Wilhelm Pieck

Wilhelm Pieck (born January 3, 1876, died September 7, 1960) was a German communist, politician and president of East Germany.

He joined the German Wood Workers' Federation in 1894, and joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 1895. He became disillusioned with the party leaderships's co-operation with conservative forces in World War I, and was an early member of the Spartacist League, and a founder member of the Communist Party of Germany.

He fled Germany after Adolf Hitler took power, and after East Germany was created in 1949, became its first president, a role he held until his death in Berlin in 1960.