Margot Honecker n�e Feist is a former East German politician, who was a very important member of the political scene in the Socialist Unity Party. From 1963 until 1989, she was Minister of Education of the GDR. She was married to Erich Honecker, the leader of East Germany from 1971 until 1989. Honecker, who was known for her hard line political views, was responsible for the enactment of the "Uniform Socialist Education System" in 1965 and mandatory military training in schools. She was one of the few spouses of a ruling Communist party leader who was a power in her own right, though her prominence in the government predated her husband's ascension to the leadership of the SED. Following the movement for reunification in 1989, Honecker fled to the Soviet Union with her husband to avoid criminal charges from the new regime. She obtained political asylum from the Chilean ambassador in Russia and subsequently emigrated to Chile, where she currently lives with her daughter Sonja. 

April 17th, 1927 in Halle (Saale) as Margot Feist  /  Died:   May 6th, 2016