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Markus Meckel
Meckel in 2023
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office 12 April 1990 – 20 August 1990
Minister-President	Lothar de Maizière
Preceded by	Oskar Fischer
Succeeded by	Lothar de Maizière(acting)
Leader of the Social Democratic Party in the GDR
Acting
In office 26 March 1990 – 9 June 1990
Preceded by	Ibrahim Böhme
Succeeded by	Wolfgang Thierse
Parliamentary constituencies Member of theBundestag forUckermark – Barnim I (Prenzlau – Angermünde – Schwedt – Templin – Gransee; 1990–2002) In office 20 December 1990 – 27 October 2009 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Sabine Stüber Member of theVolkskammer forMagdeburg In office 5 April 1990 – 2 October 1990 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	(1952-08-18)18 August 1952 (age 73) Müncheberg,Bezirk Neubrandenburg,East Germany(nowBrandenburg,Germany)
Political party	Social Democratic Party of Germany (1990–)
Other political affiliations	Social Democratic Party in the GDR(1989–1990)
Alma mater	Katechetisches Oberseminar Naumburg (Saale)
Occupation	Politician Theologian

Markus Meckel (born 18 August 1952) is a Germantheologian andpolitician. He was the penultimate foreign minister of theGDR and a member of the GermanBundestag.

Markus Meckel was born on 18 August 1952 inMüncheberg,Brandenburg. He had to leave high school in 1969 for political reasons. From 1969 to 1971, he studied atKirchenoberseminar Hermannswerder, a boarding school operated by the church whose diploma allowed its students to study theology or sacred music only. From 1971 to 1978, Meckel studied theology inNaumburg andBerlin.

Meckel had already been involved with domestic opposition to the East German Communist regime since the 1970s. In October 1989, he initiated the establishment of theSocial Democratic Party in the GDR (SDP) together with Martin Gutzeit. From 23 February 1990 up to the merger with the West German SPD on 27 September 1990, he was deputy SDP party chairman. After the resignation ofIbrahim Böhme, he was acting chairman from 26 March to 10 June 1990.

In the GDR's first free elections in March 1990, Meckel was elected to Parliament. On 12 April 1990, he became theMinister of Foreign Affairs in thegovernment of Prime MinisterLothar de Maizière (CDU). In his term of office, he frequently worked withHans Dietrich Genscher, as he was one of the representatives of the two German states during theTwo Plus Four Negotiations with the victors of theSecond World War over a Final Peace Treaty.^[1] It was this treaty which paved the way to the reunification of Germany.

On 20 August 1990, Meckel, together with the Social Democratic ministers, withdrew from the cabinet. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was taken over by de Maizière himself.^[2]

After Germany was reunified on 3 October 1990, Meckel became a member of German Bundestag. From 1992 to 1994 he was spokesperson of the SPD parliamentary group in the historical commission on the aftermath of the SED dictatorship in Germany. From 1994 onwards, he served as one of the spokespeople for the SPD's delegation in a related group dealing with the effects of the East German dictatorship on the German process of reunification.

In the Bundestag, Meckel focuses on European politics and German-Polish relations. Furthermore, since 1994 he is the chairman of the German-Polish Parliamentary Group. Since 1998 he is director/conductor of the German parliamentary delegation to NATO. From November 2000 until November 2002, he was vice-president of the parliamentary assembly of NATO.

Meckel is an advisory chairman of the Foundation for the Processing of the SED Dictatorship and besides member of the adviser of the Federal Authority for the Processing of GDR State Intelligence Files/BStU.

• Walther Rathenau Institute, Member of the Advisory Board^[3]
• Global Panel Foundation, Member of the Board of Directors

Markus Meckel was married twice and has six children. He is involved with the charitable work of the Protestant Church.

Markus Meckel has received several awards and honors in his life.

• 1995Order of Merit (First Class), Federal Republic of Germany
• 1998 Cavalier's Cross, Poland
• 2002 Prince Gediminas Award, Lithuania
• 2003Viadrina Prize, Federal Republic of Germany
• 2004 Cross of the Terra Mariana, Republic of Estonia
• 2005 Three-Star Medal, Republic of Latvia
• 2020 The 20thHanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award along withHans-Dietrich Genscher,Ivan Havel andIvan Chvatik commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Fall of theIron Curtain (jointly awarded by thePrague Society andGlobal Panel Foundation)

• Timeline of Markus Meckel's life (in German)

• 1952 births
• Living people
• People from Märkisch-Oderland
• Members of the Bundestag for Brandenburg
• Members of the Bundestag 2002–2005
• Members of the Bundestag 1998–2002
• Members of the Bundestag 1994–1998
• Foreign ministers of East Germany
• Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 2nd Class
• Social Democratic Party in the GDR politicians
• Members of the 10th Volkskammer
• East German dissidents
• Members of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Biography articles needing translation from German Wikipedia