Sabine Bergmann-Pohl

Born:April 20, 1946 (age 77)
Career:President of East Germany, 1990
Party:Christian Democratic Union
Education:Humboldt University

Sabine Bergmann-Pohl, a German doctor and politician, was elected to Parliament in March 1990 and became president of the parliament in April of 1990, serving until October 1990. Bergmann-Pohl was the first and the only woman to serve as a head of state and was the last head of East Germany before its unification into modern Germany.

Bergmann-Pohl was born on April 20, 1946, in Eisenach, in East Germany. She completed her medical studies at Humboldt University in Berlin in 1972, receiving a doctorate in medicine. Between 1980 and 1985, Bergmann-Pohl served as the medical director for the Department of Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis in Berlin-Friedrichshain. After, she was the director of medicine at the District Office for the same diseases in East Berlin.

Since leaving her position in the East German parliament, Bergmann-Pohl has served as a patron of the General Disabled Persons in Germany. In 2003, she continued her career as president of the Berlin Red Cross.

Photo from German Federal Archive