Schabowski, Günter

Schabowski, Günter (*1929); journalist and SED politician; member of the SED since 1952; correspondence course at Karl Marx University, Leipzig; 1967/68, attended the party school of the CPSU in Moscow; 1968-85, worked for Neues Deutschland; chief editor from 1978 on; 1981-90, member of the East German parliament [Volkskammer]; member of the SED Central Committee; starting in 1984, member of the SED Politburo; beginning in 1986, Secretary of the Central Committee; 1990, expulsion from the SED-PDS; 1991, publication of the book The Fall [Der Absturz]; 1995, charged with manslaughter and joint responsibility for the GDR border regime; 1997, sentenced to three years in jail; began serving his sentence after an unsuccessful appeal in December 1999; pardoned by Berlin mayor Eberhard Diepgen in September 2000.