succeeded hans modrow as premier and held this position from 12 april until 2 october 1990 .
he ran on a platform of speedy reunification with the federal republic of germany -lrb- from 1949 to 1990 , west germany -rrb- .
as premier , de maizière signed the treaty on the final settlement with respect to germany -lrb- the so-called `` 2 +4 treaty '' -rrb- , which ended the four wartime allied powers ' rights and responsibilities in berlin and germany , and which preceded german reunification .
the treaty provided that it would be signed by the four allies and the two germanies but ratified only by newly reunified germany and the allies .
in accordance with that treaty , east germany ceased to exist on 3 october , and its territory was reunited with the federal republic .
after german reunification , he was appointed minister for special affairs in the cdu government of helmut kohl , until his resignation on 17 december 1990 amid rumours that he had worked for the east german stasi .
de maizière belongs to a noble family who , as huguenots , fled france for asylum in prussia , late in the seventeenth century .
he is a son of the lawyer clement de maizière .
his uncle ulrich de maizière was inspector general of the `` bundeswehr '' -lrb- the west german armed forces -rrb- .
his cousin thomas de maizière is a close advisor to chancellor angela merkel and currently serving as the federal minister of the interior -lrb- since 17 december 2013 -rrb- in the third cabinet of chancellor angela merkel .
