Hans-Joachim Willerding

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Hans-Joachim "Jochen" Willerding (born 19 April 1952) is a former politician (SED) of the German Democratic Republic.^[1]

On 8 November 1989 he was elected to membership of the powerful Central Committee of the country's ruling Socialist Unity Party where he sat as the committee's youngest member. A couple of days later the Berlin Wall was breached, setting in motion events that would lead to reunification in October 1990. Much sooner than that, however, the promising career of Willerding at the top level of the East Germany's political power structure was cut short on 2 December 1989 when the Central Committee resigned en masse.^[2]