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July 1958–September 1960
After the V. Party Congress of the SED, five new members were appointed to the Politburo for the first time – including future First Secretary Erich Honecker now as full member –, and the chairman of the largest mass organization in the GDR, the FDGB, was now integrated into the Politburo as well. The average age of the 13 officials was 56.8 years. The V. Party Congress also saw the addition of eight new candidate members, including Central Committee Secretaries Kurt Hager and Paul Verner, who would become powerful full members eventually.

September 1960–January 1963; Politburo after Wilhelm Pieck's death
On 7 September 1960, President of East Germany Wilhelm Pieck died. In keeping with a close orientation to the Soviet Union, the presidency was abolished, the newly founded State Council replacing it as collective head of state. Ulbricht was elected as it's Chairman on 12 September, effectively making him East Germany's head of state. In March 1960, the Security Commission at the Politburo was also effectively superseded by the National Defence Council, a collective body in charge of national defense matters, with Ulbricht as Chairman being East Germany's de facto commander-in-chief.

January 1963–April 1967
After the VI. Party Congress of the SED, all the surviving Politburo members retained their positions. To replace the deceased Rau and Pieck, three new members were elected: Paul Fröhlich, Kurt Hager, and Paul Verner, including two 1st District Secretaries. Notably, 5 out of 9 Central Committee Secretaries were also members of the Politburo. Before the next personnel change, Otto Grotewohl and Bruno Leuschner passed away. The succession for the Chairmanship of the Council of Ministers was internally managed within the Politburo, with Willi Stoph assuming the role. The average age of the functionaries was 56.8 years.

The next biggest change happened on 15 September 1966, when Gerhard Grüneberg and Günter Mittag became full members. They were added as economic experts after the failure of the National Economy Council. The average age of the functionaries now was 57,6 years.

April 1967–May 1971
The existing Politburo was confirmed by the VII. Party Congress of the SED. Horst Sindermann, SED District Chief of the important chemical district Halle, was newly added. This increased the number of Politburo members to 15. Their average age was 57.7 years.

May–June 1971; Politburo after Ulbricht's deposition
By 1970, the relationship between Ulbricht and his former protégé Honecker had soured, with significant disagreements on economic matters. Ulbricht's Economic System of Socialism had failed to raise the GDR's competitiveness with West Germany. In addition, numerous national go-it-alones and arrogance by Ulbricht worsened his already strained relationship with new Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. In July 1970, Ulbricht had briefly removed Honecker from power, but had to reverse his decision after Soviet pressure. After finally receiving Brezhnev's approval, Honecker drove to Ulbricht's summer residence in Groß Dölln with armed escort on 26 April 1971 and forced him to sign a resignation letter. The change of power took effect on 3 May 1971.

Ulbricht stayed Chairman of the State Council and was elected (Honorary) Chairman of the Central Committee, but found himself isolated and humilated until his death in 1973.

June 1971–October 1973
The VIII. Party Congress of the SED confirmed the transfer of power from Ulbricht to Honecker and legitimized the rejuvenation policy of the First Secretary. Two relatively young members, Werner Krolikowski and Werner Lamberz, were newly elected. Particularly, Krolikowski quickly rose to a top position as a functionary. Unlike Lamberz, he had not been a Central Committee Secretary or a candidate of the Politburo before his election. Additionally, there was a significant turnover in party functions. Now, 8 out of 11 Central Committee Secretaries were Politburo members. The average age of the 16 functionaries was 58.1 years.

October 1973–May 1976
After the death of Walter Ulbricht, Erich Honecker was able to restructure the Politburo according to his discretion at the next Central Committee meeting. Defense Minister Heinz Hoffmann was newly elected to the Politburo, marking the first time since 1960 that the military leadership was directly represented in the Politburo. Günter Mittag initially fell out of favor. He retained his seat in the Politburo but was relieved of his responsibilities as a Economic Central Committee Secretary. Willi Stoph was sidelined as potential rival to be Chairman of the State Council, and Horst Sindermann became Chairman of the Council of Ministers. These positions were later parliamentary legitimized by the Volkskammer on October 3, 1973. The average age of the 16 functionaries was 59.3 years.

May 1976–April 1981
After the IX. Party Congress, the existing Politburo composition was confirmed, and it was expanded to 19 members by adding three new members. The newcomers were Werner Felfe (48) and Konrad Naumann (47), as well as the 68-year-old Stasi head, Erich Mielke. This marked the first time since 1953 that the Ministry for State Security was directly represented in the Politburo through its minister. Günter Mittag returned to his previous post as powerful Economic Secretary. The title of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the SED was renamed back to General Secretary. Erich Honecker became the Chairman of the State Council and Willi Stoph returned as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Horst Sindermann's economic views being deemed to liberal, he was demoted to being the President of the Volkskammer, a purely symbolic post previously held by a member of the bloc parties.

Despite partial rejuvenation, the average age was now 59.6 years.

The next biggest change happened in 1979, when Kurt Hager and Günter Mittag, part of Honecker's inner circle, became National Defence Council and State Council (in the case of Mittag) members. Albert Norden's retirement for health reasons also meant his responsibilities were taken over by other Politburo members. Friendly Parties went to Joachim Herrmann, also part of Honecker's inner circle. Herrmann had been made a full member in 1978 and also took over Agitation from Werner Lamberz, who had died in a helicopter crash in Libya. Foreign Information went to Hermann Axen. The average age was now 61.9 years.

April 1981–May 1984
The 10th Party Congress of the SED did not elect any new members to the Politburo. There was no response to the sudden death of Gerhard Grüneberg six days prior. Albert Norden retired from the Politburo due to health reasons, dying a little over a year afterwards. As a result, after years of continuous expansion, the Politburo was reduced in size for the first time to 17 officials.

A major change occurred in November 1983: Egon Krenz, protégé of Honecker, also serving as First Secretary of the Free German Youth, was elevated to full member 24 November 1983. He also took on responsibilities for Security Affairs from Honecker and State and Legal Affairs as well as Youth from Paul Verner. Verner had been the Politburo's number two Secretary for most of the decade, but suffered from ailing health, causing him to have to retire completely in 1984. The average age was now 63.7 years, the highest up to that point.

May 1984–April 1986
At the next Central Committee meeting in May 1984, there was another attempt to rejuvenate the Politburo by introducing new officials. In their mid-fifties, Häber, Jarowinsky, Kleiber, and Schabowski became full members of the Politburo. Of particular note was the rapid career advancement of International Politics and Economics department head Herbert Häber, who became a Politburo member and Central Committee Secretary without a candidate membership period. Consequently, 12 out of the 13 Central Committee Secretaries were now simultaneously members of the Politburo. The total number of members increased to an unprecedented 22 officials. Nevertheless, the average age only decreased to 62.4 years, as 10 officials were 68 years old or older.

The next biggest change happened at the 11th Central Committee meeting on 22 November 1985: Approximately a year and a half after his surprising entry into the Politburo, Herbert Häber was expelled from this body. Häber officially resigned for health reasons (and indeed was briefly institutionalized), but was actually expelled as a scapegoat for Honecker's increasingly strained relationship with the Soviets.

Both Häber and Honecker were strong supporters of rapprochement with West Germany, Häber being put in charge of preparing Honecker's second planned state visit there, the first one having been cancelled by Soviet pressure. On 17 August 1984, Honecker unsuccessfully tried to convince Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko of the visit, but he disapproved. Fearing personal consequences, Honecker abandoned Häber, who had already become isolated in the Politburo by its pro-Moscow faction, and dictated him his resignation letter on 16 September 1985.

At the same time, Berlin First Secretary Konrad Naumann also faced expulsion. Naumann also officially retired for health reasons, but he was inofficially deposed due to a critical speech and his excessive alcohol consumption. Neues Deutschland editor-in-chief Günter Schabowski replaced him as Berlin First Secretary. This marked the first official disciplinary action against Politburo members in over 30 years, since the non-reappointment of Wilhelm Zaisser.

The 11th Central Committee meeting also saw three First Secretaries, Siegfried Lorenz (Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt), Werner Eberlein (Bezirk Magdeburg) and Gerhard Müller (Bezirk Erfurt), being elected as candidate members.

Furthermore, Paul Verner resigned from his position due to health reasons during the year 1984, reducing the number of members to 19. Shortly after the 11th meeting, National Defence Minister Heinz Hoffmann passed away

April 1986–October 1989
The XI. Party Congress in 1986 did not signal significant renewal in terms of personnel. Although new members were elected to fill the four vacant seats, younger individuals who could potentially represent reformist forces were not given a chance. While the appointment of new Defense Minister Heinz Keßler was unavoidable, the election of Bezirk Magdeburg First Secretary, 66-year-old Werner Eberlein, especially for himself, came as a surprise. The choices of the two men in their mid-fifties, SED Bezirk leaders Böhme and Lorenz, also did not necessarily indicate a clear rejuvenation of the Politburo leadership. Consequently, the average age of the 22 officials remained high at 63.6 years. Eight members were now 70 years old or older.

The XI. Party Congress solidified Egon Krenz's number two spot behind Honecker, him being elected to the State Council as Deputy Chair behind Honecker and still holding the powerful Security Affairs responsibility in particular.

A minor change occured in September 1988, when Secretary for Agriculture Werner Felfe died. Council of Ministers First Deputy Chairman Werner Krolikowski took his job, with Günther Kleiber becoming First Deputy Chairman and being elected to the National Defence Council.

October–November 1989; Politburo after Honecker's deposition
By summer 1989, the GDR was on the brink of bankruptcy, with the foreign debt having spiraled out of control. A small opposition movement, spurred by documented electoral fraud in the May 1989 local elections, had formed that the ruling class was unable to deal with. Apart from mass demonstrations, there also was a mass exodus of GDR citizens through Hungary and the CSSR, them having openend their borders to West Germany. In addition, Honecker's health was failing and he became increasingly oblivious to the situation in the country. On 17 October 1989, Egon Krenz, Honecker's protégé and youngest Politburo member, deposed Honecker in the Politburo. Krenz had previously gotten the blessing of Mikhail Gorbachev, who Honecker had a contentious relationship with for the previous years, mirroring the situation Ulbricht had found himself in eighteen years prior. Honecker announced his resignation a day later in the Central Committee, citing his failing health, and proposed Krenz as his successor.

Economy Secretary Günter Mittag and media leader Joachim Herrmann were also removed alongside Honecker. Herrmann and Mittag in particular had made up Honecker's inner circle, though Mittag turned on Honecker when called upon, putting the blame for the country's economic situation soley on him.

November–December 1989
The second to last Central Committee meeting began a day after the closed resignation of the Council of Ministers. The Politburo members Horst Dohlus (64), Werner Krolikowski (61), Willi Stoph (75), Alfred Neumann (79), Erich Mückenberger (79), Hermann Axen (73), Kurt Hager (77), Horst Sindermann (74), Erich Mielke (82), Harry Tisch (62), and Günther Kleiber (58), with an average age of 71.3 years, resigned at the beginning of the meeting. The remaining 7 members stood for re-election and were elected, but during the Central Committee meeting, the deposed Halle party chief, Böhme, had to resign from his office. Similarly, elected candidate members Johannes Chemnitzer, Werner Walde (both also having lost their respective Bezirk First Secretary post) and Ingeburg Lange resigned before the end of the party conference. Newly elected to the Politburo as full members were Hans Modrow, the SED chief of Dresden and a hopeful figure, Krenz associate Wolfgang Herger, Wolfgang Rauchfuß, and, after sixteen years as candidate member, the already 68-year-old economic expert Gerhard Schürer. Schürer had been an early backer of deposing Honecker over his failed economic policies, having already urged Krenz to topple him in Febuary.

After Böhme's resignation, there were thus 10 full members remaining. Consequently, the average age of the new Politburo was 60.8 years.

The election of some reformers and retirement of most of the old guard did not convince the public and the Politburo contuined in quickly losing its authority. Acknowledging the political realities, the Politburo collectively resigned within less than a month, on 3 December 1989, during the 12th and final Central Committee meeting. Two days prior, the Volkskammer had removed the section in the GDR's constitution guaranteeing the SED's "leading role" (monopoly on political power).