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{{Short description|German politician (1928–2014)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox Minister
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Walter Romberg
| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0129-027, Dr. Walter Romberg.jpg
| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0129-027, Dr. Walter Romberg.jpg
⚫
|caption = Romberg in 1990
| imagesize = 150px
| office = Minister of Finance
|office = [[Council of Ministers of East Germany#Ministries|Minister of Finance]]
|1blankname = {{nowrap|[[Council of Ministers of East Germany#Chairmen of the Council of Ministers|Minister-President]]}}
| primeminister = [[Lothar de Maiziere]]
|1namedata = [[Lothar de Maizière]]
| predecessor = [[Uta Nickel]]
| term_start = 12 April 1990
⚫
| successor = [[Werner Skowron]]
| term_start = April 1990
| term_end = 16 August 1990
| predecessor = Walter Siegert (acting)
| term_end = August 1990
⚫
| successor = Werner Skowron (acting)
⚫
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1928|12|27}}
| office1 = [[Modrow government#Ministers|Minister without Portfolio]]
| birth_place =
|1blankname1 = {{nowrap|[[Council of Ministers of East Germany#Chairmen of the Council of Ministers|Chairman of the<br />Council of Ministers]]}}
⚫
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2014|5|23|1928|12|27}}
| death_place =
|1namedata1 = [[Hans Modrow]]
| restingplace =
| term_start1 = 5 February 1990
| term_end1 = 12 April 1990
⚫
| party = [[Social Democratic Party of East Germany|the Social Democratic Party (SPD)]]
| predecessor1 = ''Office established''
| residence =
| successor1 = ''Office abolished''
⚫
| alma_mater =
⚫
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1928|12|27}}
⚫
| spouse =
| birth_place = [[Schwerin]], [[Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]], [[Weimar Republic]]
⚫
| nationality = [[Germans|German]]
⚫
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2014|5|23|1928|12|27}}
| religion=
| death_place = [[Teltow]], [[Brandenburg]], [[Germany]]
⚫
| children =
| restingplace = Schwerin, Germany
| website =
⚫
| party = [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] (1990–2014)
| footnotes =
| otherparty = [[Social Democratic Party in the GDR]] (1989–1990)
⚫
| alma_mater =
⚫
| spouse =
⚫
| nationality = [[Germans|German]]
⚫
| children =
}}
}}
'''Walter Romberg''' (27 December 1928 – 23 May 2014) was a German politician and finance minister of [[East Germany]].<ref>{{cite thesis
|author=Carol Diane St Louis|title=Negotiating Change: Approaches to and the Distributional Implications of Social Welfare and Economic Reform|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EW-zz_H54LMC&pg=PA170|year=2011|location=Stanford University|id=STANFORD:RW793BX2256|page=170
|degree=PhD}}</ref>


==Early life and education==
'''Walter Romberg''' (27 December 1928 – 23 May 2014)<ref name=rul>{{cite web|title=East German ministries|url=http://rulers.org/egergovt.html|work=Rulers|accessdate=2 September 2013}}</ref> was a German politician who was the last finance minister of [[East Germany]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Carol Diane St Louis|title=Negotiating Change: Approaches to and the Distributional Implications of Social Welfare and Economic Reform|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EW-zz_H54LMC&pg=PA170|accessdate=12 September 2012|year=2011|publisher=Stanford University|page=170|id=STANFORD:RW793BX2256}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Redaktion neues deutschland |url=http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/934601.walter-romberg-gestorben.html |title=30.05.2014: Walter Romberg gestorben |publisher=neues-deutschland.de |date= |accessdate=2014-06-02}}</ref>
Romberg was born in [[Schwerin]] on 27 December 1928.<ref name=mark>{{cite news|title=Abschied von Walter Romberg|url=https://www.maz-online.de/Lokales/Potsdam-Mittelmark/Trauerfeier-fuer-Walter-Romberg|access-date=9 April 2022|work=Märkische Allgemeine|date=8 June 2014|language=de|archive-date=19 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119082555/https://www.maz-online.de/Lokales/Potsdam-Mittelmark/Trauerfeier-fuer-Walter-Romberg|url-status=dead}}</ref> From 1947 he studied physics and mathematics.<ref name=mark/> He held a [[Dr. rer. nat.]] in mathematics.<ref name=bundes/>


==Career and activities==
==Career==
He worked at the East German Academy of Sciences.<ref name=nda>{{cite news|title=Walter Romberg gestorben|access-date=9 April 2022
Romberg was a member of [[Social Democratic Party of East Germany|the Social Democratic Party (SPD)]].<ref name=chitri>{{cite news|last=Moseley|first=Ray|title=Cabinet Shakeup In E. Germany|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-08-16/news/9003080744_1_finance-minister-walter-romberg-unification-east-and-west-germany|accessdate=12 September 2012|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=16 August 1990|location=East Berlin}}</ref> He was appointed minister of finance to the cabinet led by prime minister [[Lothar de Maiziere]] on 12 April 1990<ref name=rul/> following the first free elections of East Germany which had been held on 18 March 1990.<ref>{{cite news|title=East Germany's foreign minister quits|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1696&dat=19900821&id=Y_gaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jkcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7067,3776349|accessdate=12 September 2012|newspaper=Daily News|date=21 August 1990}}</ref> Romberg was one of the senior social democratic members of De Maiziere's cabinet.<ref name=lat90/> 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.<ref name="ProtzmanTimes">{{cite news|last1=Protzman|first1=Ferdinand|title=Evolution in Europe; Germanys Sign Pact Binding Economies|work=The New York Times|date=19 May 1990|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/19/world/evolution-in-europe-germanys-sign-pact-binding-economies.html}}</ref>
|url=https://www.nd-aktuell.de/artikel/934601.walter-romberg-gestorben.html|work=nd aktuell|date=30 May 2014|language=de}}</ref> He was [[editor-in-chief]] of the [[Zentralblatt MATH]] from 1965 to 1978.<ref name=bundes>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de/de/recherche/kataloge-datenbanken/biographische-datenbanken/walter-romberg|title=Romberg, Walter|work=Biographische Datenbanken
|access-date=5 July 2021|language=de}}</ref>


Romberg became a member of the [[Social Democratic Party of East Germany|Social Democratic Party]] (SPD) in 1989.<ref name=ggrass/><ref name=chitri>{{cite news|author=Ray Moseley|title=Cabinet Shakeup in E. Germany|location=East Berlin|date=16 August 1990|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-08-16/news/9003080744_1_finance-minister-walter-romberg-unification-east-and-west-germany|access-date=12 September 2012}}</ref> He served as the minister without portfolio in the [[Modrow government|cabinet]] of Prime Minister [[Hans Modrow]] between 1989 and 1990.<ref name=ggrass>{{cite book|author=Günter Grass|author-link=Günter Grass|title=From Germany to Germany: Diary 1990|publisher=Harvill Secker|year=2017|isbn=978-1-4481-6375-5|location=London|page=252|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MBbhDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA252}}</ref> Romberg was appointed minister of finance to the [[de Maizière cabinet|cabinet]] led by Prime Minister [[Lothar de Maizière]] on 12 April 1990 following the first free elections of East Germany on 18 March 1990.<ref>{{cite news|title=East Germany's foreign minister quits|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1696&dat=19900821&id=Y_gaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jkcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7067,3776349
Romberg was removed from office on 15 August 1990<ref name=rul/> 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.<ref name=chitri/> The other reason for his removal was related to the East Germany's rapidly deteriorating economic status.<ref name=lat90>{{cite news|last=Marshall|first=Tyler|title=Two ministers are fired and two resign. The moves could raise tensions in a multi-party coalition as merger with Bonn nears|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1990-08-16/news/mn-1047_1_east-german|accessdate=12 September 2012|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=16 August 1990|location=East Berlin}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Merkl2004>{{cite book|author=Peter H. Merkl|title=German Unification|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dduIXz8kpEsC&pg=PA263|accessdate=12 September 2012|date=1 May 2004|publisher=Penn State Press|isbn=978-0-271-02566-7|page=263}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Peter E. Quint|title=The Imperfect Union: Constitutional Structures of German Unification|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qP5B93vkuvQC&pg=PA70|accessdate=12 September 2012|date=3 March 1997|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-2216-4|page=70}}</ref>
|access-date=12 September 2012|newspaper=Daily News|date=21 August 1990}}</ref> Romberg was one of the senior social democratic members of de Maizière's cabinet.<ref name=lat90/> 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.<ref>{{cite news|author=Ferdinand Protzman|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/19/world/evolution-in-europe-germanys-sign-pact-binding-economies.html|title=Evolution in Europe; Germanys Sign Pact Binding Economies|work=The New York Times|date=19 May 1990}}</ref>


Werner Skowron succeeded Romberg in the post.<ref name=rul/> Following the dismissal of Romberg, SPD left the coalition on 20 August 1990, and called it unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite book|author=Gerhard A. Ritter|title=The Price of German Unity: Reunification and the Crisis of the Welfare State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=siK2K0_Y6GoC&pg=PA24|accessdate=12 September 2012|date=5 May 2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-955682-3|page=24}}</ref><ref name=at20890>{{cite news|last=Marshall|first=Tyler|title=Shaky Coalition Regime Folds in E. Germany|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1990-08-20/news/mn-749_1_east-germany|accessdate=12 September 2012|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=20 August 1990|location=East Berlin}}</ref>
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.<ref name=chitri/> The other reason for his removal was related to the East Germany's rapidly deteriorating economic status.<ref name=lat90>{{cite news|author=Tyler Marshall|title=Two ministers are fired and two resign. The moves could raise tensions in a multi-party coalition as merger with Bonn nears|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1990-08-16/news/mn-1047_1_east-german|access-date=12 September 2012|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=16 August 1990|location=East Berlin}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Merkl2004>{{cite book
|author=Peter H. Merkl|title=German Unification|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dduIXz8kpEsC&pg=PA263|year=2004|isbn=978-0-271-02566-7
|publisher=Penn State Press|page=263|location=University Park, PA}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Peter E. Quint|title=The Imperfect Union: Constitutional Structures of German Unification|year=1997|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qP5B93vkuvQC&pg=PA70|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-2216-4|page=70|location=Princeton, NJ}}</ref>

Werner Skowron succeeded Romberg in the post. Following the dismissal of Romberg, SPD left the coalition on 20 August 1990, and called it unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite book|author=Gerhard A. Ritter|title=The Price of German Unity: Reunification and the Crisis of the Welfare State
|year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=siK2K0_Y6GoC&pg=PA24|isbn=978-0-19-955682-3|page=24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Tyler Marshall|title=Shaky Coalition Regime Folds in E. Germany|access-date=12 September 2012
|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1990-08-20/news/mn-749_1_east-germany|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=20 August 1990|location=East Berlin}}</ref> Until 1994 Romberg served at the [[European Parliament]].<ref name=nda/>


===Views===
===Views===
In 1991, following the unification, Romberg stated in a conference held at [[Humboldt University of Berlin|Humboldt University]] that the West German leadership did not comprehend the huge differences between two countries' economic patterns.<ref name=Merkl2004/>
In 1991, after unification, Romberg stated in a conference held at [[Humboldt University of Berlin|Humboldt University]] that the West German leadership did not comprehend the huge differences between two countries' economic patterns.<ref name=Merkl2004/>

==Later years and personal life==
Romberg was married and had three sons.<ref name=mark/> In 1997 he moved to [[Teltow]] with his wife.<ref name=mark/> He died there on 23 May 2014 and was buried in his hometown Schwerin.<ref name=mark/><ref name=nda/>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=33em}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
*{{Commons-inline}}
{{Finance Ministers of Germany|state=collapsed}}
{{Finance Ministers of Germany|state=collapsed}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata
⚫
| NAME = Romberg, Walter
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = 27 December 1928
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 23 May 2014
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romberg, Walter}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romberg, Walter}}
[[Category:20th-century German mathematicians]]
[[Category:20th-century German politicians]]
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:East German politicians]]
[[Category:People from Schwerin]]
[[Category:Government ministers of East Germany]]
[[Category:Finance ministers of East Germany]]
[[Category:Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians]]

Latest revision as of 21:44, 1 June 2024

Walter Romberg
Romberg in 1990
Minister of Finance
In office
12 April 1990 – 16 August 1990
Minister-PresidentLothar de Maizière
Preceded byWalter Siegert (acting)
Succeeded byWerner Skowron (acting)
Minister without Portfolio
In office
5 February 1990 – 12 April 1990
Chairman of the
Council of Ministers		Hans Modrow
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Personal details
Born(1928-12-27)27 December 1928
Schwerin, Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Weimar Republic
Died23 May 2014(2014-05-23) (aged 85)
Teltow, Brandenburg, Germany
Resting placeSchwerin, Germany
NationalityGerman
Political partySocial 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.
[edit]
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