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Walter Ulbricht ( June 30, 1893– August 1, 1973) was a German communist politician. He led the German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR) from 1950 until 1971.

Ulbricht was born in Leipzig as the son of a tailor. Both his parents worked actively for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD). He attended secondary school (Volksschule), and learned the trade of a joiner. Later, he served in World War I from 1915 to 1918Events January January 8 President Woodrow Wilson announces his " Fourteen Points" for the aftermath of World War I. February February 3 The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service in San Francisco as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world (11,920 feet long). on the Polish, Serbian and Western Fronts.

In 1918, Ulbricht joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany. A founding member of the Communist Party of GermanyThe Communist Party of Germany (in German, Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands KPD was formed in December of 1918 from the Spartacist League, which originated as a small factional grouping within the Social Democratic Party (SPD) opposed to the First World (Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, KPD) in 1919Events January January 1 Edsel Ford succeeds his father as head of the Ford Motor Company January 5 Spartacist uprising Socialist demonstrations in Berlin turn into attempted communist revolution with Spartacist League in the forefront January 9 Spartacus, Ulbricht attended the International Lenin School of the Komintern in MoscowMoscow ( Russian: Moskva capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva, and encompassing 878. The city's population is rapidly increasing, with 11. 2 million inhabitants counted in 2004. The city is in the federal district called Central Russia (which is in 1924Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 See also 1924 in aviation 1924 in film 1924 in literature 1924 in mu/ 1925Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 See also 1925 in aviation 1925 in film 1925 in literature 1925 in mu. The electors subsequently voted him into the regional parliament of Saxony (Sächsischer Landtag) in 1926Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 See also 1926 in aviation 1926 in film 1926 in literature 1926 in mu. He became an MP of the German parliament ( Reichstag) from 1928 to 1933. After the Nazi Party came to power, Ulbricht lived in exile in Paris and Prague from 1933 to 1938, then in Moscow from 1938 to 1945.

A leader of the East German communist Socialist Unity Party of Germany (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, SED) from 1949 to 1971, he also served as Staatsratsvorsitzender (Chairman of the Council of State: head of state) of the German Democratic Republic from 1960, when President Wilhelm Pieck died, until his own death in 1973. Erich Honecker effectively ousted Ulbricht from power when he had to hand over the leadership of the Communist Party in 1971, although he remained the head of state. He died at the Döllnsee near Berlin on August 1, 1973.