Quick Facts
Biography
Walter Romberg (27 December 1928 – 23 May 2014) was a German politician who was the last finance minister of East Germany.
Career and activities
Romberg was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He was appointed minister of finance to the cabinet led by prime minister Lothar de Maizière on 12 April 1990 following the first free elections of East Germany which had been held on 18 March 1990. Romberg was one of the senior social democratic members of de Maizière's cabinet. On 19 May 1990, the West Germany's finance minister, Theo Waigel, and Romberg signed a state treaty to merge their economies and make the West German mark the sole legal currency in both nations by 2 July 1990.
Romberg was removed from office on 15 August 1990 due to his support for the challenging clauses in a political unification treaty governing the allocation of tax revenues. He also angered the West German officials with his continuous demands for more cash help to bail out the weak East German industries and to finance welfare payments. The other reason for his removal was related to the East Germany's rapidly deteriorating economic status. Romberg was also fired due to his warnings about the reunification in terms of its economic burden and his critical and even pessimistic approach towards it.
Werner Skowron succeeded Romberg in the post. Following the dismissal of Romberg, SPD left the coalition on 20 August 1990, and called it unconstitutional.
Views
In 1991, following the unification, Romberg stated in a conference held at Humboldt University that the West German leadership did not comprehend the huge differences between two countries' economic patterns.