Günther Kleiber

Günther Kleiber (16 September 1931, in Eula – 29 March 2013, in Berlin) was a former East German politician. He was a member of the politburo of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) from 1984 to 1989, and previously served as a minister for machinery, agricultural machinery and vehicle construction from 1973 to 1986. He was also a member of the SED central committee and the People's Chamber from 1967. He was Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1971 to 1989. The verdict was upheld by the Federal Supreme Court in November 1999, and Kleiber reported to a prison in Berlin to begin serving his sentence on 18 January 2000. After a request for clemency, where he expressed his regret for his actions as a member of the East German regime, he was, along with Günter Schabowski, pardoned by Governing Mayor Eberhard Diepgen (CDU) and released from prison on 6 September the same year.