Christa Zellmer

Christa Zellmer ( Holzheuer; 5 November 1930 – 14 October 2002) was a German politician and party functionary of the Socialist Unity Party (SED).

One of only a handful of women in the SED's nomenklatura, Zellmer was a member of the Central Committee of the SED and briefly served as First Secretary of the SED in Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) for a year on the eve of the Peaceful Revolution.

Life and career Early career Zellmer was born as the daughter of a working-class family. After attending primary school, she completed a commercial apprenticeship and subsequently worked as a retail saleswoman. In 1950, she took over the management of a youth sales outlet in Cottbus.

In June 1947, she became a member of the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED). From 1952 to 1965, she served as the secretary of the Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) Democratic Women's League of Germany (DFD), a SED-controlled mass organization.

After studying at the SED's "Karl Marx" Party Academy and graduating with a diploma in social sciences (Dipl.-Ges.-Wiss.) in 1965, succeeding Wilfried Maaß, In 1967, she was one of only three women among the 119 members of the SED Bezirk secretariats.

She additionally became a candidate member of the Central Committee of the SED in June 1971 (VIII. Party Congress) serving until its collective resignation in December 1989.

Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) SED First Secretary On 28 September 1988, Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) SED First Secretary Hans-Joachim Hertwig surprisingly died at the age of 60. Second Secretary Günter Grell was unusually passed over in favor of Zellmer, who was elected to succeeded Hertwig on 3 November 1988.

It was the first and only time that a woman became the First Secretary of a Bezirk SED. citing their shared responsibility for the accumulated problems in the Bezirk as the reason for their resignation.

Reunified Germany Zellmer passed away in Frankfurt (Oder) in 2002 at the age of 71.