Walter Romberg

German politician (1928–2014)

Walter Romberg

Romberg in 1990

Minister of Finance
In office
12 April 1990 – 16 August 1990
Minister-President| Lothar de Maizière
Preceded by| Walter Siegert (acting)
Succeeded by| Werner Skowron (acting)
Minister without Portfolio
In office
5 February 1990 – 12 April 1990
Chairman of the
Council of Ministers| Hans Modrow
Preceded by| Office established
Succeeded by| Office abolished
Personal details
Born| (1928-12-27)27 December 1928
Schwerin, Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Weimar Republic
Died| 23 May 2014(2014-05-23) (aged 85)
Teltow, Brandenburg, Germany
Resting place| Schwerin, Germany
Nationality| German
Political party| Social Democratic Party (1990–2014)
Other political
affiliations| Social Democratic Party in the GDR (1989–1990)

Walter Romberg (27 December 1928 – 23 May 2014) was a German politician and finance minister of East Germany.[1]

## Early life and education

[edit]

Romberg was born in Schwerin on 27 December 1928.[2] From 1947 he studied physics and mathematics.[2] He held a Dr. rer. nat. in mathematics.[3]

## Career

[edit]

He worked at the East German Academy of Sciences.[4] He was editor-in-chief of the Zentralblatt MATH from 1965 to 1978.[3]

Romberg became a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 1989.[5][6] He served as the minister without portfolio in the cabinet of Prime Minister Hans Modrow between 1989 and 1990.[5] Romberg was appointed minister of finance to the cabinet led by Prime Minister Lothar de Maizière on 12 April 1990 following the first free elections of East Germany on 18 March 1990.[7] Romberg was one of the senior social democratic members of de Maizière's cabinet.[8] On 19 May 1990, the West Germany's finance minister, Theo Waigel, and Romberg signed a state treaty to merge their economies and make the West German mark the sole legal currency in both nations by 2 July 1990.[9]

Romberg was removed from office on 15 August 1990 due to his support for the challenging clauses in a political unification treaty governing the allocation of tax revenues. He also angered the West German officials with his continuous demands for more cash help to bail out the weak East German industries and to finance welfare payments.[6] The other reason for his removal was related to the East Germany's rapidly deteriorating economic status.[8] Romberg was also fired due to his warnings about the reunification in terms of its economic burden and his critical and even pessimistic approach towards it.[10][11]

Werner Skowron succeeded Romberg in the post. Following the dismissal of Romberg, SPD left the coalition on 20 August 1990, and called it unconstitutional.[12][13] Until 1994 Romberg served at the European Parliament.[4]

### Views

[edit]

In 1991, after unification, Romberg stated in a conference held at Humboldt University that the West German leadership did not comprehend the huge differences between two countries' economic patterns.[10]

## Later years and personal life

[edit]

Romberg was married and had three sons.[2] In 1997 he moved to Teltow with his wife.[2] He died there on 23 May 2014 and was buried in his hometown Schwerin.[2][4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Carol Diane St Louis (2011). Negotiating Change: Approaches to and the Distributional Implications of Social Welfare and Economic Reform (PhD thesis). Stanford University. p. 170\. STANFORD:RW793BX2256.
2. ^ a b c d e "Abschied von Walter Romberg". Märkische Allgemeine (in German). 8 June 2014. Archived from the original on 19 January 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
3. ^ a b "Romberg, Walter". Biographische Datenbanken (in German). Retrieved 5 July 2021.
4. ^ a b c "Walter Romberg gestorben". nd aktuell (in German). 30 May 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
5. ^ a b Günter Grass (2017). From Germany to Germany: Diary 1990. London: Harvill Secker. p. 252\. ISBN 978-1-4481-6375-5.
6. ^ a b Ray Moseley (16 August 1990). "Cabinet Shakeup in E. Germany". Chicago Tribune. East Berlin. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
7. ^ "East Germany's foreign minister quits". Daily News. 21 August 1990. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
8. ^ a b Tyler Marshall (16 August 1990). "Two ministers are fired and two resign. The moves could raise tensions in a multi-party coalition as merger with Bonn nears". Los Angeles Times. East Berlin. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
9. ^ Ferdinand Protzman (19 May 1990). "Evolution in Europe; Germanys Sign Pact Binding Economies". The New York Times.
10. ^ a b Peter H. Merkl (2004). German Unification. University Park, PA: Penn State Press. p. 263\. ISBN 978-0-271-02566-7.
11. ^ Peter E. Quint (1997). The Imperfect Union: Constitutional Structures of German Unification. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 70\. ISBN 978-1-4008-2216-4.
12. ^ Gerhard A. Ritter (2011). The Price of German Unity: Reunification and the Crisis of the Welfare State. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 24\. ISBN 978-0-19-955682-3.
13. ^ Tyler Marshall (20 August 1990). "Shaky Coalition Regime Folds in E. Germany". Los Angeles Times. East Berlin. Retrieved 12 September 2012.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Walter Romberg at Wikimedia Commons

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Finance Ministers of Germany

German Empire
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East Germany
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* Hans Loch
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* Walter Romberg
* Werner Skowron

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