Paul Verner

Paul Verner (26 April 1911 – 12 December 1986) was a German communist politician. He joined the communist movement at a young age and went into exile during Adolf Hitler's rule. Verner became a prominent political personality in the German Democratic Republic after the war.

Early life Verner was born in Chemnitz in 1911. His father was a metal worker while his mother worked as a textile worker. Verner trained as metal worker like his father. At an early age, Verner joined the communist children's organization Jungspartakusbund (Young Spartacus League). He was detained by Swedish authorities in Smedsbo, Värmland, between March 1940 and 1942. After being released from Smedsbo he began working as a metal worker in Sweden from August 1943. For most of the 1970s and early 1980s, he was the second-ranking member of the SED hierarchy, and de facto the second most powerful man in the country after party leader Erich Honecker.

He died in Berlin on 12 December 1986.