Wolfgang Junker

Wolfgang Junker (23 February 1929 – 9 April 1990) was a German construction manager and politician of the Socialist Unity Party (SED).

In the German Democratic Republic, he served as the longtime Minister for Construction and was a member of the Central Committee of the SED. He committed suicide in April 1990, having lost power and being indicted on abuse of office.

Life and career
Junker was a member of the Jungvolk and the Hitler Youth from 1939 to 1945. After attending elementary and middle school, he completed an apprenticeship as a bricklayer in 1945 and worked in that profession until 1949 in Quedlinburg.

In 1949, he joined the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED) and studied at the Engineering School for Construction in Osterwieck until 1952. From 1952 to 1953, he was a construction manager during the construction of Stalinallee in Berlin, and until 1954, he worked with the Bau-Union Nord in Glowe.

He then served as the director of state-owned enterprises: from 1955 to 1957 at the VEB Excavation and Conveying Works Berlin and from 1958 to 1961 at the VEB Industrial Construction Brandenburg.

Minister
From 1961 to 1963, he was deputy minister, and from 1963 to 1989, Minister for Construction of the GDR. From 1972 to 1989, he was chairman of the GDR's delegation to and from 1973 also chairman of the permanent commission of Comecon for cooperation in construction.

From April 1967 (VII. Party Congress) to 1971, he was a candidate member and from June 1971 (VIII. Party Congress) until its collective resignation in December 1989, he was a full member of the Central Committee of the SED. He additionally became member of the Volkskammer in 1976, nominally representing a constituency in northwestern Bezirk Halle.

In October 1979, Junker became the first official government member of the GDR to visit the West Germany and held discussions with his counterpart, Federal Minister for Regional Planning, Building and Urban Development Dieter Haack and State Minister Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski.

Junker was awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold in 1969, the Honorary Clasp to this order in 1979, the Order of Karl Marx in 1976, the Gold Star of People's Friendship in 1984, and the Grand Star of People's Friendship in 1989.

Peaceful Revolution
During the Wende, on 7 November 1989, he resigned alongside rest of the government led by Willi Stoph. He was the longest-serving GDR minister at that time.

Downfall and Death
From January to February 1990, he was in pre-trial detention in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen on suspicion of embezzlement of state funds and breach of the constitution.

He was accused of illicitly collecting 20,000 East German marks annually as an honorary member of the GDR Construction Academy. He had also appointed SED leader Erich Honecker and his economics czar Günter Mittag as honorary members. The change of statutes allowing this was deemed unconstitutional. Additionally, it was alleged that he used funds from a reserve fund of his ministry to build private houses for SED officials.

On 28 February, Junker was released due to his poor health condition. On 9 April 1990, he committed suicide by hanging in his Berlin apartment.