Portrait of Lothar de Maizière

Birthday profile

Lothar de Maizière

German politician and the last Prime Minister of the GDR (born 1940)

Born
March 2, 1940
Age in 2026
86
Zodiac sign
Pisces
Birth year
1940

About Lothar de Maizière

Lothar de Maizière (German pronunciation: [də mɛˈzi̯ɛːɐ̯]; born 2 March 1940) is a German former politician of the Christian Democratic Union. In 1990, he served as the head of the first and only democratically elected government of East Germany, holding this office during the final months before German reunification. Subsequently he briefly served as a minister in the new government of the unified Federal Republic of Germany until his past as a Stasi informant was revealed. The family took its name from the town of Maizières-lès-Metz and sought refuge in Prussia, where they became part of a broader Huguenot community that integrated into Berlin society while retaining French cultural ties. In the historic March 1990 election, the first and only free election in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the CDU and its allies emerged victorious, positioning Maizière to take on a leading role in the new government. Though Maizière initially denied any wrongdoing, reports from the Stasi Records Agency indicated that he had provided information to the Stasi.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Lothar de Maizière timeline

  1. In 1990, he served as the head of the first and only democratically elected government of East Germany, holding this office during the final months before German reunification.
  2. In the historic March 1990 election, the first and only free election in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the CDU and its allies emerged victorious, positioning Maizière to take on a leading role in the new government.

The world when Lothar de Maizière was born

Lothar de Maizière was born in 1940. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1940

  • #1 song"In the Mood" – Glenn Miller
  • Top movieRebecca
  • Best-selling bookFor Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst televised college basketball game
  • Top headlineWinston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister
  • Technology milestoneFirst McDonald's restaurant opens
  • Defining fadSwing music hits its peak
  • Notable inventionJeep (military vehicle)
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championCincinnati Reds (World Series)
  • U.S. population132.2M

1940 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Lothar de Maizière's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19402026
Gas$0.18$3.45/gal
Average home$5,300$435,000
Average income$3,100$67,500
Minimum wage$0.30$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population132.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.