Siegfried Böhm (20 August 1928 – 4 May 1980) was an East German politician and long-term finance minister of East Germany. He was in office for nearly fourteen years between 1966 and 1980.
Biography
Böhm was born in Plauen on 20 August 1928.[1] He received a degree in economics.[2]
Böhm was appointed the finance minister in December 1966, succeeding Willy Rumpf in the post.[2] Böhm's term lasted until 1980.[1] He was among the central committee members of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.[3] He was also a member of the Working Group Balance of Payments from 1974 to 1980.[1] Böhm was one of the first officials who alerted the East German authorities about the negative consequences of the indebtedness to the Western countries.[1][4] He also criticized the illegal currency and gold transactions carried out in the country.[5]
Böhm died at his home in Berlin-Karlshorst on 4 May 1980.[1][6] The East German officials reported on the next day that his wife shot him during a quarrel and then she committed suicide.[3][7] The official paper Neues Deutschland argued that Böhm and his wife died in an accident without giving any further details about the incident.[8] One week later their children issued an obituary in a state-controlled paper.[8]
Böhm was buried in a state ceremony.[8] He was succeeded by Werner Schmieder as finance minister in June 1980.[9][10]
It was revealed in 2003 as a result of the investigations that Böhm was in fact killed by an East German hit squad due to his potential reports about the bankruptcy faced in East Germany.[7] His wife was also murdered by the squad to fabricate the official story of his death.[7]
